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The headlines below are the original headlines used in the publication cited at the time they are posted here and do not reflect the stance of the Water Education Foundation, an impartial nonprofit that remains neutral.
Following a wet spring that resulted in a vast amount of
vegetative growth, Boulder County, Colorado, experienced a very
dry fall. The dry conditions zapped the moisture out of the
vegetation. The county was under a red flag for extremely windy
conditions. The heavy winds were coming from the west through
the east, enveloping the open area of the county. The dry
vegetation, combined with the windy conditions, created the
perfect recipe for a fire to break out. What ensued over the
following hours would be studied for years to come. A case
study, titled “Water Utility Resilience: A Case Study of the
2021 Marshall Fire,” was conducted and prepared by Professor
Brad Wham, University of Colorado, Boulder, Professor Erica
Fischer, Oregon State University, and University of Colorado,
Boulder, Graduate Assistant Rachel Geiger. … Geiger
detailed the day the fire broke out, as well as the impact of
it on five nearby water systems and the
residents they serve.
… Recently the governor used his May budget revision to
fast-track the Delta Conveyance Project, saying that was a
critical addition to the State Water Project. That announcement
drew criticism from opponents. The 15-member Delta Caucus
— a bipartisan group of lawmakers representing Delta
communities — sent a letter to Newsom and legislative leaders
saying they are “unanimous in strong opposition to the
governor’s proposal to fast-track the Delta tunnel.” One
of the caucus members is State Sen. Christopher Cabaldon
(D-Yolo), who previously served as the mayor of West Sacramento
for two decades. Cabaldon recently spoke with Insight Host
Vicki Gonzalez about the caucus’s opposition to the Delta
Conveyance Project, and the alternative methods that could help
meet the state’s water needs.
Water pouring from the faucets of at least 42 million Americans
is contaminated with unacceptable levels of “forever
chemicals,” according to a USA TODAY analysis of records the
Environmental Protection Agency released on June 2. Per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a family of manmade
chemicals engineered to be nearly indestructible. Studies have
shown they can accumulate over time in human bodies, leading to
certain cancers and other health complications. Over the past
two years, the EPA has collected complete sets of test results
from about 6,900 drinking water systems, with thousands more
expected as the PFAS testing initiative continues another year.
USA TODAY’s analysis of these systems with complete results
shows nearly a quarter of large water utilities serving at
least 100,000 customers exceeded limits the EPA approved last
year on two chemicals: PFOS and PFOA.
… In new research published in the journal Biological
Conservation, (UC Davis PhD candidate Sidney) Woodruff and her
colleagues propose a possible — though intensive —
countermeasure: a near-total eradication of the bullfrog from
habitats that it has invaded. The result was the striking
recovery of the Northwestern pond turtle, California’s only
native freshwater pond turtle species, at a couple of remote
bodies of water within Yosemite National Park.
… Woodruff and her colleagues conducted a combination of
night surveys to remove the adults and day surveys to go after
bullfrog egg masses. Across two sites, she estimates they
removed some 16,000 bullfrogs, amounting to a near-complete
eradication. And after several years of removal, “we came
across our first couple of small pond turtle hatchlings and
juveniles swimming out in the environment,” says Woodruff.
During the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association Members and
Leaders monthly luncheon in May, Contra Costa Water District
Board President, Ernesto Avila provided an update on the
district’s current work and plans. They include repairing 20 of
the 48-mile canal at a cost of $1 billion, keeping water rates
as low as possible and expanding service to keep up with
growth. … Half of the district’s water is provided to
treated water customers and the other half to raw water
customers, Avila stated and then spoke about ensuring adequate
“water supply during disasters such as fire and earthquake
emergencies.” … The district owns Los Vaqueros Reservoir
for storage, which is currently 93% full. But “we can’t just
draw water whenever we want,” Avila stated. “All of our intakes
are screened to protect fish.” “We are out of our drought,”
Avila added. However, “during the drought there were no
constraints on water supply for development and growth.”
Amazon is expanding the number of locations that will use
treated wastewater for data center cooling from 20 to 120. The
company this week announced it will expand its use of water
recycling to more than 120 locations in states and counties
where the cloud giant has data center operations by 2030.
… Though data centers typically reuse water by
recirculating the same water through their cooling systems
multiple times, it is often drawn from potable (drinkable)
sources. As the water can collect bacteria and limescale, it is
treated with chemicals, leaving it unsuitable for people to
drink once it leaves the facility. Exactly how much drinkable
water the data center industry uses is unclear, but estimated
to be in the billions of gallons annually. Today, Amazon
uses recycled water instead of potable or drinkable water
across 20 locations; 16 in Virginia and four in Santa Clara in
California.
On scorching days when winds blow across the California desert,
the Salton Sea regularly gives off a stench of decay resembling
rotten eggs. New research has found that the shrinking lake is
emitting the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide more frequently
and at higher levels than previously measured. The findings
document how the odors from the Salton Sea add to the air
quality problems and health concerns in communities near the
lake, where windblown dust drifts from exposed stretches of
lakebed and where people suffer from high rates of asthma and
other respiratory illnesses. “The communities around the Salton
Sea are on the front lines of a worsening environmental health
crisis,” said Mara Freilich, a co-author of the study and
assistant professor in Brown University’s Department of Earth,
Environmental and Planetary Sciences.
The Senate is speeding to confirm David Fotouhi for EPA deputy
administrator and Stephen Vaden for deputy Agriculture
secretary this week. Committees are also pushing energy and
environment nominees forward. More than four months after
President Donald Trump took office, Fotouhi is the third of
nine candidates for various EPA posts whose nomination has made
it to the Senate floor. Senate lawmakers voted Monday evening
53-43 along party lines to wind down debate on Fotouhi, a
lawyer who also worked at EPA during Trump’s first term. A
final roll call is scheduled for Tuesday. Fotouhi’s
nomination won approval in March from the Senate Environment
and Public Works Committee on a 10-9 tally, also on party
lines. Before Monday’s vote, committee leaders offered starkly
contrasting portrayals of Fotouhi’s credentials.
Salt Lake County water managers say they’re concerned about new
water trends as the region’s irrigation season has gotten off
to a warmer and drier start. Water consumption in the Jordan
Valley Conservancy District, which includes most of Salt Lake
County, is up 15% from last year, which was up 12.5% from the
previous year. … While Utah’s northern half experienced
a normal snowpack this year, dry conditions prior to winter and
an unproductive meteorological spring compromised the runoff
efficiency. Utah’s meteorological spring — March 1 through May
31 — was the 11th warmest and 40th driest since 1895, according
to National Centers for Environmental Information released on
Monday. … Dry soil conditions before the snowpack also
increased the probability that more snowpack water would go
into recharging the groundwater supply, meaning less water that
flows into the state’s reservoirs. … Over three-fourths
of the state is now in at least moderate
drought at the start of meteorological summer.
Ed Curry is passionate about the green, red and yellow chile
peppers he grows on his 3,000-acre farm in Pearce, Arizona,
about 90 minutes southeast of Tucson. He’s also passionate
about saving water. A new technology Arizona State University
is analyzing and promoting has combined his love for spice and
conservation. … (Farmer Ed) Curry said he cut about 50% of
his water usage in the 1990s by going to a drip system. More
recently, he estimates he’s cut another 10% through a new soil
service. ASU and MyLand, a Phoenix-based soil health
company, demonstrated how soil health innovation can drive
measurable water conservation at Curry’s farm at an event on
May 14. This is achieved by using live, native microalgae to
improve soil so that farmers like Curry can achieve greater
water efficiency, increased yields and reduced environmental
impact. … “We have growers who have documented a 15%
decrease in water use on alfalfa, an extra half-day between
irrigation cycles on peppers and a 24% improvement in water-use
efficiency on tree nuts.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the
California Department of Water Resources have issued a warning
to residents about a toxic algal mat in the Pit River, located
in the Jess Valley area near the Modoc National Forest. The
departments urged the public to exercise caution when engaging
in recreational activities near this area. They explained that
harmful algal blooms (HABs) are caused by algae or
cyanobacteria that can grow suspended in the water column or
attached to the bottom, forming algal mats. Some species of
these algae can produce toxins, posing a risk to humans and
pets. The department said to call your veterinarian or doctor
immediately if you become sick after ingesting or coming in
contact with algae. … The departments said they will
provide updates through a routine water monitoring program that
conducts site visits at this waterway.
… The future of San Francisco’s iconic fog has been debated
in media stories during recent years, and some experts note a
diminished cloud cover along the California coast that could
lead to a warming trend. … While the scientific
community endeavors to figure out the long-range impact of
climate change on California’s coastal fog, there’s a strong
consensus that diminished cloud cover would have a harmful
effect. Species such as the widely admired coastal
redwoods, which get up to 40% of their yearly water intake from
fog, could be threatened if that resource dwindled.
… But climate scientists are split over whether the
increased heat will lead to less fog because the air over the
ocean won’t be cold enough to condense, or whether stronger
winds will atone for that factor.
… The Colorado River Basin is in dire straits: The water
supply for 40 million people has been dwindling, and
climatologists say the climate future is bleak. State officials
have spent months mired in thorny negotiations over things like
how to split painful water cuts in the driest conditions — with
scant progress to report publicly. … The final plan
could determine everything from how key reservoirs store and
release water to who takes cuts in dry years and how
environments, like the Grand Canyon, will be impacted for years
to come. It will impact water supplies for cities, like Denver,
Phoenix and Los Angeles, ecosystems, a multibillion-dollar
agricultural industry, hydroelectric power and more.
In California’s water wars, fishermen and farmers have long
been enemies. But now that federal and state regulators have
closed the salmon commercial fishing season for an
unprecedented third year in a row to protect declining
populations, at least one major commercial fishing group is
shifting its alliances. The Pacific Coast Federation of
Fishermen’s Associations teamed up with farmers for a
first-ever joint Washington, D.C., lobbying trip in early May.
They met with members of Congress and federal officials to ask
for more money for salmon hatcheries, which breed, raise and
release young fish. … For the Fishermen’s Associations, which
have sued for decades to keep water in California’s rivers for
fish instead of being diverted to farmers, the trip is part of
a larger pivot amid growing desperation as high temperatures
and low water levels kill their business.
More than 100 residents in the tiny unincorporated town of West
Goshen can weather the summer months knowing that by the end of
it, the water flowing through their faucets will be safe for
drinking, cooking and bathing thanks to a new connection to
California Water Service. Residents along with local and state
officials marked that monumental step at a groundbreaking
ceremony Thursday evening in West Goshen, west of Visalia and
Highway 99 in Tulare County. … California Water Service
provides water to Visalia residents. It was able to connect
West Goshen through an emergency consolidation project. West
Goshen residents had relied for years on bottled water after
they discovered groundwater from private wells was laced with
uranium, nitrates and other contaminants. The 60-day
connection project will require a crew of eight to lay more
than 8,000 feet of pipe.
… (T)hings only got worse on May 30, when the Trump
administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request for NASA came
out. It proposes cutting the agency’s science funding by 47%,
and the agency’s workforce by about one-third — from 17,391 to
11,853. … According to the Planetary Society’s analysis
of the budget, that huge astrophysics reduction could mean
eight spacecraft dedicated to studying extreme events in the
universe (think, the Chandra X-ray Observatory) would be
terminated. This analysis also suggests 10 missions constructed
to study the region around Earth and the sun would be
cancelled, as well as about a dozen Earth-specific missions
that help scientists forecast natural disasters such as
hurricanes and track global
warming. … Per the budget proposal, the
White House also wants NASA to eliminate its “green aviation”
spending, dedicated to making airplanes better for the
environment, and instead work on “protecting the development of
technologies with air traffic control and defense
applications.”
One new legal filing and a raft of letters have been sent to
the California State Supreme Court alternately praising and
decrying the recent 5th District Court of Appeal opinion that
overturned a local court order that had kept the Kern River
flowing, at least for a few months. The response, filed by
several agricultural water districts with Kern River rights,
urges the Supreme Court to deny a petition to review the 5th
District’s opinion and let it remain published, which can set
precedent for how other courts rule in similar cases. The
letters all seek to have the Supreme Court “depublish” the 5th
District’s ruling, making it less potent. Two of the letters
were filed by the original plaintiffs. … The state Attorney
General and two environmental public interest groups also sent
letters beseeching the state’s top court to depublish the 5th
District’s opinion.
… Last year, the final of four hydroelectric dams on the
Klamath River were removed in the largest project of its kind
in US history. Forged through the footprint of reservoirs that
kept parts of the Klamath submerged for more than a century,
the river that straddles the California-Oregon border has since
been reborn. The dam removal marked the end of a
decades-long campaign led by the Yurok, Karuk and Klamath
tribes, along with a wide range of environmental NGOs and
fishing advocacy groups, to convince owner PacifiCorp to let go
of the ageing infrastructure. The immense undertaking also
required buy-in from regulatory agencies, state and local
governments, businesses and the communities that used to live
along the shores of the bygone lakes. As the flows were
released and the river found its way back to itself, a new
chapter of recovery – complete with new challenges – emerged.
A new science brief published today by Audubon California shows
that a number of factors have surprisingly resulted in an
increase in wetland habitat, and that an increasing number of
shorebirds are taking advantage of the changes—driving a growth
rate of 15 percent per year in waterbirds overall. This new
development comes as the Sea continues to witness the shrinkage
of deep-water habitats and fish-eating bird
populations. This finding and others are drawn from seven
years of Audubon’s bird surveys and habitat assessments at the
Salton Sea. … The science brief, which summarizes a
more comprehensive scientific study currently under peer review
in a scientific journal, points to significant shifts in
habitats, food availability, and bird populations. Newly formed
vegetated wetlands, for example, increased from 5,944 acres in
2019 to 7,312 acres in 2022, or by 23 percent.
The Navajo Nation Commission on Emergency Management (CEM)
unanimously approved Resolution No. 25-005, officially
declaring a State of Emergency in response to worsening drought
conditions across the Nation. All six commissioners voted in
favor of the resolution. … Resolution 25-005 addresses a
range of urgent concerns, including critically low
precipitation, deteriorating rangelands, declining water
infrastructure, and heightened wildfire risks. The declaration
calls on livestock owners to reduce herd sizes, instructs
Grazing Officials to update tally counts, and encourages
farmers to shift to drought-resistant crops. It also places
restrictions on irrigation to conserve dwindling lake and
reservoir supplies. … The resolution authorizes
$6,553,730 from the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) to
be directed toward critical repairs to windmills and the
installation of water storage systems in drought-affected
communities.
