A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation News & Publications Director Vik Jolly.
Subscribe to our weekday emails to have news delivered to your inbox at about 9 a.m. Monday through Friday except for holidays.
Please Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing. Also, 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.
State legislators denied a local lawmaker’s bill to stop a
mining project that proposes to drill and blast a 600-foot pit
along the San Joaquin River and is undergoing its environmental
review. On Monday, the California Assembly Committee on Natural
Resources voted down AB 1425 from Assemblymember Joaquin
Arambula, D-Fresno, though it may come back up in January 2026
for absent committee members to consider, said committee chair
Isaac Bryan, D-Baldwin Hills. The “narrowly tailored” bill,
according to Arambula, would have stopped Mexico-based CEMEX
from emptying water from mining pits, which he said risks
contaminating the river and overdrafting water along the river.
By banning “dewatering,” the company’s plan to dig the 600-foot
pit would not only be stopped, but it would force the company
to cease its current operations as well, CEMEX representative
Scott Govenar said at the hearing.
Water agencies up and down California will be getting larger
allocations from the state and federal delivery systems this
year, water managers announced this week. On Tuesday, the
California Department of Water Resources announced it would be
increasing deliveries to 50 percent of requested supplies from
the State Water Project — that’s up from 40 percent in March.
Also, officials with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced
that deliveries to irrigation systems and other water
contractors south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta are
being increased from 40 percent of requested supplies to 50
percent. Meanwhile, farms north of the Delta, and within the
Delta itself, will receive 100 percent of their requested
supplies from the federal Central Valley Project.
A bill requiring the State Water Quality Control Board or
regional water quality control board to describe and consider
the impact on tribes of proposed water projects subject to
their approval was approved (Wednesday) by the Assembly
Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials.
Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) introduced the
bill, AB 362, that also requires the state and local boards to
adopt, when applicable, water quality standards to protect
reasonable protections of tribal water uses. … In
managing water quality and access, the State Water Board
designates certain uses such as recreation, navigation, and
preservation and protection of aquatic resources and wildlife
as beneficial uses of water that are defined in the California
Code of Regulations.
Berkeley resident Daniel Fahey, recently hired by the
Environmental Protection Agency to administer Bay Area grants
aimed at improving water quality and restoring wetlands, is
among the thousands of so-called “probationary” federal workers
who received an email in mid-February announcing they’d been
fired. … The full impacts of the cuts are yet to be
seen. Already, the EPA has suspended anticipated grants for
North Richmond, putting $19 million in projects meant to
improve the environment in limbo. More than 60 California
grants are on a list of 400 that the EPA has targeted for
termination, according to a list obtained by the San Francisco
Chronicle.
Pismo Beach warned residents to boil all water used for
drinking and food preparation after the State Water Resources
Control Board detected unsafe bacteria in the water. According
to a news release from the city Wednesday, water samples
collected on Monday and Tuesday were found to carry bacteria
that could cause stomach or intestinal issues. The samples were
reviewed by the State Water Resources Control Board, Division
of Drinking Water, the San Luis Obispo County Public Works
Department, the San Luis Obispo County Health Department and
the Lopez Project water system. … A second news release
from the San Luis Obispo County Department of Public Works
expanded the water contamination advisory to Arroyo Grande,
Grover Beach, Oceano, Avila Beach and Zone 3 of the San
Miguelito Water Company.
As droughts worsen and water shortages hit communities
worldwide, a new study in the journal Decision Analysis has
uncovered a smarter way to get people to save water—without
breaking the bank. Researchers found that raising
awareness and using social influence can be more powerful than
just offering cash incentives. The study, “Differential Game
Theoretic Models for Designing Water Conservation Incentives,”
shows how conservation groups can cut costs, maximize impact
and make water-saving programs way more effective.
… Using differential game theory (basically, a way to
analyze how people make decisions over time), the researchers
developed a model that helps organizations figure out who to
incentivize, when and how.
This week, San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said it
may be time for the city to begin discussing leaving or
dissolving the Water Authority. … The city of San Diego has
been the steward of the Water Authority. City appointees have
essentially controlled it for decades. They drove it to take on
the massive debts, deals and projects that are forcing such
high rate increases now. The suggestion that the city would now
consider leaving it seemed ludicrous. One of the mayor’s top
aides is the chair of the Water Authority and the city
sponsored successful legislation to make it much harder for
agencies to leave the Water Authority. But now the city leaving
the Water Authority is apparently a thing.
At its April meeting, the California Water Commission received
an update from the CIM Group and representatives of the
Southern California Water Bank Authority, proponents of the
Willow Springs Water Bank Conjunctive Use Project. They sought
to assure the Commission that the project was progressing
steadily toward meeting the remaining Water Storage Investment
Program (WSIP) requirements. … The last time the project
proponents were before the California Water Commission, they
had just completed an MOU with the Antelope Valley-East Kern
(AVEK) Water Agency. Since then, they have developed
plans on how the project will deliver the ecological and
emergency benefits as required by Proposition 1 and begun
pre-development work focused on turnout options, conveyance
capacity, and well fields.
California walnut growers are experiencing promising
early-season conditions that suggest a positive outlook for the
2025 crop, the California Walnut Board (CWB) and California
Walnut Commission (CWC) reported. These favorable climate
conditions follow three consecutive years of average to
above-average rainfall and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada
mountains. The current growing season benefits from adequate
surface water and replenished soil profiles, contributing to a
strong bloom and early shoot development. Early walnut
varieties began to show bud break in mid-April, with varieties
such as Chandler exhibiting healthy shoot growth across
California’s main growing regions. The orchards are currently
in a critical growth phase, which is essential for nut
development throughout the season.
A dust event near Saltair over the weekend highlights how dust
is still flying off the Great Salt Lake despite its recent
gains, a local environmental group says. … With 8.7
inches of snow-water equivalent still left in the mountains
within the lake’s basin, nearly half of its peak this year, the
lake could make some additional gains, depending on how much of
that water ends up in it. Yet despite its gains, Grow the Flow
points out that it remains only about 40% full by volume,
leaving hundreds of square miles of lakebed exposed. A cold
front that pushed through the region on Sunday visibly kicked
up dust, which is often deposited in nearby communities. That’s
a problem because — as documented in a Great Salt Lake Strike
Team report earlier this year — the dust can create a “health
hazard” from increases in particulate matter concentrations, as
well as “chronic exposures to carcinogenic elements such as
arsenic.”
… Colorado College’s annual State of the Rockies Project
Conservation in the West Poll explores opinions on water safety
and security in the West. The findings reinforce Americans’
clear desire for action that will improve the sustainability of
rivers, lakes, streams and other water sources. Voters in
across eight western states reported nearly universal concern
about river levels and the long-term availability of water.
Almost nine-in-ten voters (88%) say inadequate water supply is
a serious problem in their state. Two thirds (66%) say it is an
“extremely” or “very” serious problem. The highest concern was
reported in several southwestern states that rely on the
Colorado River as a source of water, including Utah (95%),
Nevada (92%), New Mexico (91%) and Arizona (90%).
… The Salton Sea’s eastern shore is home to hundreds of mud
pots, though only this one—known as the “Niland Geyser,”
“moving mud spring,” and “Mundo”— moves. Scientists can’t
figure out why: Some think that a series of earthquakes made
the bedrock more permeable and allowed the mud to seep through.
But there’s no conclusive link. The region’s unique geology
certainly plays a role: a highly faulted area with thick
sediment that drains from the Grand Canyon through the Colorado
River. A number of forces—tectonic activity, the accumulation
of gases, the heat of young magma—conspire to force this
sediment upward, resulting in puddles that spit and gargle like
a witch’s brew. … Seemingly out of nowhere, the muck
started moving southwest at a quick clip, at least as far as
puddles go, digging a crater of slurry sediment and water 75
feet wide and 25 feet deep.
From citrus groves to floodgates, Jake Severns’ journey has
come full circle. Raised on a citrus farm in California’s
Central Valley, he learned the value of water early in life.
Today, he helps manage that vital resource as the operations
project manager for Pine Flat Dam with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers Sacramento District. The Central Valley spans about
20,000 square miles and includes the Sacramento Valley, Delta
and Eastside Streams, San Joaquin Basin, and Tulare Basin. For
Jake and his family, one of more than 44,500 family farms in
the state, according to the USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture,
life on the farm taught resilience.
Across the country, the data collected at stream gauges managed
by the U.S. Geological Survey are used to implement drought
measures when streamflows are low, alert local authorities of
floods, help administer water to users on rivers and issue
pollution discharge permits required by the Clean Water Act for
communities across the country. But more than two dozen USGS
Water Science Centers that house the employees and equipment to
manage those gauges and equipment will soon have their leases
terminated after being targeted by the Department of Government
Efficiency. … The Moab (Utah) office operates and
monitors more than 30 stream gauges, eight water quality sites,
five meteorological sites, two groundwater monitoring sites and
one sediment monitoring site. Many of those … send
information in real time to federal, tribal, state and local
partners about floods and the flows of streams and rivers in
the Colorado River Basin.
Southern California cities can expect to receive 50% of their
full water allotments this year from the aqueducts of the State
Water Project, up from 40% last month, as runoff from this
year’s ample snowpack continues to fill reservoirs in Northern
California. … Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir that feeds
the State Water Project, is now 95% full and is expected to
continue rising as snowmelt runs off the Sierra Nevada. The
state Department of Water Resources said the reservoir could
reach full capacity this spring for a third straight year. The
state’s snowpack in the Sierra reached exactly 100% of average
for the season April 4, the department said.
Although the top post at the Bureau of Reclamation remains
without a nominee more than 100 days into the second Trump
administration, state officials say the empty seat will not
slow negotiations over a new Colorado River
operating plan. President Donald Trump has yet to put forth a
leader for Reclamation, which is responsible for dams,
reservoirs, canals and other infrastructure across 17 Western
states. David Palumbo, the agency’s deputy commissioner, is
currently serving in an acting capacity. But state
officials said the lack of a Senate-confirmed leader is
unlikely to hamper ongoing talks about how to share the
Colorado River, as well as any potential cuts when flows are
too low to meet the demands of some 40 million people and 5.5
million acres of farmland.
There is no need to wait to show your love for the Water
Education Foundation! You can
donate early to our Big Day of Giving campaign and
help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000 by May
1. Did you graduate from our popular Water Leaders
program? If so, join your fellow cohort members in a
friendly competition by donating to your graduation year’s
campaign. We are hosting an open
house on May 1, and anyone can stop by our
Sacramento office between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. to enjoy happy
hour refreshments, get to know our programs and team and
network with Foundation fans from across the water world!
Four Sacramento-area lawmakers are calling for the reopening of
Folsom Lake in a letter to state waterways officials, saying
the costs to the local economy and recreational boating are too
great, while calling for better coordination between agencies
to get boats back into the water. The letter — signed by state
Assemblymember Josh Hoover, R-Rancho Cordova; state Sen. Roger
Niello, R-Sacramento; Assemblymember Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin;
and Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin — calls on authorities to
reconsider Folsom’s closure to boating as a precaution after
invasive golden mussels were discovered in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and other Valley
waterways. … The Republican lawmakers said no approved
decontamination facilities are readily available to boaters to
allow their return to the water just as boating season is
approaching.
Each day, the Tijuana River carries millions—and sometimes
billions—of gallons of sewage across the U.S.-Mexico border
into California, where it dumps into the ocean. This wave of
waste frequently overwhelms wastewater treatment plants in both
countries, fueling a public health and environmental crisis in
nearby San Diego communities. The problem has gotten worse in
recent years as budget-strapped infrastructure deteriorates and
climate change fuels increasingly intense storms. Last
week, the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, Lee
Zeldin, visited San Diego County to urge a “100 percent
solution” from Mexico and the U.S. for ending the flow of
untreated wastewater. He told reporters that a meeting with
Mexico officials went well but stressed that the U.S. is “all
out of patience.”
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to cancel a total of
781 grants issued under President Joe Biden, EPA lawyers wrote
in a little-noticed court filing last week, almost twice the
number previously reported. The filing in Woonasquatucket
River Watershed Council v. Department of Agriculture marks the
first time the agency has publicly acknowledged the total
number of grants set for termination, which includes all of its
environmental justice grants. It comes during court fights over
whether the EPA has violated its legal obligations when clawing
back the funds. … The canceled grants would have funded
a range of projects aimed at helping communities cope with the
worsening effects of climate change.
