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.
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UC Riverside-led study has found that a smartphone app that
tracks household water use and alerts users to leaks or
excessive consumption offers a promising tool for helping
California water agencies meet state-mandated conservation
goals. Led by Mehdi Nemati, an assistant professor of public
policy at UCR, the study found that use of the app—called
Dropcountr—reduced average household water use by 6%, with even
greater savings among the highest water users. Dropcountr works
by interpreting water-use data from smart water meters, which
many utilities originally installed for remote reading to
streamline billing. The app turns data from these meters into
real-time feedback for consumers, showing how much water they
use, how their usage compares to similar households, and how it
has changed over time.
… Until recently my husband, Norm Benson, and I were
mom-and-pop operators of a water treatment and distribution
system at Clear Lake, an idyllic, nutrient-rich version of a
green Lake Tahoe, about 110 miles north of San Francisco.
We love our community and didn’t mind pitching in. Over the
years our mutual water system, the Crescent Bay Improvement
Co., has become unsustainable. Our treated lake water could not
meet state or federal drinking standards. … The state
and a much larger water company in recent years threw us a
lifeline, for which we are grateful. By the time we got help,
our water hadn’t been drinkable for years. We were hardly
alone. More than 400 water systems, serving 885,000
Californians, are failing across the state, the State Water
Resources Control Board reports. More than half those failing
systems are in disadvantaged communities, and two-thirds serve
mostly people of color. –Written by Mary Benson, a Lake County real estate broker
who operated a small water system at Clear Lake with her
husband.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin warned states and tribes Thursday
not to “leverage” the Clean Water Act to block or impede energy
projects approved by the Trump administration. The agency
issued a memorandum reiterating states’ and tribes’ “specific
and limited” authority to review infrastructure projects for
potential water quality effects and announced it would soon
propose a regulation on the topic. “Under the last
administration, certain states attempted to leverage the Clean
Water Act to undercut projects that would boost national and
regional development and unleash American energy resources,”
Zeldin said in a statement. “With this memorandum, EPA is
reinforcing the limits on Clean Water Act section 401
certification to support energy, critical mineral, and
infrastructure projects that are key to economic growth and
Power the Great American Comeback.”
Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs and Northern Water voiced
opposition Wednesday to the Western Slope’s proposal to spend
$99 million to buy historic water rights on the Colorado River
from Xcel Energy. The Colorado River Water Conservation
District has been working for years to buy the water rights
tied to Shoshone Power Plant, a small, easy-to-miss hydropower
plant off Interstate 70 east of Glenwood Springs. The highly
coveted water rights are some of the largest and oldest on the
Colorado River in Colorado. The Front Range providers are
concerned that any change to the water rights could impact
water supplies for millions of city residents, farmers,
industrial users and more. … The proposed purchase taps
into a decades-old water conflict in Colorado: Most of the
state’s water flows west of the Continental Divide; most of the
population lives to the east; and water users are left to
battle over how to share it.
California’s snowpack is dwindling, and climate scientists
believe another record-breaking hot summer could be in the
cards, ramping up the possibility of an early fire season. The
state’s snowpack is at 14% of average peak snowpack, down from
96% on April 1 — the date snow scientists consider the height
of the snowpack, according to the state. The snowpack is
melting a little faster than usual, but state scientists said
the rate of snowmelt isn’t entirely abnormal. However, climate
scientists believe early snowmelt this year could be partly due
to human-caused climate change. Andy Reising, manager of the
California Department of Water Resources’ snow surveys and
water supply forecasting unit, said it’s important to
understand that snow is not melting uniformly across all
watersheds.
All 1,200 scientists and staff at the U.S. Geological Survey’s
biological research arm are on edge this week as they wait to
learn whether they’ll still have jobs come Monday. For weeks,
the biologists who work in the division, known as the
Ecosystems Mission Area, have watched two parallel threats
unfold. Most immediate is the expected firing of most division
staff as soon as next week. … The second threat is even more
serious: If the White House has its way, its proposed 2026
budget would eliminate the Ecosystems Mission Area, or EMA,
altogether. … The elimination of EMA would have profound
consequences. … It would erase bipartisan and widely
respected programs that, for example, monitor waterfowl
populations for game agencies, track contamination in
drinking water, convene time- and cost-saving
collaborations between agencies, universities and nonprofits,
and foster the next generation of fish and wildlife
professionals. … EMA scientists also monitor toxic
chemicals in water, and are one of the only groups looking in
private wells.
The Trump administration has canceled $33 million worth of
federal funds meant to help pay for earthquake retrofits in
California — sparking “grave concern” and a call to reconsider
from one of the state’s highest elected officials.
… FEMA issued a statement on April 4 announcing the
cancellation of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and
Communities program, known as BRIC, that would have funded the
California earthquake retrofits. … Also in jeopardy is up to
$50 million in funding apiece for a Port of San Francisco
coastal resilience project, a flood protection
project for the Menlo Park area, a flood
adaptation project in Oakland and Alameda, a Sutter
Bypass levee project in the Central Valley,
for water supply resiliency for the city of
Riverbank in Stanislaus County, and for infrastructure
resiliency for the city of Pacifica in San Mateo County.
All of the legal motions that can be filed, have been filed in
the state’s appeal of a preliminary injunction that has kept it
from implementing sanctions against growers in Kings County.
The next step could be oral arguments, or not. It all depends
on how the justices at the 5th District Court of Appeal decide
to go forward. … The Farm Bureau sued the state Water
Resources Control Board after it placed the region, known as
the Tulare Lake subbasin, on probation in April 2024. Under
probation, farmers would have had to meter and register their
wells, paying an annual $350 fee to the Water Board, report
extractions and pay the state $20 per acre foot pumped. So far,
those sanctions have been held at bay after a Kings County
Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction, finding
the Water Board had overstepped its authority.
The Delta is an “ecosystem in crisis,” with state and federal
water policies doing great harm to chinook salmon and steelhead
populations, seven environmental groups and a Native American
tribe allege in a letter to the State Water Resources Control
Board. Two of the state’s top water delivery systems, the
Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, are
“exacerbating conditions for endangered species at high risk of
extinction in the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary” that violate
maximum fish take rates under the Endangered Species Act, the
May 16 letter states. The groups and tribe allege that the
State Water Project exceeded the annual loss limit for hatchery
winter-run chinook salmon. And they blame the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation for water releases that are killing more salmon and
steelhead than their permits allow.
The Kern County Water Agency fired its General Manager after
only five years in the top spot at one of the most powerful
water entities in the county and the state. The agency board
announced Thursday it would not renew Tom McCarthy’s contract
when it expires on June 30. The board will appoint an interim
manager and has formed a committee of board members to provide
continuity and “stability,” according to an agency press
release. The vote, held in closed session, was unanimous,
according to an agency spokesperson. No reason was given for
McCarthy’s dismissal other than, “…the Board believes this is
the right time to take a new direction in leadership to meet
the evolving needs of our organization and address future
challenges,” according to a quote by board president Eric
Averett in the release.
Boaters and anglers trying to get greater flows on the upper
Kern River have been frustrated by what they feel is an
absolute betrayal of the river ecosystem by the one state
agency they hoped would be their strongest ally – the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The advocacy groups
have been urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to
mandate Southern California Edison leave more water in the
river as part of the utility’s ongoing relicensing application
for its Kernville power plant, KR3. That process is
delayed with one study not expected to be complete until April
2026. After that, FERC will likely deem proposals by Edison and
other stakeholders “ready for environmental analysis,” which
will trigger a 60-day public comment period. FERC is expected
to make a determination on the new licence by Nov. 30, 2026.
The California Salton Sea Management Program celebrated a major
milestone Thursday with the filling of the Species Conservation
Habitat (SCH) Project’s East Pond Expansion, located at the
southern end of the Salton Sea. … This expansion adds
essential habitat for birds and fish while contributing to dust
suppression in surrounding communities. Since early April,
water has been flowing into the original East Pond. Now, the
adjacent East Pond Expansion brings the total restored habitat
to approximately 2,010 acres. With the completion of this
phase, the SCH project’s footprint now reaches nearly 5,000
acres. Plans are underway to expand even further—adding another
4,500 acres through the development of Center and West Ponds,
currently in the design phase. Once completed, the SCH will
encompass over 9,000 acres.
A boat going through the inspection process at the Thermalito
Forebay (at Lake Oroville) on Wednesday was
deemed positive for the golden mussel, an invasive species that
the California Department of Water Resources is trying to keep
away from local waterways. Inspections began on Monday at the
Forebay where boaters must go through a checkpoint where
workers thoroughly check the watercraft for standing water and
signs of the mussel. DWR issued a statement on Thursday that
said the mussel was found on a pontoon boat. According to the
statement, the boat was purchased on Wednesday morning by
residents of the Oroville area. The statement said the
watercraft had been away from the waters in the delta for “an
unknown period.” “Staff immediately contacted the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife for further inspection and
decontamination,” the release from DWR said.
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a tax and
spending bill on May 22, 2025, with a 215-214 vote. The Senate
is next in line to review the budget package. … The
FY2026 budget proposal initially showed a $2.46 billion
reduction in Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving
Funds compared to 2025 – however specific details about the
State Revolving Fund reductions are not prominent in publicly
available documents surround the spending bill. In a May
21 Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing,
Chairman Shelley Moore Capito stated that the State Revolving
Funds (SRFs) would be a part of the cuts. … Administrator
Zeldin stated he wants to investigate congressionally directed
earmarks that take away from the SRFs, but didn’t expand on
what the cuts would mean for the agency and water
infrastructure.
… As a graduate student in UC Berkeley’s College of
Environmental Design, (Kanani) D’Angelo is working with her
home community to identify strategies for incorporating
traditional Ahupua’a practices into urban environments. These
strategies include restoring the 400 year old ancient royal
fishpond, Loko Iʻa Pāʻaiau and marking the locations of streams
that have now been diverted underground. … Launched in 2021
with a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Science
Foundation (NSF), the Native FEWS Alliance is a
multi-university consortium designed to equip students with the
multi-disciplinary skills they need to strengthen food, energy
and water systems (FEWS) in tribal communities. Though the
alliance has benefited numerous students … the future of the
program is now in jeopardy after its funding became one of
approximately 380 NSF grants unexpectedly terminated earlier
this month.
Santa Monica is known for its ocean views, sunny skies, and
strong environmental values. But there’s a challenge on the
horizon that could test the city’s priorities: water. If Santa
Monica follows through on California’s state housing
requirements, which call for tens of thousands of new homes,
the city’s water supply will not be able to keep up. That could
mean building something the city and its neighbors have never
had before: a desalination plant. And powering it might require
making some tough decisions, possibly even considering nuclear
energy, something many local environmentalists have long
opposed. … If solar and wind alone can’t reliably power
a desalination plant, and fossil fuels are off the table for
climate reasons, nuclear might be the only option left. That
means environmentalists, residents, and city leaders may have
to ask themselves a hard question: are we willing to rethink
nuclear energy in order to solve an urgent water and housing
problem? –Written by Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible
Tomorrow
A recent stormwater sampling effort in Eureka revealed a
troubling trend in area parking lots: Even in periods of
relatively light rain, high concentrations of salmon-killing
toxic compounds are being flushed directly into local creeks
and Humboldt Bay.The results come from a pilot project recently
conducted by Humboldt Waterkeeper. The organization collected
water samples from two Cal Poly Humboldt parking lots in Arcata
and from the Eureka Target and Costco parking lots. The water
samples were testing for a compound that has recently been
discovered to be particularly toxic to coho salmon, which are
listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The pollutant
in question, known as 6PPD, is used in tires to help maintain
their integrity. As tires break down from normal wear and tear,
6PPD is released and reacts to ozone in the air and transforms
into a compound known as 6PPD-q.
… For over a decade, a narrow faction within the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has pursued a misguided attempt
to take as much as half of Lake McClure’s water and send it to
the Pacific Ocean. This effort, buried in the Bay-Delta Water
Quality Control Plan, is based on the hope of improving salmon
populations by a few hundred fish — with no credible guarantee
of success, and at a staggering cost – up to $672 million in
lost local economic activity and $167 million in local labor
income. … In contrast, MID has voluntarily restored
spawning and rearing habitat along the Merced, and we’ve
offered to provide new, real water – even in dry years – as
part of a durable solution. That solution is the Healthy Rivers
and Landscapes Voluntary Agreement (HRL). This comprehensive
approach, championed by the Newsom Administration, offers a
better path. It brings together local, state, and federal
partners to invest in habitat, flows, and long-term ecological
health – not just regulatory mandates. –Written by Stephanie Dietz, director on the Merced
Irrigation District Board.
Windsor residents should be prepared to pay more for water and
sewer service come July 1. But the Windsor Town Council is not
ready to approve rates quite yet. The council, in a 4-0 vote
Wednesday, opted to continue the conversation about a 6%
increase for water rates and 11% wastewater rate. … The
Wednesday night decision marks the council’s second delay for
approving the new rates, giving Windsor residents an extension
for protesting the potential rates. … The increases are
driven largely by the rise in wholesale rates charged by Sonoma
Water, the county agency that serves as the region’s dominant
supplier, as well as costs from town water and sewer
infrastructure upgrades. … The higher rates will go
toward covering replacement costs for the town’s wastewater
treatment system and construction of a facility to handle
biosolids — organic matter reclaimed from sewage and used in
agriculture — with a combined price tag of $175 million.
A controversial provision backed by Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) to
sell hundreds of thousands of acres of federally owned land in
Nevada and Utah to generate revenue for Republicans’ tax and
spending bill has been stripped out of the legislation by GOP
leadership at the behest of Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT). … To
that end, Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced an amendment during
the Rules Committee’s marathon markup Wednesday to strip the
Clark County acreage from the bill, while Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV)
offered an amendment to take out land sales for parcels in Utah
that run alongside a proposed water pipeline
route that concerned water managers in other Colorado
River states, including Nevada.
