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 Interim Director Doug Beeman.
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Senator Anna M. Caballero (D-Merced) introduced SB 72,
California Water for All, to modernize the California Water
Plan to drought proof California and establish long-term water
supply targets. This legislation addresses the state’s
intensifying climate challenges and ensures high-quality water
for urban, agricultural and environmental needs. … For over
20 years, California’s Water Plan—mandated by Water Code
Section 10005(a)—has remained unchanged, despite the state’s
growing population and the devastating impacts of extreme
weather events, including prolonged droughts, destructive
floods and declining groundwater reserves. Recent studies
project a future water supply shortfall without state
intervention of 4.6 to 9 million acre-feet annually by 2050.
This shortfall represents up to 90% of California’s urban water
use or the irrigation of 3 million acres of farmland. SB
72 aims to close this gap …
As firefighters scrambled to extinguish the wildfires consuming
neighborhoods across Los Angeles County this month, they often
found that the hydrants outside the burning houses were not
much help. It was hardly the first time in recent years that a
wildfire had encroached on an American neighborhood, and hardly
the first time that hydrants were unable to make a serious dent
in stopping an unfolding disaster. In Colorado, Hawaii and
other parts of California, hydrants have provided minimal
relief as home after home has burned. A combination of
extreme conditions, poor planning and delayed
evacuations contributed to the widespread
devastation around Los Angeles. There were also specific
limitations on the region’s network of fire hydrants, including
a large reservoir that was offline for maintenance. But in most
cases, experts say, a working hydrant system would be
inadequate for fighting a large-scale wildfire.
The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California is considering the findings of a seven-month
investigation into accusations against General Manager Adel
Hagekhalil — a process that has revealed competing claims of
discrimination and exposed deep divisions among leaders of the
state’s largest urban water supplier. The board met twice in
closed session [last] week to consider the findings of
five completed investigations, which have not been made public.
Board members then voted to continue Hagekhalil’s leave of
absence until their next meeting Wednesday. Hagekhalil was
placed on leave in June in response to allegations by the
agency’s chief financial officer, Katano Kasaine, who accused
him of sexism and alleged he had harassed, demeaned and
sidelined her and created a hostile work environment.
Hagekhalil has denied the accusations, insisting he did nothing
wrong. During a public portion of Tuesday’s MWD meeting,
Hagekhalil told board members he was pleased with the results
of the investigations, which he said exonerated him, and that
he was eager and prepared to return to his job.
A long-running legal dispute over the fate of a small island in
San Francisco Bay ended Wednesday when Point Buckler Island was
sold at auction to the John Muir Land Trust, a nonprofit
conservation organization. The land trust used a court-awarded
credit worth about $3.8 million to purchase the 29-acre private
island on a 50-acre parcel that is part of Solano County and is
situated in a tidal marsh separating Suisun Bay and Grizzly
Bay. It’s a critical habitat and corridor for delta
smelt, Chinook salmon and other species. It was the
subject of a prolonged legal back-and-forth between its former
owner, John Sweeney, and county, state and federal regulators
that began in 2016 when the San Francisco Bay Regional Water
Quality Control Board ordered Sweeney to remove unpermitted
infrastructure he built on the island, including about a mile
of levies that he had restored.
The final week of January is shaping up to mirror how the rest
of the month unfolded across the Bay Area: dry. No rain is in
the forecast until at least Friday, which means January is
almost guaranteed to finish as one of the driest on record in
much of the Bay Area. … The Bay Area remains on the
wrong side of this storm’s circulation for precipitation. Dry
air wrapping around the northern side of the storm will result
in clear skies. At night, the starry skies will allow for
chilly nights, prompting a freeze warning in parts of the South
Bay until 9 a.m. Monday. Cold overnight temperatures will
continue until at least Wednesday morning, with lows in the
upper 20s to mid-30s except in San Francisco, where
temperatures will be closer to 40. Dry weather will prevail
through at least Friday morning with near-normal high
temperatures in the mid-50s to low 60s. But Friday could mark
the return of storms to Northern California.
During this winter of extremes in California, with tragic
wildfires raging in the south and most of the season’s rain
falling in the north, the insurance market has fallen only
deeper into crisis. But one flood insurance product for local
governments recently launched in the state models a different
approach designed for such erratic climate patterns. The
County of Monterey, which spent upward of $100 million to
recover from flooding during the prior two winters, is among
governments statewide looking closely at the new flood
insurance option. Monterey County had applied for relief from
FEMA after atmospheric rivers saturated the region, but it
still awaits some of the federal reimbursement. By contrast,
the new insurance product, which uses a structure dubbed
“parametric,” vows to immediately deliver smaller payouts for a
flexible range of emergency costs.
… I live in Davis, California and sometimes wonder if we
Davisites are too complacent in recognizing that a similar or
even bigger flood event might happen to us. At some
point, we may experience a megaflood in the Central Valley …
Indeed, the whole landscape of the Central Valley is shaped by
major flood events. … Sediment cores show such floods have
occurred once every 150 to 200 years … The last such flood, a
small one by geologic standards, was in 1861-1862 when the
Central Valley became an “Inland Sea” … Sacramento was
underwater and the newly elected governor famously had to be
rowed from his house to the building where he was sworn in, on
the second floor.
The House of Representatives has passed the Fix Our Forests Act
to provide for healthier forests and increased wildfire
protection. All Central Valley representatives
co-sponsored the bill – which was introduced by Rep. Bruce
Westerman (R–AR) and voted in support of it. … The Fix Our
Forests Act will expedite environmental reviews for forest
management projects, enhance grant programs and new research
and stop frivolous litigation and consultations that delay
forest management activities. … Along with the forest
management part of the bill, the Fix Our Forests Act also
includes the Headwaters Protection Act, which was introduced by
Costa. The Headwaters Protection Act increases eligibility
for public entities such as local water districts for funding
under the Water Source Protection Program, which assists local
groups with ensuring clean drinking water.
In one of the first acts of his second term, President Trump is
seeking to put his stamp on California water policy by
directing the federal government to put “people over fish” and
send more water from Northern California to the Central
Valley’s farms and Southern California cities. … Karla
Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water
Resources, said the approach outlined by the president could do
substantial harm by putting water supplies at risk as well as
protections for vulnerable fish species. Nemeth said Trump’s
order, on its own, does not change anything and that the
current rules for operating California’s water delivery
systems in the Central Valley — which were supported by
the state and adopted by the Biden administration in December —
remain in effect. Presumably, the president is directing the
agencies to again start the lengthy process of revising the
framework that governs how the two main water delivery systems,
the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project,
are operated.
Los Angeles County officials missed dozens of opportunities for
water infrastructure improvements that experts say probably
would have enabled firefighters to save more homes during the
Palisades fire, public records show. As crews battled the
blaze, attempting to extinguish flames that burned huge swaths
of L.A. County and killed at least 11 people, some hydrants ran
dry. The lack of water has come under scrutiny since the
wildfire broke out Jan. 7, with officials scrambling to explain
why the 117-million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir was left empty
for maintenance. But thousands of pages of state, county
and municipal records reviewed by The Times show the disaster
was years in the making. Red tape, budget shortfalls and
government inaction repeatedly stymied plans for water system
improvements — including some that specifically cited the need
to boost firefighting capacity. Many projects on a list of
about three dozen “highest priority” upgrades compiled by
county officials in 2013 have yet to break ground in
communities devastated by the fires.
A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers wants water users in
four Colorado River Basin states to have more time to cut water
use through a much-debated conservation program that pays water
users to cut back. The lawmakers, including Democratic Sens.
John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet of Colorado, are hoping to
extend funding for the System Conservation Pilot Program,
saying it will help people explore more ways to respond to
prolonged drought in the overstressed river basin. But some
Colorado water experts question whether the program can
actually deliver on its promises, and even if Congress approves
the bill, time is short for potential participants to put their
ideas into action before the summer growing season.
… Extreme flooding events, even in regions typically
associated with dry weather like Southern California, are
becoming more common as the climate warms. Climate change,
driven primarily by burning fossil fuels, is changing weather
patterns, leading to heavier and more dangerous downpours that
can overwhelm infrastructure designed for more predictable
times. But Calix and others impacted by the disaster
insist there is another force that exacerbated the flooding,
one that also led to what many see as a disjointed and
inadequate disaster response: Decades of government neglect and
indifference toward San Diego’s lower-income neighborhoods. …
Residents say the legacy of discrimination continues to this
day through lack of city investment in flood-control
infrastructure, and inadequate disaster planning and support
for those affected. The result is even greater hardship and
precarity for people and communities already on the edge. The
situation is also a microcosm of the inequitable distribution
of risks from climate change, and an example of the challenges
communities and governments must grapple with as floods and
other weather-related disasters become more frequent.
… This site is an experiment in reshaping the unused grassy
expanses that sprawl across campus. For decades, the area was a
patch of green grass that f ell into the category of
“nonfunctional turf” – a term water experts use to describe
grass that serves no purpose besides aesthetics. Now, as part
of a statewide effort to save water, Colorado’s government is
trying to convince people and institutions to rip out their
thirsty grass lawns and replace them with native plants and
more functional space. It comes amid an urgent need to cut down
on water use, but there are limits to the amount of water that
can be saved. With the help of a state grant and money from the
nonprofit Western Resource Advocates, UNC’s patch of grass —
which long served no purpose besides looking pretty — will be
replaced with a patio, spots for hammocks and native prairie
grasses.
A two-decade study offers a rare glimpse into the books of a
large lettuce operation in the Salinas Valley. The research
found labor, food safety and groundwater
management rules — among many other regulations and
fees — have led to a 1,366% increase in regulatory costs since
2006. The case study, commissioned by the Monterey County Farm
Bureau, offers a snapshot of the financial challenges growers
endure to operate within California’s rapidly changing
regulatory environment. … In 2024, after several more
major state laws took effect, regulatory costs hit $1,600 per
acre, a 64% increase from 2017 and a nearly 1,400% jump since
Hamilton first began the work. Compliance now accounted for
more than 12% of the total costs. Total production costs,
meanwhile, rose just 44% over the decades, landing at less than
$13,000 per acre, and the farm gate value for lettuce went up
at the same rate.
Claiming that its residents are charged “double and in some
cases triple” the rates for water in surrounding communities,
Marysville Mayor Chris Branscum raised the specter of “severing
our relationship” with the water company that has served the
city since 1929. At a special meeting called three days after
the city learned of a proposal by the California Water Service
Co. to increase revenue 33 percent over the next three years
across its system of 24 communities, the city council gave City
Manager Jim Schaad direction to investigate the financial
data of the water company, and to let the California
Public Utilities Commission know about its objection to the
proposed increase. Two members of the Yuba County Board of
Supervisors encouraged the city to discuss with the Linda
County Water District and the Olivehurst Public Utility
District the possibility of a regional water supply system, and
to approach the Yuba Water Agency for a grant to help build the
system.
For the first time in over 70 years, an elementary school in
Central California could have consumable water. Grayson
Elementary School in Stanislaus County was built in 1952. The
school has never had suitable drinking water. In November
2024, the district noticed corroded pipes after a pipe break
inside the school. “Back in the fall, we set out to sort of
solve this drinking water problem at Grayson Elementary,” said
Dave Smith of the Patterson Joint Unified School District’s
administrative services. That plan involved replacing all pipes
inside the school that, up until that point, the district
believed to be the original pipes.
The Trump administration has appointed two industry insiders to
oversee chemical regulations, amid a broader Republican push to
speed up an approval process they say has held up innovation
and economic growth. Two veterans of Trump’s first
administration, Nancy Beck and Lynn Dekleva, were named to help
lead regulation of chemicals at the Environmental Protection
Agency, the agency confirmed in an email. The appointments were
first reported by the New York Times. Beck is known for
fighting strict chemical regulations and aligning policy with
industry interests. She is returning to the agency’s Office of
Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, according to an
internal agency announcement reviewed by The Washington Post.
The move has many environmental groups concerned that major
chemical safety regulations, enacted to protect human health,
could be back on the chopping block.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) recently announced that the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has awarded Round Valley Indian
Tribes and the Sonoma County Water Agency $15 million toward
implementing the Two-Basin Solution for water diversions from
the Eel River to the Russian River. In a press release, Huffman
explains that “the funds through the Inflation Reduction Act
will fund a major Eel River estuary project supported by the
tribes, and put a down payment on construction of a new
wintertime diversion to the Russian River following the removal
of two salmon-blocking dams on the Eel.” “This funding shows
what can be accomplished thanks to the strong partnerships in
the Eel and Russian river basins. We’ve now reached a
significant milestone in restoring salmon and other aquatic
life in the Eel River while protecting a key water supply for
communities in Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin counties,” Huffman
is quoted as saying in the release.
… In an interview aired Wednesday night, Trump said he may
withhold aid to California until the state adjusts how it
manages its scarce water resources. He falsely claimed that
California’s fish conservation efforts in the northern part of
the state are responsible for fire hydrants running
dry in urban areas. … Several California
representatives agreed that the federal government must guard
against the misuse of funds but argued that the money should
not be held up or saddled with restrictions not placed on other
states after tornadoes and hurricanes. The dilemma played out
in social media posts by Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, who
narrowly prevailed in November in his swing district
east of Los Angeles. “Californians are entitled to receive
federal disaster assistance in the same manner as all
Americans,” he wrote on X. But, he quickly added, “Some federal
policy changes may be needed to expedite rebuilding as well as
improve future wildfire prevention. Those kind of policies are
not conditions.”
On Friday, in the last hours of the Biden administration, the
Bureau of Reclamation announced it would spend $388.3 million
for environmental projects in Colorado and three other Colorado
River Basin states. Now that funding is in limbo. The money was
set to come from a Biden-era law, the Inflation Reduction Act.
On Monday, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to
halt spending money under the act. Lawmakers were still trying
to understand whether the freeze applied to the entire
Inflation Reduction Act or portions of it as of Wednesday
afternoon. The new executive order focused on energy
spending but also raised questions about funding for
environmental projects in the Colorado River Basin, including
$40 million for western Colorado’s effort to buy powerful water
rights tied to Shoshone Power Plant on the Colorado River and
16 other projects in Colorado.