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Water news you need to know

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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Aquafornia news The Sacramento Observer (Calif.)

$20 billion water battle: Delta lawmakers and tribes push back on Newsom’s tunnel project

“I want to be crystal clear. Fast-tracking the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) is a direct attack on our region’s environmental integrity, economic stability and public trust,” Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City) warned Gov. Newsom. Wilson, a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), was speaking at a press conference on May 20 at the State Capitol organized to push back against the Governor’s plans to speed up $20 billion worth of improvements to the State Water Project (SWP), a tunnel that delivers water from Northern California to areas in the south of the state. … Other Delta Caucus members — a bipartisan group of lawmakers representing counties in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where the tunnel begins — also attended, along with officials from the Delta Coalition of Counties, regional environmental leaders and tribal leaders from the Delta.

Other Delta tunnel news:

Aquafornia news SJV Water

Kern water agency to be co-managed after leadership shakeup

The Kern County Water Agency named two longtime employees to run the powerful entity after the board let its general manager go just one month before his contract was set to expire. Administrative Operations Manager Nick Pavletich and State Water Project Manager Craig Wallace will co-manage the agency while a recruitment committee begins the search for a new general manager. The two were named as interim managers after a special meeting held Tuesday morning. Pavletich, who has been with the agency for 24 years, will oversee local activities. Wallace, who has worked at the agency a little more than 10 years, will oversee the agency’s statewide activities with a focus on the Delta Conveyance Project, a tunnel proposed to bring water beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The agency board also announced it would form an advisory committee of board members to work with the co-managers “to ensure stability.”

Aquafornia news Voice of San Diego (Calif.)

South County report: Water agency demands retraction from former board member

Lawyers for the Sweetwater Authority water agency are demanding that former authority board member Josie Calderon-Scott retract claims she made recently to Voice of San Diego that the authority knew about elevated levels of toxic industrial chemicals in its main reservoir years before alerting the public. But Calderon-Scott said she’s not backing down. And she challenged the authority to produce documents that she said would settle the issue. In a May 23 letter, lawyers for the agency’s law firm, Best, Best & Krieger, demanded that Calderon-Scott retract claims she made in a May 13 Voice newsletter that the agency knew “for years it had a PFAS [chemicals] problem in its reservoir” and that “this problem existed for a long time before [the agency] notified the public.” Those statements, the lawyers wrote, “are false and untrue, are defamatory, and create alarming confusion for residents served by the authority.” 

Aquafornia news CBS Sacramento

Utility district bans boats, alcohol at Lake Comanche in San Joaquin Valley

When the weather heats up, many want to grab a drink, get on a boat and spend time with friends and family on the water. This year, at Lake Camanche, it’s a different story. “We’ve taken the precaution, a difficult one, to shut down our boat launches for this year as we try to get our arms around this and figure out the best way to prevent its introduction to East Bay MUD’s water system,” East Bay Municipal Utility District spokesperson Christopher Tritto said. The reason is because of the recently discovered golden mussel found in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Delta. While this invasive species hasn’t made it into the reservoir, the utility district is taking this ban a step further: no kayaks, no paddleboards, and more. The only boats allowed are those with a permanent slip or boats that have been in the water before the launches closed.

Other invasive species news:

Aquafornia news Bureau of Reclamation

News release: Reclamation awards $255M contract to kick off Phase 2 construction for B.F. Sisk Safety of Dams Project

The Bureau of Reclamation is awarding a major construction contract for Phase 2 of the B.F. Sisk Safety of Dams Modification Project. The $255 million award to NW Construction marks a significant milestone in the continued effort to improve public safety and water supply reliability in California. … B.F. Sisk Dam was originally constructed in 1967 and is a key feature of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. The dam, located on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, impounds San Luis Reservoir, the largest offstream reservoir in the nation, and plays a critical role in delivering water for prime farmland, California communities, and wildlife refuges. … The dam safety project, Reclamation’s largest under the 1978 Safety of Dams Act, will construct stability berms and shear keys, and raise the crest of the existing 3.5-mile-long earthen dam.

Other Bureau of Reclamation funding news:

Aquafornia news Good Times (Santa Cruz, Calif.)

Pajaro River Levee Project at risk after Trump claws back funding

President Donald Trump has taken millions of dollars already allocated to blue states—and reallocated the funding to red states—impacting a wide array of ongoing critical infrastructure projects, including the Pajaro River Flood Management Project. … Also losing funding are the American River Common Features Levee Improvement Project, the Lower San Joaquin River Project and the West Sacramento Project. Pajaro River Flood Management Agency (PRFMA) Director Mark Strudley said that construction is still expected to start this fall on Reach 6, which runs along Corralitos Creek from Green Valley Road to East Lake Avenue. That portion of the project is funded by $156 million already allocated to the project. … PRFMA was also counting on—and what Trump zeroed out—was $38.5 million in funding for the Pajaro River Levee project provided by Congress to the Army Corps under Republicans’ yearlong continuing resolution for fiscal year 2025. 

Aquafornia news Public Policy Institute of California

Blog: The PPIC Water Policy Center turns 10

Launching the PPIC Water Policy Center ten years ago was a risk. How was a small team going to have a big impact on such intractable problems? After a decade, the proof is in the pudding. We’ve done it by being interdisciplinary, seeking out facts amid controversy, and really trying to understand the challenges and opportunities in each water sector. Despite the many difficulties and complexities of California’s water, the state has made tremendous progress on water management in the last decade, and the Water Policy Center has worked hard to support that progress with forward-looking, nonpartisan research. We follow where the facts lead, and that commitment to the facts—even if the results are not popular—has made us a trusted voice on some of the thorniest challenges in the field. Since the center launched ten years ago, we’ve released a wide range of impactful research. Here are just four major areas of research we’ve conducted on issues that matter deeply to all Californians.

Aquafornia news Coronado Times (Calif.)

Tijuana sewage closes Coronado’s beaches again

Coronado’s shoreline closed over Memorial Day weekend as wastewater from the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis pushed bacteria into coastal waters. … Agencies in both the US and Mexico are working to repair the failing infrastructure that causes the ongoing pollution. Mexico is currently in the second phase of repairing its International Collector, which carries Tijuana’s wastewater to treatment plants and is prone to leaks. It is unclear if the weekend’s closures were related to the project, although the US International Boundary and Water Commission said ahead of the project that excess sewage flow might arise from the project. During the project’s first phase, Mexico diverted excess sewage into the Tijuana River, which ultimately caused beach closures in Coronado. … In the US, the IBWC is working to repair its own infrastructure, the most notable of which is the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. 

Other Tijuana River sewage news:

Aquafornia news The San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego farmers fighting plan to shrink their discounted water rate

Local farmers are fighting against a plan to sharply reduce their special water rate discount, contending it could wipe out much of the county’s already-shrinking agriculture industry. The cash-strapped County Water Authority says it must roll back the longtime rate discount it now gives to roughly 1,000 local farmers because of dropping demand and changes to the authority’s business model. Farmers say the rate hike proposal is shortsighted because it would accelerate the demise of many farms, stripping the water authority of existing customers at a time when it needs more customers — not less. Losing hundreds of local farms would also hurt ordinary San Diegans, the farmers say, by replacing local fruits and vegetables with imported produce that would be more expensive and less fresh. … While the discount varies from local water agency to water agency, it is typically in the neighborhood of 25%.

Aquafornia news KDRV

Illegal lamprey selling operation on Klamath River shut down by CDFW

A Placer County man is going to jail after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife busted an illegal fish selling operation. According to the CDFW, their Delta Bay Enhanced Enforcement Program and Special Operations Unit investigated a conspiracy to sell Pacific lamprey, leading to the arrest of Justin D. Lewis. Lewis sourced Pacific lamprey, a California state species of special concern, from the Klamath River in Del Norte County and resold the fish to sellers across Colusa County and beyond. The CDFW said lamprey are often used as bait for sturgeon and other fish, but also are valued highly by the Yurok tribe in Del Norte County as a food source and cultural emblem.  Lewis was sentenced on May 21 to two years — one in the Colusa County Jail, and another on supervised release. He also must pay more than $20,000 in fines and his fishing privileges are suspended.

Other fishery news:

Aquafornia news SFGate

California’s 2nd-largest reservoir hits record milestone after brutal dry spell

California’s second-largest reservoir (Lake Oroville) reached full capacity for the third year in a row Thursday, the first time it’s hit such a record in its 57-year history. … Its latest milestone comes as warming temperatures and snowmelt runoff made its way into the Feather River watershed. … Water levels are at 121% of the reservoir’s historical average for this time of year, which is a similar trend among nearly all if the state’s major reservoirs. With the exception of the San Luis Reservoir, which is sitting at 94% of its historical capacity, every major reservoir is above its average. The past wet winter in California has bolstered snowpack accumulation and cut detrimental drought conditions that have been persistent in previous years. 

Other California reservoir news:

Aquafornia news The Fresno Bee

Fresno hasn’t tapped San Joaquin River’s potential. Could it be city’s main draw?

To those who know about it, the San Joaquin River is Fresno’s greatest natural feature. … Yet, those passionate about the river told The Fresno Bee that too many people — even Fresnans — still don’t know about it. And they have different ideas about how to capture the possibilities. Some want more entrepreneurial development at the water’s edge — like a new, commercialized river walk — though others vehemently oppose that kind of development, and it doesn’t square with long-term goals set out in a conservation-focused master plan. Others argue it’s the city of Fresno that holds the keys to unlocking the river’s potential for economic development, and that leadership over the years has failed to advance innovative ideas. … Critics of the river’s management say that it has too few public access points and too few easy ways for the general public to use it for recreation. The natural resource is administered by a conservancy that has set out a long-term plan that does not emphasize economic development or tourism marketing.

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: Groundwater is rapidly declining in the Colorado River Basin, satellite data show

As the Colorado River’s giant reservoirs have declined during the last two decades, even larger amounts of water have been pumped and drained from underground, according to new research based on data from NASA satellites. Scientists at Arizona State University examined more than two decades of satellite measurements and found that since 2003 the quantity of groundwater depleted in the Colorado River Basin is comparable to the total capacity of Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir. The researchers estimated that pumping from wells has drained about 34 cubic kilometers, or 28 million acre-feet, of groundwater in the watershed since 2003 — more than twice the amount of water that has been depleted from the river’s reservoirs during that time.

Other Colorado River Basin news:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Water begins flowing to create new wetlands at shrinking Salton Sea

Water began flowing from a pipe onto hundreds of acres of dry, sunbaked lake bed as California officials filled a complex of shallow ponds near the south shore of the Salton Sea in an effort to create wetlands that will provide habitat for fish and birds, and help control lung-damaging dust around the shrinking lake. The project represents the state’s largest effort to date to address the environmental problems plaguing the Salton Sea, which has been steadily retreating and leaving growing stretches of dusty lake bottom exposed to the desert winds. … The habitat area in Imperial County is being filled with water after an adjacent area called East Pond received its first water in April. In the coming weeks, state officials said the flooding of these sections will bring to fruition the first 2,000 acres of the Species Conservation Habitat Project, a central effort in California’s plan for improving conditions at the state’s largest lake.

Other Salton Sea management news:

Aquafornia news San Francisco Chronicle

California’s second-largest reservoir fills for third straight year

California’s second-largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, reached capacity Friday, hitting the high water mark for the third straight year — a first for the 57-year-old reservoir. The milestone comes after a moderately wet winter in California, with enough snow in the mountains, particularly in the north, to melt and flush substantial water into state reservoirs. This week, water storage in California’s major reservoirs stood at a comfortable 116% of average for the time of year, ensuring decent supplies for the rest of 2025. At Lake Oroville, about 70 miles north of Sacramento in Butte County, water levels rose Friday morning to within inches of the 900-foot elevation mark that state water managers deem full pool, prompting notice that the reservoir had hit capacity. At capacity, the lake holds 3.4 million acre-feet of water, enough to supply more than 7 million households for a year.

Related article:

Aquafornia news Field & Stream

NOAA cuts threaten salmon and steelhead restoration work

Recent cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have conservationists and scientists worried about anadromous fish populations in the Pacific Northwest. Like other federal agencies, NOAA is undergoing major downsizing. The shrinkage is already disrupting habitat restoration work for salmon and steelhead in California. And if additional budget cuts that are currently in the works come to fruition, the agency’s fisheries division could be eliminated entirely, a recently retired NOAA scientist tells Field & Stream. … When it comes to salmon and steelhead, (fluvial geomorphologist Brian) Cluer worries most about the potential loss of dam-removal projects in the Pacific Northwest. NOAA played a pivotal role in the removal of four dams on California’s Klamath River in 2023 and 2024, Cluer says. 

Other Klamath River salmon news:

Aquafornia news The New York Times

50 million gallons of sewage flow daily from Mexico into California beaches

… To the eye, Imperial Beach, Calif., is an idyllic beach town, a playground for tourists and Southern California residents alike at the southern border with Mexico. But lately, the view has been ruined by the sea breeze, which reeks of rotten eggs. The surfers who once prepared for big-wave competitions are gone. So are the tourists who built intricate sand castles and licked ice cream cones on the pier. Imperial Beach is now the center of one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters: Every day, 50 million gallons of untreated sewage, industrial chemicals and trash flow from Tijuana, Mexico, into southern San Diego County. The cross-national problem traces back at least a century. But it has significantly worsened in recent years as the population of Tijuana has exploded and sewage treatment plants in both countries have fallen into disrepair.

Other Tijuana River news:

Aquafornia news North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency

News release: Kings Subbasin stays the course after a normal water year, keeping momentum on implementation across the region  

The Kings Subbasin is not hitting the brakes after a near-average Water Year 2024. Building on the momentum of the historic 2023 water year, Kings Subbasin groundwater agencies remain committed to driving long-term sustainability under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) through local action and coordination. According to the most recent Annual Report, Water Year 2024 (October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024) brought slightly above-average surface water diversions, reaching approximately 108% of the Kings River’s long-term average. Though not as abundant as the year before, 2024 was classified as a near-average year in terms of water availability. This marked a return to more typical conditions after 2023’s wet year. 

Other California groundwater news:

Aquafornia news KUSI (San Diego)

NASA’s SWOT satellite spots large river waves in U.S.

NASA’s U.S.-French Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, which was launched in 2022 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, has spotted large-scale river waves for the first time, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California has announced. The river waves, which, unlike ocean waves, are temporary surges of water, stretched from 47 to 166 miles long as they traveled down rivers in Montana, Texas, and Georgia, the SWOT satellite recorded. The three large waves measured by the SWOT satellite from 2023 to 2024 were believed to be caused by extreme rainfall and a loosened ice jam, NASA reports. … On Jan. 25, 2024, on the Colorado River south of Austin, Texas, a river wave over 30-feet-tall and and 166 miles long traveled around 3.5 feet per second for over 250 miles before discharging into Matagorda Bay, and was associated with the largest flood of the year on that section of river, according to NASA.

Aquafornia news California Department of Fish and Wildlife

News release: Wildlife Conservation Board awards $59.5 million in grants to 25 habitat conservation and restoration projects

The Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) has approved $59.5 million in grants to support 25 habitat protection and restoration projects in 21 counties across California. Awarded at WCB’s May 22 meeting, the projects will safeguard nearly 23,000 acres of the state’s most ecologically important landscapes.  Among the awards is a $14.75 million grant to the Trust for Public Land(opens in new tab) (TPL) to acquire approximately 6,475 acres near the city of Ventura. Known as Rancho Cañada Larga, the land features coastal sage scrub, native grasslands, oak woodlands, chaparral and riparian habitats that support at least 20 special-status wildlife species and eight rare plant species. The site provides critical habitat for the California red-legged frog and Southern California steelhead, and lies within the year-round range of the California condor.