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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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.
An order to boil water before drinking or using continued
Thursday for some residents of Malibu following bridge
construction work at Solstice Creek, according to the
California Department of Transportation and Los Angeles County
Waterworks. The agencies said that a water main was temporarily
disrupted while the bridge construction took place. After
concrete unexpectedly blocked the water line, water supply
restoration was delayed. Crews finished repairs Wednesday at
noon and were working to re-pressurize and test the water line
for any pathogens or contaminants, according to a statement
from L.A. County Waterworks in District 29. The work was
expected to be completed by Friday, the department said.
On Sept. 30, the San Diego City Council will take up the
uncomfortable exercise of approving a 63 percent hike in water
rates and a 31 percent hike in wastewater rates over the next
four years. … The city, unsurprisingly as we’ve covered,
blamed the San Diego County Water Authority for the majority of
those costs. A presentation given to the City Council says 40
percent of a San Diegan’s water bill pays for the Colorado
River water the Water Authority transports to the region. San
Diego expects the Water Authority to heftily raise rates in
2026 and 2027. … Ally Berenter, deputy director of
external affairs for the Public Utilities Department, explained
that’s largely due to the rising cost of energy purchased from
San Diego Gas and Electric and chemicals – both key to treating
the water we flush away.
… Last month’s agreement to accelerate tackling the
long‑running sewage crisis in the Tijuana River
Valley is proof that — even now — quiet, institutional
diplomacy can deliver. … Since the 1983 La Paz
Agreement, the United States and Mexico have built a structured
framework for environmental cooperation. … In 2022, this
collaboration deepened with a memorandum of understanding and a
commitment from Mexico to invest $144 million in wastewater
infrastructure in the Tijuana River Watershed by 2027. … The
new agreement reinforces this prior commitment by prioritizing
the remaining $93 million and accelerating timelines,
reflecting a shared understanding that expanded infrastructure
and sustained operations are vital to protect public health and
ecosystems. –Written by Duncan Wood, CEO of Hurst International
Consulting in Washington, D.C., and Marie Elena Giner, former
commissioner for the International Boundary and Water
Commission.
An infestation of roof rats in the central San Joaquin Valley
of California has caused more than $300 million in damage as
the population of the hungry rodents has spiked and farmers
struggle to stop the vermin from causing more damage.
University of California researchers and almond industry
officials said the rats have chewed through irrigation tubing,
gnawed on trees, and chewed up nuts throughout Merced, Fresno,
Kings and Kern counties. … The rats have also figured
out that by scurrying along irrigation canals and other
waterways they can connect to more orchards and
vineyards. … Among the biggest losses was the
replacement of irrigation drip lines that
accounted for losses between $56 million and $168 million.
The State Water Board’s Supply and Demand Assessment Program
has published new interactive surface water demand
visualization dashboards for several watersheds across
California. These dashboards provide insights into reported
surface water demands and are part of our ongoing effort to
improve data transparency and support informed water
management. New dashboards are now available for the
following watersheds: Butte Creek; Gualala River; Mattole
River; Napa River; Navarro River; Putah Creek; Salmon Creek
(Sonoma County); Tomales-Drakes Bay.
Yards are thirsty. On average, American homeowners spray more
than a quarter of the water they use in a year over their grass
and gardens — a figure that rises in the summer, especially in
hot, dry areas. Grass is the biggest water hog, gardeners
say. … In dry regions, overwatering can drain dwindling
drinking supplies and the bank accounts of homeowners stuck
with big water bills. … Many homeowners could be smarter
about the way they use water, according to professional
gardeners, who recount with dread tales of sprinklers spraying
sidewalks and wall-to-wall lawns blanketing suburbs in arid
areas where lush lawn grass would never naturally grow. They
shared tips on watering smarter and planning landscapes that
need less irrigation.
The Department of Water Resources and the Newsom Administration
reiterated support for fast-tracking the Delta Conveyance
Project on Wednesday, announcing a plan aimed at helping
affected communities and holding the state
accountable. The goal of the Accountability Action Plan is
to minimize, avoid, or offset the potential impacts of project
construction on residents, businesses, tribes, visitors to the
Delta and many others. … The plan establishes a $200
million Community Benefits Program for areas near the
construction site. It will include community grants, economic
development, leave-behind/repurposed infrastructure, and
agreements for community-specific projects.
Amid a prolonged megadrought, the Bureau of Reclamation is
predicting that Lake Powell, one of the Colorado River’s most
crucial reservoirs, may drop to a “dead pool,” preventing the
production of hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam. But, water
managers won’t let that happen. They’ll first tap into
reservoirs further upstream – including in New Mexico.
… For the Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell, Reclamation is
projecting that water levels will sink well below the
3,500-foot dead pool elevation threshold next year. …
[T]o keep the generators going, Colorado River managers will
tap into upstream reserves elsewhere. That includes Navajo Lake
near Farmington, which primarily stores water from the San Juan
River for local irrigation and other uses.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will hire
as many as 450 people to shore up the National Weather Service
after deep cuts this spring raised concern about dangerous
understaffing, the Trump administration confirmed Wednesday.
NOAA was granted permission to fill critical positions at its
weather arm, including openings for meteorologists,
hydrologists and electronics technicians, Trump administration
officials said. … The Department of Government
Efficiency has gutted NOAA and the National Weather Service,
which are key for the nation’s daily weather forecasts, severe
storm warnings, climate monitoring and more.
The Tucson city council voted unanimously Wednesday against
bringing the massive and water-devouring Project Blue data
center — tied to tech giant Amazon — into city limits.
After weeks of escalating public outrage over the lack of
transparency around Project Blue, the council voted to end
negotiations and remove the annexation and development
agreement from the upcoming council meeting agenda — a move
that effectively shuts down one of the largest development
projects ever considered by the city. … Moving ahead,
the city council will begin the process of creating
local ordinances to keep large water users
accountable and update zoning requirements to address
the impacts of possible future data centers.
California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot will
be the keynote speaker at our 2025 Water Summit, where
leading experts and top policymakers will explore how to move
forward with critical decisions despite myriad unknowns facing
the West’s most precious natural resource. The Water
Summit is also a fantastic networking opportunity for the water
professionals in attendance. Space is limited, so
reserve
your spot here.Plus, don’t forget to get
your ticket for our Klamath River
Tour Sept. 8-12 and our Northern California
Tour Oct. 22-24.
The State Water Resources Control Board on Aug. 5 adopted
revised Water Measurement and Reporting regulations, which
apply to water rights holders that divert over 10 acre-feet per
year. The State Water board unanimously approved the
regulations and they are set to take effect Oct. 1. More
information on the regulations and rulemaking process is
available online.
As California’s farmers adjust to restrictions on groundwater
pumping under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
(SGMA), tools to foster adaptation can be a big help.
Groundwater markets are one promising tool, but how can
groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) design groundwater
markets to protect those who might be affected by trading?
… The flexible, decentralized nature of markets makes
them powerful, but they can be unpredictable. Groundwater
markets need clear rules that support SGMA, prevent
overpumping, and reduce local economic impacts. Good market
design requires careful thought, planning, and communication
with farmers and the broader community.
… In a study published Wednesday in the journal Science
Advances, researchers said hotter, drier conditions over the
last three decades had gradually elevated the state’s fire
risk. Between 1992 and 2020, global warming made the fire
season earlier by about a week in some regions and by more than
two months in others. … Climate change is responsible
for a range of factors that set the stage for earlier wildfire
seasons, the study found. Higher temperatures and an earlier
melt-off of California’s snowpack allows
vegetation to dry up earlier, adding fuel to rapidly spreading
blazes. Meanwhile, drought conditions mean dryer soil and less
of the cool-season precipitation that historically help tamp
down winter wildfires.
Central California is experiencing a break from its typical
summer heat, bringing relief to local farmers and their crops.
Cooler temperatures this season are having a positive impact on
agricultural yields, according to experts. … [T]he cooler
weather has reduced farmers’ water
requirements, as the soil retains moisture better than
in high temperatures. … Crops such as cotton, corn,
tomatoes, onions, and grapes have benefited from the less
stressful weather.
… American bullfrogs are not native to the Western US. Humans
brought them to the region more than a century ago, largely as
a food source. And in the years since, the frogs — which are
forest green and the size of a small house cat — have
multiplied dramatically. … They escaped from farms and, with
other accidental and intentional introductions, proliferated
until they were common in ponds, lakes, and other water bodies
throughout much of the West, including Arizona, California, and
the Pacific Northwest. … While western states have rivers and
wetlands, permanent warm waterbodies weren’t common until the
spread of agriculture and the need for irrigation. … Now
ponds, reservoirs, and canals — which bullfrogs love — are
everywhere.
This year’s Tahoe Summit theme is “Protecting Lake Tahoe:
Balancing Sustainable Recreation and Conservation.” Leaders
from California and Nevada, on both sides of the
aisle, joined together to reach that goal. … Even though
the Tahoe summit celebrates bipartisanship, California leaders
say they are concerned about the decisions made on the federal
level when it comes to cuts to the Lake Tahoe area.
…[A] pioneering program to harvest rainwater on a commercial
scale in Colorado will likely end next year if lawmakers don’t
find a way to continue the work. … The commercial pilot
program was created in 2016 and authorized up to 10 water
districts across the state to build site-specific rainwater
harvesting programs that would work under Colorado’s complex
water court system, where water rights are intensely
scrutinized by other users, engineers and attorneys. … But
only one water district in fast-growing Douglas County stepped
forward to participate. Until lawmakers took action,
large-scale site-specific rainwater harvesting was illegal
because of the state’s water laws, which dictated that water
that falls from the sky must flow to existing water right
holders.
About 9,200 households in Granada Hills and Porter Ranch were
dealing with a water service outage on Wednesday after the Los
Angeles Department of Water Power announced that emergency
repairs were underway at a pump station. The problem arose on
Tuesday afternoon. The DWP said that as crews were making
repairs of a leak at a pump station that connects to a
10-million-gallon tank, a valve controlling the flow of water
failed to open. … On Wednesday morning, as DWP worked to
make the permanent repairs, staff discovered two oil pipelines,
a gas line, and large boulders that complicated their
excavation efforts.
A new study links widespread deficiency of vitamin B1, or
thiamine, among California Chinook salmon to their deaths. This
adds yet another challenge for this iconic species whose
population is already imperiled by climate change, habitat loss
and overfishing. … Researchers began to suspect an
anchovy-heavy diet was to blame when they examined the guts of
ocean-caught Chinook salmon from 2020-22. They found anchovies
almost exclusively, suggesting the thiamine deficiency in
salmon likely stems from eating too many anchovies. …
Treating every spawning salmon with thiamine is logistically
impossible, [NOAA scientist Nate] Mantua said, but we can
support them in other ways, like removing dams and reducing
fishing pressure on other important forage species including
herring and squid.
