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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

Subscribe to our weekday emails to have news delivered to your inbox at about 9 a.m. Monday through Friday except for holidays.

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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.
Aquafornia news The Nevada Independent

‘It was a shock’: Nevada water regulator speaks on why he was fired

Until last week, Adam Sullivan was Nevada’s state engineer — the person most responsible for managing water in the nation’s driest state. That changed when state officials confirmed Sullivan’s departure from the role — an unusual move, given that the state engineer often serves under multiple governors and must have expertise in Nevada’s oft-byzantine set of water laws and regulations.  So what happened? In his first public comments since news of his departure broke, Sullivan said he was terminated amid complaints about his decisions, telling The Nevada Independent that there were a number of disagreements between himself, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office and the director of his department that escalated over the last six months. 

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Aquafornia news Voice of San Diego

No buyers for San Diego water … yet

San Diego arrived in Las Vegas this week ready to sell off some of its excess water at negotiations over the dwindling Colorado River between the states, tribes and farmers who use it. They left without a deal in place. Dan Denham, the San Diego County Water Authority’s general manager, has been hinting there’s willing buyers of San Diego’s expensive desalinated ocean water in the state of Arizona. Arizona is first in line to have their Colorado River supply cut off during water shortages. That very scenario is what the annual Las Vegas negotiations were set up to prevent.

Other Colorado River Basin news:

Aquafornia news The Water Desk

Blog: Scientists clash over how to track the West’s vital snowpack

A controversial recent study highlights an old truth about the American West’s snowpack: it’s difficult to measure—and just as hard to forecast how much of its water will ultimately reach tens of millions of people and vast swaths of farmland. Water managers have increasingly turned to aircraft that use lasers to gauge the snowpack across entire basins. But the Aug. 15 scientific paper argues for a less expensive strategy: focusing new monitoring efforts on a select number of locations known as “hotspots” that excel at predicting how much water will run off from the snowpack—a frozen reservoir that can change dramatically over short distances.

Other snow monitoring news:

Aquafornia news Action News Now (Chico, Calif.)

USDA and Congressman Doug LaMalfa defend Potter Valley from water cuts

The Trump Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have stepped in to address concerns involving the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project. According to Congressman Doug LaMalfa, this intervention aims to protect vital water supplies critical for agriculture and firefighting efforts across several counties. In a press release published by … LaMalfa, he praised USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and the Trump Administration for demanding that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission consider the real-world impacts before proceeding.

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Aquafornia news UC ANR

Blog: Addressing the needs of small farmers under SGMA groundwater market development

… On November 4, 2025, a group of 30 researchers, lawyers, agency managers, and growers with subject-matter expertise met in Davis to discuss the challenges and potential opportunities for small farmers to participate in groundwater markets that are currently developing under SGMA. … Among the issues raised were identifying ways of addressing equity concerns, preserving the vitality of small farmers, mitigating any negative labor and employment effects of markets, and preventing forms of market influence that could disadvantage small farmers. 

Other groundwater news:

Aquafornia news National Fisherman

Senate confirms new head of NOAA Fisheries

The U.S. Senate has confirmed a new leader to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division, the agency responsible for managing the nation’s marine fisheries and conserving protected ocean species. The Senate approved Timothy Petty as the new Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, the top position overseeing NOAA Fisheries, on Dec. 19, 2025. … Petty previously served as a senior staffer for the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Water and Environment, and as Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the Department of the Interior from 2018 to 2021. 

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Aquafornia news Fresno State Today

California Water Institute releases report on building a sustainable water future

The California Water Institute at Fresno State released a new report showcasing how applied research, education and strategic partnerships are supporting responses to California’s pressing water challenges. Amid historic droughts, climate extremes and growing pressure on groundwater supplies, the report underscores how the institute’s work is helping communities as they plan for long-term resilience.  Its release comes as federal lawmakers introduce new water infrastructure legislation aimed at expanding storage capacity and improving project delivery across California, highlighting the need for research, data tools and collaborative planning to help local agencies prepare for future water conditions.

Aquafornia news The Nature Conservancy

Blog: Reviving Western waterways with a hands-on approach

… On a crisp morning in northwest Colorado, Joseph Leonhard, The Nature Conservancy’s Riparian Restoration Project Manager, wades into Yellow Creek—a tributary of the White River. With deliberate care, he places sticks and mud in a pattern that echoes the engineering genius of beavers, which once shaped this landscape. … Over time, these simple, hand-built structures begin to transform the ecosystem—nurturing native plants, attracting wildlife, reducing wildfire risk and bolstering resilience to drought. This is low-tech process based restoration (LTPBR), and it’s reshaping the future of fresh water in Colorado and beyond. 

Aquafornia news Ag Alert

Agencies race to fix plans to sustain groundwater levels

Seeking to prevent the California State Water Resources Control Board from stepping in to regulate groundwater in critically overdrafted subbasins, local agencies are working to correct deficiencies in their plans to protect groundwater. With groundwater sustainability agencies formed and groundwater sustainability plans evaluated, the state water board has moved to implement the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA. … Under probation, groundwater extractors in the Tulare Lake subbasin face annual fees of $300 per well and $20 per acre-foot pumped, plus a late reporting fee of 25%. SGMA also requires well owners to file annual groundwater extraction reports.

Aquafornia news The Associated Press

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: Study says California’s 2023 snowy rescue from megadrought was a freak event. Don’t get used to it

Last year’s snow deluge in California, which quickly erased a two decade long megadrought, was essentially a once-in-a-lifetime rescue from above, a new study found. Don’t get used to it because with climate change the 2023 California snow bonanza —a record for snow on the ground on April 1 — will be less likely in the future, said the study in Monday’s journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. … UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain, who wasn’t part of the study but specializes in weather in the U.S. West, said, “I would not be surprised if 2023 was the coldest, snowiest winter for the rest of my own lifetime in California.”

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Aquafornia news Colorado Sun

Upper Basin tribes gain permanent foothold in Colorado River talks

Six tribes in the Upper Colorado River Basin, including two in Colorado, have gained long-awaited access to discussions about the basin’s water issues — talks that were formerly limited to states and the federal government. Under an agreement finalized this month, the tribes will meet every two months to discuss Colorado River issues with an interstate water policy commission, the Upper Colorado River Commission, or UCRC. It’s the first time in the commission’s 76-year history that tribes have been formally included, and the timing is key as negotiations about the river’s future intensify. … Most immediately, the commission wants a key number: How much water goes unused by tribes and flows down to the Lower Basin?

Related tribal water articles: 

Aquafornia news E&E News

Western lawmakers ask USDA to bolster drought response

A group of Western lawmakers pressed the Biden administration Monday to ramp up water conservation, especially in national forests that provide nearly half the region’s surface water. “Reliable and sustainable water availability is absolutely critical to any agricultural commodity production in the American West,” wrote the lawmakers, including Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The 31 members of the Senate and House, all Democrats except for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), credited the administration for several efforts related to water conservation, including promoting irrigation efficiency as a climate-smart practice eligible for certain USDA funding through the Inflation Reduction Act.

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Aquafornia news Phys.org

Study provides new global accounting of Earth’s rivers

A study led by NASA researchers provides new estimates of how much water courses through Earth’s rivers, the rates at which it’s flowing into the ocean, and how much both of those figures have fluctuated over time—crucial information for understanding the planet’s water cycle and managing its freshwater supplies. The results also highlight regions depleted by heavy water use, including the Colorado River basin in the United States, the Amazon basin in South America, and the Orange River basin in southern Africa.

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Aquafornia news Courthouse News Service

California water managers advise multipronged approach in face of climate change

State water management officials must work more closely with local agencies to properly prepare California for the effects of climate change, water scientists say. Golden State officials said in the newly revised California Water Plan that as the nation’s most populous state, California is too diverse and complex for a singular approach to manage a vast water network. On Monday, they recommended expanding the work to better manage the state’s precious water resources — including building better partnerships with communities most at risk during extreme drought and floods and improving critical infrastructure for water storage, treatment and distribution among different regions and watersheds.

Related climate change articles: 

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Editorial: Even with tax and rate hikes, SoCal water is still pretty cheap

It’s the most frustrating part of conservation. To save water, you rip out your lawn, shorten your shower time, collect rainwater for the flowers and stop washing the car. Your water use plummets. And for all that trouble, your water supplier raises your rates. Why? Because everyone is using so much less that the agency is losing money. That’s the dynamic in play with Southern California’s massive wholesaler, the Metropolitan Water District, despite full reservoirs after two of history’s wettest winters. … Should water users be happy about these increases? The answer is a counterintuitive “yes.” Costs would be higher and water scarcer in the future without modest hikes now.

Aquafornia news Ventura County Star

Water spills from Lake Casitas for first time since 1998

A steady stream of water spilled from Lake Casitas Friday, a few days after officials declared the Ojai Valley reservoir had reached capacity for the first time in a quarter century. Just two years earlier, the drought-stressed reservoir, which provides drinking water for the Ojai Valley and parts of Ventura, had dropped under 30%. The Casitas Municipal Water District was looking at emergency measures if conditions didn’t improve, board President Richard Hajas said. Now, the lake is full, holding roughly 20 years of water.

Related article: 

Aquafornia news UC Davis

New study: U.S. reservoirs hold billions of pounds of fish

After nearly a century of people building dams on most of the world’s major rivers, artificial reservoirs now represent an immense freshwater footprint across the landscape. Yet, these reservoirs are understudied and overlooked for their fisheries production and management potential, indicates a study from the University of California, Davis. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, estimates that U.S. reservoirs hold 3.5 billion kilograms (7.7 billion pounds) of fish. Properly managed, these existing reservoir ecosystems could play major roles in food security and fisheries conservation.

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Monday Top of the Scroll: California wants to harness more than half its land to combat climate change by 2045. Here’s how

California has unveiled an ambitious plan to help combat the worsening climate crisis with one of its invaluable assets: its land. Over the next 20 years, the state will work to transform more than half of its 100 million acres into multi-benefit landscapes that can absorb more carbon than they release, officials announced Monday. … The plan also calls for 11.9 million acres of forestland to be managed for biodiversity protection, carbon storage and water supply protection by 2045, and 2.7 million acres of shrublands and chaparral to be managed for carbon storage, resilience and habitat connectivity, among other efforts.

Related articles: 

Aquafornia news Western Outdoor News

California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends 2024 ocean salmon closure

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommended Alternative 3 – Salmon Closure during the final days of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) meeting mirroring the opinions of commercial and recreational charter boat anglers. The department’s position is a significant change from early March. The PFMC meetings are being held in Seattle from April 6 to 11, and the final recommendations of the council will be forwarded to the California Fish and Game Commission in May.

Aquafornia news Stanford Report

Addressing the Colorado River crisis

Sustaining the American Southwest is the Colorado River. But demand, damming, diversion, and drought are draining this vital water resource at alarming rates. The future of water in the region – particularly from the Colorado River – was top of mind at the 10th Annual Eccles Family Rural West Conference, an event organized by the Bill Lane Center for the American West that brings together policymakers, practitioners, and scholars to discuss solutions to urgent problems facing rural Western regions.

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