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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 Guardian (London, U.K.)

Trump officials want to cut limits of PFAS in drinking water – what will the impact be?

The Trump administration has announced it would attempt to kill some of the strong new Pfas “forever chemical” drinking water limits set in April 2024. While the moves would deliver a clear win for the US chemical and water utility industries, it is less clear whether the action will be successful, what it means longterm for the safety of the US’s drinking water, and its impact on progress in addressing forever chemical pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is attempting maneuvers that violate the law, observers say, and even if they survive a legal challenge, progress under the Biden administration cannot be fully undone. … Still, the announcement raises a fresh round of questions about the water utility industry, which has led the attack on the new rules. 

Other PFAS news:

Aquafornia news KJZZ (Phoenix, Ariz.)

Arizona ranchers, cities attempt to halt Mayes’ groundwater lawsuit against Saudi-backed farm

A group of farmers, ranchers and rural municipalities are going to court to try to stop Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes from pursuing her lawsuit to halt the pumping of groundwater by a Saudi-owned alfalfa farm. An attorney for the Arizona Farm and Ranch Group Coalition says they fear other farms in the future could be sued for their pumping of Arizona’s underground aquifers. Mayes is relying on a largely untested legal theory. She argues the company Fondomonte is creating a public nuisance due to the amount of groundwater it is pumping at its farms in La Paz County. She says the amount they are pumping has dried up nearby wells and has resulted in land subsidence. The coalition worries the outcome of the case could overturn existing water regulations and could be a dangerous expansion of public nuisance laws. But the real purpose behind the new court filing, attorney David Brown said, is the fear that if the attorney general wins in court, “this case is just the beginning.”

Other agriculture and irrigation news: 

Aquafornia news San Francisco Chronicle

Klamath River opens for visitors after nation’s largest dam removal project

With the recent completion of dam removal along the California-Oregon border, the public is being invited in to see the results. A string of new recreation sites on the Klamath River began opening Thursday, allowing visitors to view and access the free-flowing waters that Native Americans and environmentalists had long pushed to undam. The five river access sites remain in various stages of development. Three are debuting this week with pit toilets, boat ramps, patches of riverfront and not much else. Improved facilities are expected in coming months, providing sparse but scenic spots for picnicking, wildlife viewing and kayaking. Two of the sites are still under construction and are closed. Managers of the dam-removal project expect all the access areas to be fully open by August. 

Other conservation and restoration news:

Aquafornia news Daily Republic (Fairfield, Calif.)

Today marks 20th anniversary of Endangered Species Day

There are 98 animal species the state considers threatened or endangered and 12 others that are candidates for being listed. Including plants and insects, there are 250 endangered, threatened or species of concern that are found in Solano County. … Among the listed species that can be found in the Suisun Marsh are the Delta smelt, Sacramento splittail, California black rail, Salt Marsh song sparrow, Suisun shrew, and California tiger salamander. And, of course, Putah Creek is home to the endangered salmon. … Today (May 16) marks the 20th anniversary of Endangered Species Day, with events planned across the country.

Other endangered species news:

Aquafornia news Aspen Times (Colo.)

Colorado governor visits Dillon Reservoir to sign package of bills meant to bolster state’s water security

Perched above the Dillon Reservoir on the side of a mountain road in Summit County, Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday signed into law three bills aimed at bolstering the state’s water infrastructure.  The measures come amid the backdrop of chronic drought and increased water demand in the West which have made finding a path towards water sustainability more urgent. Negotiations between Colorado and six other states over future use of the Colorado River, which serves around 40 million people, remain at a standstill. Speaking amid on-and-off snow flurries and bouts of sunshine, Polis said the bills signed on Thursday will help “build a sustainable, livable future” by “securing our water for the state of Colorado.” 

Other Colorado water news:

Aquafornia news Arizona Department of Water Resources

News release: Governor Hobbs convenes “roundtable” at Central Arizona Project HQ to emphasize Arizona unity during challenging Colorado River negotiations

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs convened a “roundtable” of state water users and other officials on Tuesday to assess the condition of Arizona’s Colorado River water supplies and to increase public awareness of the challenges the state faces as negotiations over the future operations of the river system go forward. The event at the headquarters of the Central Arizona Project included a helicopter fly-over for the Governor of parts of the 336-mile CAP canal system, which typically delivers nearly half of Arizona’s Colorado River water to central and south-central Arizona communities.

Other Colorado River Basin news:

Aquafornia news SJV Water

Porterville water district launches its own groundwater agency

The Porterville Irrigation District board of directors voted unanimously to launch a second version of its own groundwater sustainability agency Tuesday, May 13. … This the latest in a string of steps for the district, which voted in late September to break away from Eastern Tule GSA following the state Water Resources Control Board’s decision to place the Tule subbasin on probation for lacking a groundwater plan that would bring aquifers into balance by 2040. Hoping to escape the metering requirements, well registration, and pumping fees that come with probation, Porterville ID and several other districts bailed out of Eastern Tule. Porterville ID initially agreed to partner with the City of Porterville to form a new GSA citing overlapping boundaries, the city’s proven track record on fixing domestic wells and its storage capacity at Lake Success east of town. 

Other California groundwater news:

Aquafornia news San Diego Red (Calif.)

Historic investment aims to halt wastewater pollution in Cali-Baja region

An investment of over 15 billion pesos will be allocated to address cross-border wastewater flows that have plagued Tijuana and San Diego for decades. Víctor Daniel Amador Barragán, Baja California’s Secretary of Water Management, Sanitation, and Protection, highlighted the news during Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda’s weekly press conference. Amador Barragán presented updates on Minute 328 of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) regarding the Binational Tijuana River Sanitation Agreement. Signed in July 2022, this agreement represents the largest allocation of resources in 40 years to tackle the environmental issue. According to official data, the total binational investment amounts to around $15 billion pesos, with $12.373 billion coming from the U.S. government and $2.762 billion from the Mexican government. These funds will be distributed across 17 key projects aimed at modernizing and expanding sanitation infrastructure.

Other U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada water news:

Aquafornia news Action News Now (Chico, Calif.)

Officials in Humboldt County asking boaters to clean, drain, and dry watercraft to stop spread of golden mussel

Boaters visiting Ruth Lake this summer are being urged to clean, drain, and dry all watercraft to prevent the spread of the invasive golden mussel. Officials say that the golden mussel, native to East and Southeast Asia, poses a significant threat to the lake’s ecosystem and Humboldt County’s primary water source. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ruth Lake’s water quality conditions are ideal for the golden mussel to establish and thrive. The dense colonization of this species could disrupt the operations of Matthews Dam, potentially endangering the county’s water supply. Michiko Mares, General Manager at the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, emphasized the importance of boaters’ cooperation to help stop the spread of the mussel.

Other golden mussels news:

Aquafornia news E&E News by Politico

4 takeaways from Lee Zeldin’s hearings this week

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin returned to Capitol Hill this week to testify before House and Senate appropriators in defense of the Trump administration’s bid to slash EPA’s budget by more than half, from $9.1 billion this year, to $4.2 billion in fiscal 2026, which begins in October. Because the White House has thus far released only a skeletal “skinny” version of its budget request, lawmakers don’t have a lot to work with. But it was Zeldin’s first appearance before Congress since he won Senate confirmation in late January and took charge of a deeply polarizing agenda that critics say will decimate the agency. Here are four takeaways from this week’s hearings. During Trump’s first term, lawmakers repeatedly rebuffed deep cuts to EPA spending. They are now poised to do so again.

Other EPA news:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Trump moves to weaken FEMA as climate hazards worsen

The recent firing of the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is just the latest in a string of blows for the nation’s top disaster-response agency, which has been repeatedly undercut by the Trump administration’s efforts to rein in spending and restructure the federal government. The dismissal of acting Director Cameron Hamilton on May 8 adds to ongoing layoffs, budget cuts, grant cancellations and leadership changes at FEMA, and officials now say the agency could run out of money as soon as July. … Experts say the turmoil at FEMA will leave millions of Americans vulnerable as climate-change-fueled disasters get worse in the months and years ahead — particularly as President Trump seeks to shift more of the burden of disaster response away from the federal government and onto the states. In the wake of January’s destructive firestorm in Los Angeles, FEMA notably opted to break from its decades-long tradition of testing soil for contaminants, as The Times first reported.

Other FEMA news:

Aquafornia news Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

Report: The influence of drought on heat wave intensity, duration, and exposure

The societal risks posed by heat waves can be reinforced and magnified during drought conditions. To explore this further in the United States, heat waves and drought events were defined at U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) stations using daily maximum air temperature and weekly time series of the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM). … Given that 5-cm standardized soil moisture anomalies were found to both vary (wet and dry conditions) within drought events and strongly impact both air temperature and heat index intensity, the muted intensity response to drought may be related to the USDM’s limited response to short-term precipitation events that are sufficient to moisten the soil and impact heat waves, but not ameliorate drought. This highlights the importance of evaluating heat waves at subdaily scales and explicitly accounting for the role of soil moisture in influencing heat wave intensity and exposure.

Aquafornia news The Gridley News (Calif.)

Live Oak explores water system privatization

… The city is in the process of undertaking a potential water rate increase since the water fund has been operating at a deficit for many years. Because water rates have not been raised in approximately 20 years, the current rates are insufficient to cover operational costs and infrastructure maintenance. As a possible alternative option, Interim City Manager Hauck suggested that the city consider divesting the operations to a private utility company, which would assume full operation and management of the water and sewer systems. The city could issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) from interested water agencies, which Hauck said would give City Council an idea of how the privatization process works so council could make an informed decision. The Request for Proposals would be an exploratory process and the city would not be obligated to enter a contract. 

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

DeSantis signs a bill making Florida the second state to ban fluoride from its water system

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure Thursday prohibiting local governments from adding fluoride to their water systems, making it the second state in the country after Utah to ban the mineral. DeSantis signed the bill at a public event in Dade City, Fla., over the concerns of dentists and public health advocates. … State lawmakers approved the bill last month, requiring the mineral and some other additives be removed from water sources across the state. Utah was the first state to ban fluoride in late March, and its prohibition went into effect last week, while Florida’s provision is effective July 1. Some local governments in Florida have already voted to remove fluoride from their water, ahead of the statewide ban. Earlier this month, Miami-Dade County commissioners voted to override a veto by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and move forward with plans to remove fluoride from the county’s drinking water.

Other fluoride news:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Newsom seeks to short-cut process to accelerate proposed water tunnel

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to accelerate his administration’s plan to build a $20-billion water tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta by short-cutting permitting for the project and limiting avenues for legal challenges. Newsom urged the Legislature on Wednesday to adopt his plan to “fast-track” the tunnel, called the Delta Conveyance Project, as part of his revised May budget proposal. …The tunnel would create a second route to transport water to the state’s pumping facilities on the south side of the Delta, where supplies enter the aqueducts of the State Water Project and are delivered to 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland. … Newsom said his proposal would: simplify permitting by eliminating certain deadlines from water rights permits; narrow legal review to avoid delays from legal challenges; confirm that the state has authority to issue bonds to pay for the project, which would be repaid by water agencies; and accelerate state efforts to acquire land for construction.

Related articles:

Aquafornia news Arizona Republic (Phoenix)

Trump administration soon to name Reclamation Commissioner nominee

The Trump administration is preparing to announce its pick to head the Bureau of Reclamation, a crucial position in deciding the future of the Colorado River, a White House spokesperson told the Arizona Republic. … The White House expects to announce its nominee for Reclamation Commissioner in a matter of weeks, according to the spokesperson. The nominee will go through what could be a months-long process to be confirmed by the Senate before taking office. … Trump’s reclamation commissioner could be the only person on his appointed Colorado River team who comes from the river basin itself. So far, two of the three major federal officials who most affect the Colorado River — Burgum and Travnicek — are from outside the basin. 

Other Colorado River Basin news:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

EPA plans to drop limits on some ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water

The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that it plans to weaken limits on some so-called forever chemicals in drinking water that were finalized last year, while maintaining standards for two common ones. The Biden administration set the first federal drinking water limits for PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, finding that they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight. Those limits on PFAS, which are man-made and don’t easily break down in nature, were expected to be reduced in drinking water for millions of people. Limits on three types of PFAS, including so-called GenX substances found in North Carolina, will be scrapped and reconsidered by the agency, as will a limit on a mixture of several types of PFAS.

Other PFAS news:

Aquafornia news The Fresno Bee

World’s largest winery threatens Fresno groundwater safety

Central Valley water regulators want the world’s largest winery to stop using its wastewater on local crops — a decades-old waste management practice — because it’s threatening Fresno’s drinking water supply. The Central Valley Water Regional Quality Control Board issued a tentative Cease and Desist Order to E. & J. Gallo Winery in March for allegedly violating 2015 waste discharge requirements. … The stipulated order says the winery at Olive and Clovis avenues is “threatening to adversely impact groundwater beneath the Facility.” Specifically, Gallo’s practice of applying some of its untreated wastewater from the grape crush and press process directly to 400 acres of local cropland has resulted in concentrations of nitrate and other contaminants above allowable levels. The city of Fresno is directly impacted by the winery’s wastewater practices because it relies on groundwater downgradient of the winery for its municipal drinking water.

Other groundwater news:

Aquafornia news Civil Eats

What deep cuts to NOAA mean for U.S. fisheries

… Deep cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the sprawling federal agency charged with monitoring and conserving fish stocks, managing coastal waters, and predicting changes in climate, weather, and the oceans—which commercial fishers rely on for day-to-day as well as seasonal forecasts—threaten the long-term viability of America’s $183 billion commercial fishing industry and the 1.6 million jobs it supports. … NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) staff, who oversee commercial fishing and some recreational fisheries, is set to be slashed by nearly 30 percent. The NMFS assesses and predicts the status of fish stocks, sets catch limits or quotas, and ensures compliance with fisheries regulations, working collaboratively with state environmental agencies, the fishing industry, and other federal agencies.

Other NOAA and climate/weather reporting news:

Aquafornia news The Center Square

Arizona, Utah, CA, WA seek federal money for water infrastructure

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, is part of a bipartisan bill to unlock federal funding for water infrastructure in the West. Working alongside U.S. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, Kelly has introduced the Restoring WIFIA Eligibility Act. It’s part of efforts by their states, Washington state and California to get federal dollars. Established in 2014, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) created a program to provide credit assistance to wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater projects, both public and private. With terms that included low, fixed-interest rates and repayment schedules, WIFIA loans allowed applicants to draw funds when needed. Still, Kelly’s office said “certain interpretations of the program” created hurdles for any projects with federal involvement. That, said the senator, made them ineligible for WIFIA loans because of language that made them available only to non-federal borrowers.

Related article: