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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In a surprising move, Black Rock Geothermal LLC, an an
indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of BHE Renewables, has
requested that the California Energy Commission temporarily
suspend the permitting process for its three 77-megawatt
geothermal power plant projects in the Salton Sea Known
Geothermal Resource Area. The decision, announced this week,
highlights the ongoing regulatory and economic hurdles facing
renewable energy development in California. The project,
formally known as the Black Rock Geothermal Project (BRGP), was
developed in response to California’s ambitious Mid-Term
Reliability Decision, which requires utilities to procure 1,000
megawatts (MW) of firm, weather-independent renewable energy by
2026.
Edmonton, Alberta-based construction firm PCL Construction and
engineering company Stantec have won a $121 million fixed
price design-build contract for the Southeast Treatment
Plant Biogas Utilization Project in San Francisco, according to
a Jan. 23 news release from PCL. … The project will
treat the biogas, generated as a byproduct of
wastewater treatment at the Southeast Treatment Plant,
in the new digesters to transform it to renewable natural gas
quality for injection into the nearby Pacific Gas and Electric
gas pipeline, per the release.
… The lower Salinas Valley Basin is critically
overdrafted, as growers have pumped unhindered for decades, and
still do, despite the relentless intrusion of seawater into the
aquifers. Meanwhile, in the Cal Am service area on the
Peninsula, property owners haven’t been able to set new
water meters—or upsize existing ones—since the state imposed a
cease-and-desist order (CDO) against Cal Am in 2009 for the
private utility’s illegal overpumping of the Carmel River.
This, in turn, has exacerbated the Peninsula’s housing
crisis. Yet even now that Cal Am is within its legal
pumping limit, the CDO remains in place until the State
Water Board rules on whether to lift it after the expansion of
the Pure Monterey Water recycled water project comes online
this year. –Written by David Schmalz, opinion writer
The Tehama County Flood Control and Water Conservation
District, who is the Groundwater Sustainability Agency for
Tehama County, says it will not withdraw support for the appeal
of a recent court ruling. The court ruling in question,
which found the GSA’s well registration fee to be an
invalid regulatory fee, is being appealed. The Board
of the Tehama County Flood Control and Water Conservation
District says they respectfully disagree with the court’s
ruling and feel confident in their chances of prevailing on
appeal due to California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act (SGMA).
The elevation changes may seem small — amounting to fractions
of inches per year — but they can increase or decrease local
flood risk, wave exposure, and saltwater intrusion. Tracking
and predicting sea level rise involves more than measuring the
height of our oceans: Land along coastlines also inches up and
down in elevation. Using California as a case study, a NASA-led
team has shown how seemingly modest vertical land motion could
significantly impact local sea levels in coming decades.
The Home Builders Association of Central Arizona is suing the
state over its decision to stop allowing subdivisions to build
on groundwater. The problem, homebuilders contend, is that the
state water department made that rule unilaterally, without
putting it through a formal vetting and public comment process.
They are asking a judge to throw out the rule and keep it from
being enforced. Which could have wide-reaching implications for
Arizona. But that’s not what troubles me most about this case.
It’s that this case even exists. –Written by Johanna Allhands, Arizona Republic opinion
writer
CalTrout spearheaded the development of the San Mateo Creek
Watershed Management Plan, which was formally accepted by the
San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board in January 2025.
This is a monumental step in the recovery of Southern steelhead
in San Mateo Creek, opening new funding opportunities and
creating a replicable blueprint for invasive species management
in watersheds throughout the state.
… On one side, dams symbolize clean energy. On the other, their
removal represents ecological restoration. This raises the
obvious question: Which is better for the environment —
clean energy from hydropower or free-flowing rivers? And is it
really an “either-or” narrative? It’s a shared struggle
against a slow, complicated system that hinders progress on
both fronts. Bureaucratic inefficiency plays a role, as does
the inherent challenge of managing the world’s most precious
resource: water.
… A former DuPont and American Chemistry Council lobbyist,
Nancy Beck, now holds a key position at the Environmental
Protection Agency, shaping chemical safety policies that will
determine how — or if — PFAS pollution is addressed. In the
first days of the second Trump administration, the agency
withdrew a proposed rule that would have imposed limits on PFAS
discharges, a move that watchdog groups say amounts to giving
polluters free rein to continue contaminating water supplies.
Atmospheric river-fueled storms that soaked California over the
past week benefited the state’s water supply. In addition to
providing a “much-needed boost to the statewide snowpack,”
storms increased storage in California’s major water supply
reservoirs, said Michael Anderson, state climatologist with the
California Department of Water Resources, by email. Across
the state, reservoir storage is well above average for this
time of year, according to the Department of Water Resources.
Statewide storage was 121% of average Friday, up from 115% of
average a week earlier.
Another atmospheric river is expected to bring heavy rain to
most parts of California this week, raising concerns over
flooding on the heels of an earlier system that broke daily
rainfall records, triggered evacuations and led to multiple
deaths. … The added rain comes as several rivers in
Northern California were still near their flood stage after
last week’s deluge. In Southern California, large swaths of
burned land from recent wildfires remain vulnerable to the rain
and could quickly become sites of mudslides, forecasters
warned.
… On January 31, 2025, the Utah Seventh Judicial District Court
finalized the adjudication of all Navajo Nation rights to
surface and groundwater use within the state, fully integrating
the Navajo Nation / State of Utah Water Rights Settlement
Agreement. … The Navajo-Utah Water Rights Settlement
Act allocates $210,400,000 for water infrastructure
development. Nearly half of the households in (the Navajo
Utah region) lack access to clean drinking water and must
transport water over long distances, while the other half have
running water and indoor sanitation facilities.
… In a Jan. 8 post on Truth Social, as wildfires raged through
greater Los Angeles, then President-elect Donald Trump said
California Gov. Gavin Newsom kept water from flowing into
Southern California to ensure protections for “an essentially
worthless fish called a smelt,” adding that there was “no water
for fire hydrants.” These claims have been repeatedly debunked
by scientists and water experts, which my colleagues Wyatt
Myskow and Martha Pskowski covered. Nonetheless, later in
January, Trump issued two executive actions aimed at changing
water management in California in a way that violates
environmental laws, experts say.
The state water board is asking the Legislature for a $16
million loan to finance its reviews of groundwater
management plans. Last year the board put two subbasins
on probation, triggering the effected groundwater agencies to
pay board fees. Yet the Kings County Farm
Bureau challenged the Tulare Lake decision. A county judge
then issued a temporary injunction, blocking the board from
collecting fees until at least spring 2026. Now the board
needs to pay about two dozen staff working on the reviews or
face delays in probationary hearings. It had anticipated a
two-year delay due to the lag time in collecting fees under the
act.
Today, Assembly member Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa) introduced
his first bill as a member of the California State Assembly. AB
263 is an important measure to protect salmon populations in
the Klamath River watershed and provide local agricultural
operations with more certainty on river flows. This measure was
introduced in partnership with the Karuk and Yurok Tribes, as
well as the California Coastkeeper
Alliance. … Assembly Bill 263 would maintain river
flows for at-risk salmon runs on two critical Klamath River
tributaries – the Scott and Shasta Rivers.
… The Department has established a proposed revenue bond
financing to finance the cost and expense of the environmental
review, planning, engineering and design, and if and when
appropriate, the acquisition and construction of Delta water
conveyance facilities. … Any interested person may appear and
contest a validation action, subject to specific time limits
and procedural requirements. In the Department’s validation
proceeding, interested persons must appear, in conformance with
applicable legal and procedural requirements, not later than
March 25, 2025.
Despite repeatedly warning that wildfire debris likely contains
hazardous substances, public officials are preparing to dump
millions of tons of contaminated ash and rubble from the Eaton
and Palisades fires into Southern California landfills that
were not designed to handle high concentrations of toxic
chemicals. … In the past, state environmental
regulators have issued violations for dumping hazardous
waste, including lead-contaminated soil, at these
landfills, citing the risk it poses to
groundwater.
The ACWA Board of Directors has named long-time staff
member Tiffany Giammona as Acting Executive Director,
following the resignation of Dave Eggerton. Giammona,
the Senior Director of Operations and Member Engagement,
has worked at ACWA since 2006. As Acting Executive Director,
she will report to the Board and oversee day-to-day operations
of the association and staff in Sacramento and Washington D.C.
until an Interim Executive Director is announced in the coming
weeks.
Imperial County officials unveiled the long-awaited Lithium
Valley Specific Plan draft at a press conference on Friday,
Feb. 7, in El Centro, marking a key milestone in the county’s
effort to formalize the region’s future as a hub for lithium
extraction and clean energy development. … Phase 1 of
development includes:
Roadway expansions to accommodate industrial traffic.
A new rail network connecting to Union Pacific Railroad’s
Calexico Subdivision.
Broadband fiber installation to support digital
connectivity.
New wastewater treatment plants and stormwater
drainage systems.
With about six weeks to go before the government shuts down,
House Republicans are still bickering over how best to spend
taxpayer dollars. But representatives were able to come
together on one thing: finding money for the war on nutria. The
U.S. House voted 361-56 late Tuesday night to continue the $60
million Nutria Eradication and Control Reauthorization Act
until 2030. It’s a bipartisan cause that is bigger than just
Louisiana. California nutria recently have migrated into
food-producing areas along the San Joaquin River.
