A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation Writer Matt Jenkins.
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California state agencies have quietly been using
confidentiality agreements to keep some scientific data and
discussions behind the Newsom administration’s updated
Bay-Delta plan a secret, raising concerns about transparency in
the rule-making process. The California State Water Resources
Control Board is set to vote later this month on the
updated Bay-Delta plan, a massive policy proposal that
aims to balance water needs for communities and agriculture
while protecting fish, wildlife, and the environment in the San
Francisco Bay-Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
… State officials have denied they are hiding
anything and maintain the process has been
transparent. The proposed update to the Bay-Delta
plan heavily relies on voluntary agreements, deals negotiated
between state agencies and major water users, such as
farmers.
Arizona needs to cut back on Colorado River use, and water
managers are working on a new plan that would tap into
an underground water savings account to help do that.
As part of its response to record-low reservoir levels, the
federal government is mandating water cutbacks for Arizona,
California and Nevada. On top of that, the states are
volunteering to cut back more water. To do that, they’re
passing the hat, getting contributions from water users — like
cities and farms — that add up to a larger total. Many of those
users get money from the federal government to cut back on
water use. But on Thursday, officials with the Central
Arizona Project laid out the details of another strategy to
help reach that goal. Some cities and private
utilities in the Phoenix metro could promise to conserve water
and, instead of money, get access to an underground
backup supply held by the Arizona Water Banking
Authority.
A groundbreaking ceremony in southern Tulare County last week
signaled the start of another chapter in the long and expensive
effort to fix the sinking Friant-Kern
Canal. Construction began on five new Friant
Water Authority pump stations that will lift water out of the
canal and into Tea Pot Dome Water District and Saucelito
Irrigation District systems, reducing growers’ reliance
on groundwater. The project is expected to cost
$46 million and take two and a half years to complete. More
than $500 million – so far – in local, state and federal
funding has been dedicated to fixing the canal, which
has sunk along a 33-mile section from about Pixley to
the Kern County line due to excessive groundwater
pumping. Friant is looking for up to $400 million more
to start the next phase of construction.
After a long dry spell starting in early spring and lasting
through the summer, Lake Oroville’s high-level streak came to
an end this year. The lake currently sits at 752 feet in
elevation, roughly 47% of its total capacity.
However, as California Department of Water Resources
spokesperson Jaden Torres noted, it remains at 85% of
its historical level for this time of year, likely in part
because of past droughts. … The other question that
remains is how the El Niño event will affect water levels in
the north state. In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared an
emergency in response to the incoming weather event, but how it
will play out for Northern California is unknown.
For decades, the San Luis Valley has been shipping out its
irreplaceable aquifer water one potato at a time. While the
trucks are filling with moist potatoes, the aquifer is draining
to levels widely expected to hit historic lows at this month’s
official measurement. … The local water conservation
district is pushing a state-approved plan in water
court that would charge a group of well-dependent farmers …
$500 an acre-foot for water. … While high-profile
special interests and advocates from Denver to Las Vegas to Los
Angeles make noise about the crisis in Colorado River flows,
the Rio Grande has quietly become one of the most
troubled major rivers in the U.S. … Climate change
and long-term drought have robbed the headwaters region of
significant water. Farmers accelerated the drain by punching
thousands of wells into the unconfined aquifer to water
potatoes, barley, alfalfa and cattle.
The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has
advanced legislation that would extend federal support for
desalination projects and research, including
grants for large-scale facilities and pilot testing of emerging
technologies. The Desalination Reauthorization Act, introduced
by Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), was
ordered reported by the committee Oct. 1 with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute. The legislation would extend the
Bureau of Reclamation’s authority to provide grants for
desalination projects, which is scheduled to expire this
year. It also would allow the programmatic approval to
cover public-private partnerships and prevent Reclamation from
imposing an administrative cap on individual project funding,
allowing eligible large facilities to receive the full 25%
federal cost share.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria Friday proclaimed a local emergency
in the city ahead of potentially severe weather associated with
the coming El Niño season. The proclamation follows
emergency declarations made by California and the County of San
Diego. … The proclamation will remain in effect
for seven days unless ratified by the San Diego City Council,
which will consider doing so at its regular meeting on Tuesday.
… Officials warn this El Niño cycle could bring heavy
rain, strong winds, mountain snow and coastal
flooding. The looming El Niño event is already
breaking records, and forecasters expect it to continue to
strengthen, potentially becoming the strongest in
recorded history.
No single failure explains the devastation of the Palisades and
Eaton fires that burned through Los Angeles County in January
2025, a new report concludes. Instead, the blazes exposed
weaknesses across a system never designed to combat a
wind-driven conflagration that spread from structure to
structure at sweeping scale. The 723-page report dropped Friday
morning. Commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom, it lands during his
last months in office and just days after California’s
Legislative session concluded. The report doesn’t pin the
disaster on a single agency or decision. Its authors caution
against seeking one culprit or one magic fix. As a
result, the report, which completes an analysis of some of the
most deadly, destructive and costly fires in state history,
raises a harder question: If responsibility is spread across an
entire system, who is responsible for fixing it?
The San Diego Foundation Wednesday granted nearly $1 million in
the Binational Resilience Initiative for 10 projects ranging
from addressing Tijuana River pollution to restoring coastal
habitats in the California-Baja region. The $983,439 granted
will also go to general water health projects and support
research and education. … Projects include one between
San Diego Coastkeeper and Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación
Ambiental AC to streamline river data for scientists and the
public in both the United States and Mexico.
… Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and 4 Walls
International were granted $145,000 to improve stormwater
management and reduce flooding in the Tijuana River Valley
through “green infrastructure, sediment control and floodplain
restoration,” a statement from San Diego Foundation read.
Casa Grande held its first public hearing on a data center, but
it did not go as residents had hoped. Now, a data center,
battery and natural gas facility — roughly the same size as New
York City’s Central Park — will be allowed to take shape 8
miles from the city’s downtown. … The city has limited
the Grande Valley Data Center complex to 300 acre-feet of water
— or 97 million gallons of water use per year. That includes
water for cooling servers in the facilities and for generating
natural gas power on-site. We don’t know how much energy the
site will use, if it will connect to the state’s grid, or
when. Speakers were particularly disturbed by the
project’s intended water use amid major Colorado River cuts
that have impacted farmers in the community and across Central
Arizona.
… Just think about what we’ve got going on in the next
month: First, on October 1st, the Department of Interior’s
2027–2028 Operating Guidelines for the Colorado River go into
effect. … Second, the deadline for public comments on
the State Water Board’s revised Draft Water Right Permit for
Sites Reservoir is October 5. … Third, on October 7th,
the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Bring
Back the Kern v. City of Bakersfield. … Fourth, on
October 15th, the Delta Stewardship Council will hold a public
hearing to consider appeals concerning the California
Department of Water Resources’ revised Certification of
Consistency with the Delta Plan for the Delta Conveyance
Project. … And fifth, of course, we have the upcoming
Water Board hearings on the Bay Delta Plan, Oct. 28-29.
… This moment feels particularly weighty, and just
looking at concrete happenings in October undersells it.
Looking for solitude, beauty and maybe a few thrills, my
buddies and I were hoofing it in the high country of
California’s eastern Sierra when the mountains served up an
unexpected treat, as they always do. Beneath us, at about
10,500 feet, was a lake like none I’d seen. It glistened with
such an intense, cinematic glow that I would venture to call it
the bluest lake in the Sierra Nevada. … [T]he spectacle
was Burro Lake in the Hoover Wilderness. … Greg [Stock,
Sierra Nevada geologist] says glacial flour is probably
helping create the lake’s bright blue color. But the real
secret, he suspects, is the presence of a common but surprising
chalky compound in the water: calcium carbonate, the main
component of limestone and marble. It appears to be flowing
into the lake from a creek and other runoff in the basin.
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation that would have given
Native tribes a greater role in California water policy
decisions, saying the state is already making this a priority.
The bill would have directed state agencies to
recognize historical inequities affecting tribes, and to
consult with them on water projects, plans and
policies. Newsom said in his veto message Wednesday
that his administration has worked to address wrongs committed
against tribes and has prioritized respectful
“government-to-government dialogue.” He said, however, that
California “must streamline its water policies to
protect our water supply from the reality of climate
change.” … Opponents of the bill included the
Assn. of California Water Agencies, which argued it was vague,
lacked clear standards, and could expose agencies to more legal
disputes and delays.
On the shores of Playa del Rey sits L.A.’s last line of defense
against sewage streaming into the Santa Monica Bay — and a
jacked El Niño this winter threatens to be more than a match
for it. Built in 1950, the Hyperion Water Reclamation
Plant handles roughly 95% of the city’s sewage on any
given day — up to 800 million gallons of effluent from toilets,
washing machines, sinks, industrial operations and more. Storms
can overwhelm the aging facility, which suffered an
equipment breakdown in 2021 that led to 17 million gallons of
raw sewage gushing into the Santa Monica Bay. Los
Angeles officials are bracing for more trouble if the forecast
“super” El Niño brings heavy rains and flooding.
… L.A.’s stormwater and wastewater systems are separate,
but when it rains, water seeps into the ground and can
sneak into the cracks of aging wastewater pipes.
The multi-state agreements managing the Colorado River for
decades now have officially expired. When the clock struck
midnight on October 1, the agreements ended. In their absence,
the Trump administration is now managing the water for
more than 40 million people across the American West until the
states can get a deal together. … Water will
still flow to Utah and other states along the Colorado River (a
portion from the Colorado River system is pumped into the
Wasatch Front through the Central Utah Project for drinking
water needs). But there will be noticeable
changes. For example, FOX 13’s sister-station KTNV
reported on Thursday that Nevada will begin taking
reductions in how much water it gets from the river over the
next two years.
Denver Water customers are banned from watering their lawns
starting Thursday, and the state’s largest utility is
threatening steep fines for those who break the drought-induced
rule. The prohibition outlaws lawn watering and the
use of spray irrigation at the start of October for the rest of
the warm season, though customers can still hand-water trees,
shrubs, flowers and vegetables. Residential customers
who break the rule once will face a $500 fine. The
fine increases to $1,000 for each subsequent violation and,
if the watering does not stop, Denver Water says it
will shut off the customer’s water service. The
utility — which serves 1.5 million people across metro Denver —
has sent postcards to customers warning them about the ban and
the potential fines. Those postcards served as warnings,
according to a Denver Water press release.
… Proposition 45, sponsored by the California Chamber of
Commerce, would streamline the approval process for a wide
range of development activities considered “essential.” …
[P]rojects eligible for streamlining would be limited, though
several categories of development would qualify: housing,
water infrastructure, clean energy, health
services, wildfire prevention, broadband internet, education
facilities and transportation. … Opponents of the
proposition say so many changes for so many projects is an
invitation for sprawl and polluting development. They worry
that fast-tracking the approval process would inevitably lead
to less comprehensive reviews and public comment, resulting in
projects that yield toxic emissions, increase wildfire risk and
squeeze energy and water supplies.
… Specifically listed as ineligible for faster
review are the contentious water tunnel proposal in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and California’s
high-speed rail project.
October 1 marks the beginning of California’s new Water Year
(WY). Water years here run from October 1 until September 30 of
the next calendar year and are named for the calendar year of
the bulk of the water year (January – October). October
1 is also the nominal beginning of California’s wet
season. (No significant rain yet, by the way.)
California’s hydrology has two basic seasons, wet and dry, with
the wet season nominally from October 1 – April 1 (Figure 1).
The first sizable storm sometimes arrives in late September and
sometimes not until November (recently in 2021). Sizable storms
rarely arrive after April. As we leave California’s long
2026 dry season and prepare, hopefully, for the wet season, it
is good to reflect on the last water year and prepare
for what is also California’s flood season.
A river otter has been spotted in the San Joaquin River where
Fresno conservation officials say the animals have only
recently begun appearing again. The San Joaquin River Parkway
and Conservation Trust posted about the sighting on social
media Wednesday, saying river otters are top predators in river
ecosystems and can indicate a healthy environment. … Sharon
Weaver, executive director of the San Joaquin River Parkway and
Conservation Trust, told GV Wire that otters have not been
present in the area in the recent past but have started
appearing near Sycamore Island. … She pointed to habitat
improvements along the San Joaquin River, including efforts to
improve conditions for salmon and strengthen the broader
ecosystem.
A local country club is facing criticism after signing an
agreement to lease groundwater to a mining company. According
to state Department of Water Resources records, the Tucson
Country Club signed a short-term lease to provide Copper World
with up to 75 acre-feet of groundwater per year. The mining
company plans to pump the water from its well fields east of
the Sahuarita town limits, near a state-designated subsidence
feature. The lease is set to expire on Friday, Dec. 31, 2027,
while Copper World’s 20-year, 6,000 acre-feet groundwater
withdrawal permit from the state expires the following month in
January 2028. Environmental advocacy group Save the Scenic
Santa Ritas strongly opposed the deal, warning it will further
deplete a stressed aquifer.
