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.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued its
2025-2026 winter forecast outlook on Thursday, which predicts
seasonal changes for different parts of the United States for
the months of December, January and February. … NOAA’s
winter outlook does not offer snowfall predictions, but it does
forecast above-normal overall precipitation between December
and February for the Pacific Northwest and northern
California along the West Coast, as well as the
northern Rockies, Great Plains and western
Great Lakes, all of which are consistent with the presence of
La Niña.
Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the nation’s two largest reservoirs,
are following patterns very similar to 2021, the year the water
shortage was declared by the federal government. There’s one
big difference: Lake Mead is already 10 feet lower than it was
then, despite ongoing conservation efforts. And that’s a
problem for Las Vegas and millions of people who rely on the
Colorado River for water. A report
released on Wednesday shows that Lake Mead is expected to be 5
feet lower a year from now. More concerning is the projection
that shows it will drop an additional 15 feet by September 2027
— so, a total of 20 feet compared to now.
… Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill into law that aims to
improve resiliency in the county’s water system. AB 367
requires water districts to develop wildfire plans that include
filling backup tanks during high-threat Red Flag Warnings.
Water agencies would need to ensure that power backup is
available to keep pumps operating in the event of an electric
utility interruption. The new law also requires water systems
to take steps to protect their infrastructure against wildfire
damage. Democratic State Assemblyman Steve Bennett of Oxnard
authored the legislation, which applies specifically to water
agencies in Ventura County.
Environmental groups are preparing to sue the federal
government for approving a mining exploration project near the
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, a desert wetland that
supports a trove of endangered and threatened species found
nowhere else in the world. … Conservation groups say the
mining exploration project could potentially harm several
federally listed endangered and threatened plants that rely on
groundwater-fed springs in the area.
… Federal hydrologists acknowledged that groundwater at
the site of the proposed project was relatively shallow, making
it likely that boreholes drilled beyond 100 feet would hit
groundwater in the area.
Professor Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for
a scientific breakthrough that his startup is now on the verge
of commercializing. Its technology harvests water from the
atmosphere in an increasingly arid world, with the global
recognition set to give it a boost. “He has always been
highly regarded in the scientific community, but the Nobel
Prize gives us additional validation in the business world and
simplifies the communication of what we are doing,” said Samer
Taha, chief executive officer of Atoco, the Irvine company
Yaghi founded in 2020. … Atoco … is targeting
data centers as the artificial intelligence
boom stresses water supplies across the U.S.
… In April, the Trump administration proposed limiting the
Endangered Species Act’s power to preserve habitats. Ecologists
argue that the move could have severe consequences for a wide
range of ecosystems and species, including the southern sea
otter, which is listed as threatened under federal law.
… Supporters of the change claim environmentalists have
abused the law to limit real estate development, farming,
logging and other business activities. What this would
mean for Elkhorn Slough, the only estuary
along the West Coast where sea otters have significantly
colonized, won’t be known until after the final rule is
released.
The Jurupa Community Services District (JCSD) has received more
than $12.4 million through the national PFAS contamination
settlement with 3M, funds that will help offset costs tied to
safeguarding the community’s drinking water supply. The
district has already received its first disbursement, with
additional payments expected in the coming months. JCSD was one
of the first agencies in California to proactively test for
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—well before state
mandates or funding programs were in place. After discovering
elevated PFAS levels, the district took 60% of its production
capacity offline.
Quick actions by boaters and paddlers this year helped prevent
the dangerous golden mussel and other aquatic invasive species
from entering the Lake Tahoe watershed, according to agencies
leading the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) program.
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and Tahoe Resource
Conservation District (Tahoe RCD), which manage the watercraft
inspection program, reported that inspectors performed more
than 4,700 decontaminations in 2025, a 60 percent increase
compared to the previous year.
A new study states that Solano County farms are expected to
lose about $48.42 million per year to natural disasters – an
average of $68,008 per farm. That is a loss rate of 12.6% for
the 712 Solano County farms. The total agricultural value,
according to the 2024 Solano County Crop & Livestock Report,
is $437.94 million. … “Drought is a
persistent challenge on the West Coast, particularly in
California, as well as the Southwest and parts of the Southern
Plains, where water scarcity hampers crop
yields and livestock production,” the study statement said.
A study led by University of Arizona researchers shows
that decades of groundwater pumping by humans
has depleted Tucson-area aquifers far more than natural climate
variation. Published in the journal Water Resources
Research, the study provides the first multi-millennial
reconstruction for the region that places human impacts on
groundwater into long-term context. … [M]odern pumping
from the mid-20th century to present day caused twice the
drawdown of the water table compared with natural climate
fluctuations.
Dangerous flooding has damaged neighborhoods in almost every
state in 2025, leaving homes a muddy mess. … We study
flood resilience and have been mapping the results of
government buyout programs across the U.S. that purchase
damaged homes after disasters to turn them into open space. Our
new national maps of who relocates and where they go after a
flood shows that most Americans who move from buyout areas stay
local. However, we also found that the majority of them give up
their home to someone else, either selling it or leaving a
rental home, rather than taking a government buyout offer. That
transfers the risk to a new resident, leaving the community
still facing future costly risks.
The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) joined utilities and
organizations across the country in recognizing the critical
role water plays in daily life through the nationwide “Imagine
a Day Without Water” awareness campaign, the district
announced Thursday, Oct. 16. From the morning cup of coffee to
the crops in the fields, water powers every part of life in the
Imperial Valley. The “Imagine a Day Without Water” message
encourages communities to pause and consider what life would be
like without this essential resource.
A 15-year water supply agreement between agencies in Sonoma and
Marin counties has received final approval. Under the
agreement, the Marin Municipal Water District will pay $12.5
million to the Sonoma County Water Agency to boost regional
drought resiliency. The agreement replaces previous contracts
and establishes the terms for how Russian River water is
delivered to Marin County through 2040. Marin Municipal Water
District officials approved the contract at a meeting in
August. The board governing the Sonoma County agency solidified
the agreement on Tuesday.
The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) is
partnering with several local agencies to host a public
workshop inviting community members to give their input on the
Morro Bay Estuary Climate Resilience Transportation Plan. The
plan outlines a long-range effort to protect the roads, bike
routes, and coastal access connecting Morro Bay and Los Osos.
Looking ahead to 2030, 2060, and 2100, officials say the plan
explores conceptual, nature-based solutions that make the
corridor safer, more accessible, and better prepared for
long-term coastal vulnerability.
San Diego County residents are turning to rain barrels to make
the most of Tuesday’s rainfall, with environmental advocates
saying even small amounts of precipitation can provide months
of garden irrigation. A 50-gallon rain barrel can capture
significant amounts of water during San Diego’s infrequent rain
events, according to Jessica Toth, executive director of the
Solana Center for Environmental Innovation. … Through
the rain barrel program, they’ve kept about 90,000 gallons of
water from going into the rainwater system.
As part of its ongoing commitment to responsible water
stewardship, Primo Brands Corporation … owner of the
Arrowhead® Mountain Spring Water Brand, is joining forces with
River Partners, a California conservation nonprofit driving
large-scale river and floodplain restoration, to support an
ambitious, multi-site project helping to revitalize key
portions of the Sacramento and Feather rivers. The
initiative delivers increased water resilience while advancing
other beneficial outcomes — including supporting wildlife
habitat that seeks to improve biodiversity, climate resilience,
flood safety, and renewed access to culturally significant
natural resources for Tribal communities.
The U.S. Department of the Interior has pulled more than $2
million in federal grants for restoration work in the Mid
Klamath Basin. The $2.1 million would have funded seven
projects along the Klamath River in Northern California. The
Mid Klamath Watershed Council said the work included wildfire
prevention, habitat restoration, and surveys of Chinook salmon.
… The Interior Department told the council in late
September that the grants no longer align with U.S. Fish and
Wildlife priorities.
October is typically the peak of Southern California’s fire
season, when Santa Ana winds paired with dry conditions after
summer allow flames to explode into major brush fires. But this
year, the region was hit by an early atmospheric river rain
storm that left the landscape drenched. And that could be good
news on the fire front — at least for a while. The storm,
classified as a weak, or Level 1, atmospheric river brought
enough moisture to Southern California’s drought-stricken
landscape to delay fire season for weeks, if not months.
California’s largest drinking water supplier named Shivaji
Deshmukh as its new general manager Tuesday, seeking to move
past turmoil at the top in time for major decisions on water
supply and costs. … The 38-member board had
preliminarily selected Deshmukh last month, as POLITICO
reported, but only formally appointed him Tuesday after
negotiating his contract. … The move comes after years of
instability at the top of the state’s — and the country’s —
largest supplier of drinking water. In January, the board voted
to fire General Manager Adel Hagekhalil, following an
investigation into claims of harassment. Hagekhalil was only
narrowly voted in by the board in 2021.
The Nature Conservancy analyzed data from more than 6,000 wells
across Nevada and found that nearly 4 in 10 are losing water,
threatening springs, wetlands, and wildlife habitats.
Researchers point to groundwater pumping as the main culprit,
whether the water is pumped for farms, cities or industry. But
climate change, rapid development, and population growth are
compounding the strain. … The report outlines several
strategies that could help stabilize groundwater levels and
provide a roadmap for neighboring Mountain West states.
