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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El Niño is no longer merely threatening to enter new territory.
Federal forecasters now say a record-breaking event is the most
likely outcome. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said Thursday
there is a 69% chance the agency’s three-month El Niño index
reaches at least 2.5 degrees Celsius during October through
December. That would make it stronger than any El
Niño in NOAA’s modern record dating to 1950. NOAA
also raised the odds of a “very strong” El Niño developing this
fall and winter to greater than 90%, likely eclipsing the
1982-83 and 1997-98 events. … Stronger events
increase the chances of familiar El Niño patterns, including
a stormier California winter, but individual storms and
seasonal rainfall still depend on the atmosphere’s notoriously
chaotic behavior.
Nevada water leaders still aren’t pleased about the federal
government’s framework of cuts to water from the
Colorado River, but they say that suing other
states to maximize their water rights remains an absolute last
resort. ”Our first, second and third choice is negotiation
and cooperation,” John Entsminger, general manager of the
Southern Nevada Water Authority and Nevada’s lead negotiator on
river rights, said during an annual water conservation summit
hosted by Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) in Las Vegas on
Wednesday. But he emphasized that Nevada has a
right to fight. “At the end of the day, we have to
protect our legal interests,” Entsminger said. “We’re not just
going to lose if negotiations fail. We will protect the people
of Nevada.”
A plan to pump billions of gallons of groundwater from under
the Mojave National National Monument is back in court – this
time led by two tribes. The plan was blocked by a federal court
in 2022 but last month the Bureau of Land Management approved a
new right-of-way grant for Cadiz Inc. to begin converting a
natural gas pipeline to transport the water from an aquifer
system located within the monument. Now the Fort Mojave
and Chemehuevi Indian Tribes have taken the plan back
to the court. “This is the Mojave Desert, and we are the Mojave
people, the caretakers of this land, water and wildlife since
time immemorial” … said Fort Mojave Chairman Timothy Williams
in a statement. “Their plan to pump and sell 25 times
more groundwater each year than the aquifer can
replenish would desecrate our traditional territories
and any community sold this water would be left with an
unreliable, unsustainable supply.”
Western rivers like the San Juan and the
Colorado are mostly fed by burbling mountain streams,
which are themselves fed by groundwater and snowmelt. But a
study published on June 5 says those tiny streams are in
trouble. The study in the journal Earth’s Future says the base
amount of water in streams and rivers that doesn’t come from
rain, also known as “base flow,” has been steadily declining
since 1950, though that trend varies depending on the specific
time period. … The study’s implications aren’t limited
to the past. It predicts that if climate warming continues, by
the end of the century, headwater streams could have
anywhere from 45% to 65% less base flow to sustain
them.
Other climate change and drought impact news around the West:
Start making arrangements now to attend our first-ever
Kern River Tour and annual Water
Summit so you don’t miss out. These popular fall
programs have limited seating and will fill up
quickly! Join us on this special journey as we examine
water issues along the Kern River,
from its mountain-fed headwaters in the southern Sierra Nevada
to its terminus in the Central Valley west of Bakersfield. In
anticipation of high demand, the Foundation will begin
releasing tickets via lottery on August 19. To enter the
lottery before the limited bus seating is
gone, review
the tour details here and submit the entry
form linked at the top of the tour page at your earliest
convenience. And don’t forget to reserve your spot for the
October 29 Water
Summit, our premier annual event hosted in
Sacramento featuring leading policymakers and experts
addressing critical water issues in California and across the
West.
For the first time in four years, salmon will return to the
fire at the Yurok Tribe’s Salmon Festival on Saturday,
restoring a centerpiece of the event that many community
members say defines the day as much as the parade, the vendors
or the tournaments. … This summer, with a limited harvest and
signs of recovery on the river, the tribe can bring salmon back
to the menu. Festival co‑organizer Maya Mace said the return
carries cultural weight after years of closures and the 2024
removal of four Klamath River dams. … Salmon fishing
reopened this year on a restricted basis, ending a three‑year
closure triggered by record‑low runs on two of California’s
largest salmon-producing rivers, the Klamath and Sacramento.
The tribe’s quota remains tightly restricted under Pacific
Fishery Management Council rules. Still, even a modest harvest
is enough to restore a tradition that many consider central to
the festival’s identity.
Mendocino County water officials are reporting promising
results from models predicting the amount of water that the
proposed New Eel-Russian Diversion Facility would make
available if and when the dams serving Potter Valley Project
are removed. “Sonoma County Water Agency conducted some very
in-depth modeling on how much water would have come through the
project if the NERF, the pump that would pump water from the
Eel River into the Russian River, were in the place,” Mari
Rodin, the city of Ukiah’s representative on the Mendocino
County Inland Water and Power Commission, told her fellow Ukiah
City Council members. … “[W]e’re continuing to look at
storing water in Potter Valley, but also, most importantly,
raising Coyote Valley Dam,” which would allow more water to be
stored in Lake Mendocino.
Last week, the California North Coast Regional Water Quality
Control Board adopted an order establishing discharge
requirements for commercial lily bulb growers in the Smith
River Plain. The order marks a culmination of more than 30
years of struggle to prevent large agricultural interests along
the Smith River Plain from polluting the waterway and
surrounding area, environmental groups say. It also represents
an important path forward for the restoration of a crucial and
eminently curable portion of the state’s anadromous fish
habitat. … The Smith River is one of the state’s few
undammed river systems and home to several protected species
including coho and Chinook salmon, northern tidewater goby and
coastal surf smelt.
More than 300 residents of Doña Ana County, where the massive
Project Jupiter data center is under
construction, aired their frustrations this week with state
lawmakers as they shared their plans for the 2027 legislative
session. … Residents had the chance to ask questions
pertaining to water usage, air quality,
energy, economic development and other concerns about the
project being built in the southern part of the county.
… Residents also voiced concerns over security for
personal information and for banks and hospitals; that impacts
to children and future generations are being overlooked;that
the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer granted
emergency water usage permits; and that the New Mexico
Environment Department will similarly grant air quality permits
to the project.
A California appellate court has ruled that Imperial County
must overhaul key portions of its environmental review for
Controlled Thermal Resources’ high-profile Hell’s Kitchen
geothermal and lithium project. … Tuesday’s decision by the
California Court of Appeal reverses a lower ruling by the
Imperial County Superior Court, finding that the project’s
initial environmental impact report under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) fell short. … The ruling
marks a pivotal moment for the burgeoning “Lithium Valley”
beneath the Salton Sea, where vast underground deposits of the
metal—crucial for electric vehicle batteries and renewable
energy storage—are drawing a rush of industrial interest. …
[R]esidents in the heavily agricultural and historically
overburdened Imperial Valley have raised persistent concerns
regarding how the water-intensive process will impact local
supplies.
Sacramento County has finished the largest construction project
in the history of its water agency, wrapping up a $160 million
overhaul of the Arden area’s water system after 10 years of
work. The Arden Service Area Pipe and Meter Installation
Project installed roughly 38 miles of new water distribution
pipelines and more than 3,000 new water meters, closing out
flat-rate billing in what county officials say was the last
unmetered pocket of unincorporated Sacramento County left in
the state. According to Sacramento County, the Arden
neighborhood represented the final section of California still
operating without water meters, a distinction that had
persisted long after most communities converted decades
earlier.
When the weather is warm, the Russian River draws dawdlers of
all kinds, including LGBTQ+ vacationers, longtime locals and
Bay Area families. On summer weekends, thousands show up in
Guerneville with kayaks, canoes, inner tubes — just about
anything that will float, preferably with a cooler attached.
Then they spend hours gliding downstream past scenery that
might as well be a Northern California highlight reel:
vineyards, redwood forests and eventually a beach scene full of
driftwood and sea stacks. They know that time is of the
essence. Many places on the river in and around Guerneville
shut down November through early May because it gets cold and
rainy and the river can run high and fast. But for now through
early October, with little rain and seasonal dams controlling
the water’s flow, this might be California’s laziest river.
Denver Water has begun issuing fines to customers who
violate watering restrictions as a prolonged drought
continues to strain the region’s water supply with no signs of
improvement. Denver Water customers are currently limited to
watering lawns two days a week. Despite those restrictions
being in place for most of the summer, the measures have not
made a significant difference, according to the
agency. Last week, Denver Water issued more than 50
warnings and six or seven fines to customers who did not follow
watering rules. The agency said it has shifted from
educating customers about restrictions to actively enforcing
them.
Other drought impact and response news around the West:
The coordinated series of cyberattacks launched on U.S.
drinking water and wastewater utilities across the country in
recent weeks has alarmed lawmakers on Capitol Hill — but it
remains to be seen whether the threat will be enough to break
the impasse over mandating basic security standards for the
sector. … Two Democratic senators introduced legislation
Monday that would give EPA clear authority to assess
cybersecurity threats across the water and wastewater
sector. The bill from Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and
Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is effectively a second attempt at an
approach the Biden administration tried three years ago but was
foiled by opposition from Republican states and industry
groups. The Water Cyber Shield Act of 2026 would
allow EPA to require utilities to address vulnerabilities it
identifies and mandate cybersecurity evaluations for large
utilities.
The Bureau of Reclamation is increasing Central Valley Project
2026 water supply allocations for south-of-Delta contractors,
reflecting improved water supply conditions and operational
flexibility. … Based on current hydrology and updated
forecasts, irrigation water service and repayment contractors
south-of-Delta are increased from 25% to 28% of their contract
total. Municipal and Industrial water service and repayment
contractors are increased from 75% to 78% of their historic
use, or public health and safety needs, whichever is
greater. All other allocation amounts announced May 19
remain unchanged.
A contested lithium extraction facility in Imperial County was
dealt a setback in court Tuesday. The California Fourth
Appellate District said that Imperial County officials
unlawfully approved Controlled Thermal Resources’ Hell’s
Kitchen project and asked a lower court to overturn its earlier
ruling in favor of the project. The appeals court said there
was insufficient evidence that the company had secured
water for its 50-year life span and that an
environmental impact report didn’t address the impact of
water use on air quality in the area just east
of the Salton Sea that the county has branded “Lithium
Valley.” The ruling, written by Associate Justice Julia
Kelety, also said that the environmental review did not
adequately address possible future mandated water
supply reductions from the Colorado River.
The Trump administration plans to rescind an EPA rule requiring
states to consider tribes’ rights to fish, hunt and
gather wild plants when establishing water quality
protections — a policy the administration argues went
beyond the agency’s authority. Finalized under the Biden
administration, the rule provided an avenue for tribes to
compel state and federal regulators to account for their
consumption of traditional plants and animals when setting
water quality standards. Those standards form the basis for
protecting rivers, lakes and other water bodies from pollution.
Under works for months, the agency is now close to moving
forward with a proposal to rescind the rule, according to a
notice Friday by the Office of Management and Budget.
With extreme weather increasing around the world, scientists
are working to help critical infrastructure, such as water
management systems, adapt. On the U.S. West Coast, where both
periods of prolonged drought and intense atmospheric river
storms are common, effective water management can be
particularly tricky. One strategy that water managers are now
pursuing is known as Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations
(FIRO). The method relies on increasingly accurate weather
forecasts to improve water supply reliability without
increasing flood risks to downstream communities. … A new
study helps advance the evaluation process by
identifying the physical and operational constraints
that influence how much forecast lead time would be needed to
safely use FIRO at a given reservoir. The research,
published in Water Resources Research, was led by DRI’s
Christine Albano.
The state says it needs more money to police overpumped
regions in the San Joaquin Valley and is considering a
new fee that could cost water agencies between $50,000 to
$250,000. That fee would be charged to groundwater
sustainability agencies seeking exemptions from state
enforcement measures. It would apply to new exemption requests
as well as to agencies seeking to extend exemptions that have
already been granted. Southern Tulare County water managers
challenged the proposed fee during a July 30 workshop, saying
the Water Resources Control Board hasn’t given updated details
on its costs and how that money, and other fees, would be
spent.
City lawmakers on Monday opposed a data center moratorium but
moved forward with new regulations prohibiting excessive water
and requiring operators to mitigate potential residential
impacts. The Aurora City Council voted 7-4 to approve a
resolution to create data center specific
regulations, and opposed another more broad resolution
that would have included a pause on data center development.
Councilmembers Alison Coombs, Alli Jackson, Ruben Medina and
Amy Wiles opposed the resolution. The resolution identifies two
specific regulations: a prohibition on the use of
evaporative cooling, which is a type of cooling system data
centers use that can be water-intensive, and requires
setback and buffers for data centers in certain areas that are
near residences.
