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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A vitamin deficiency likely killed as many as
half of newly hatched fry of endangered winter-run Chinook
salmon in the Sacramento River in 2020 and 2021. These new
findings were published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. The deficiency of
thiamine, or Vitamin B1, is linked to
large-scale shifts in the ocean ecosystem. These shifts changed
the prey adult salmon consume before they return to West Coast
rivers to spawn, scientists reported. They said the longtime
loss of habitat and water has already weakened many California
salmon populations. Further declines from thiamine deficiency
or other impacts may lead to their extinction. The deficiency
syndrome can also affect salmon runs like the Central Valley’s
fall-run that once supported valuable commercial fisheries
across California. They have since dwindled to the point that
commercial ocean salmon fishing in California has been closed
for the last 3 years. … Anchovy manufacture an enzyme
called thiaminase that breaks down thiamine and can, in turn,
affect salmon that eat large amounts of the small fish.
Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court slashed federal Clean
Water Act protection of wetlands, streams, and all of our clean
water with its decision in the Sackett v. EPA case. NRDC
scientists mapped the potential impact of the Sackett decision
and found it devastating—threatening harmful repercussions for
droughts, wildfires, flooding, wildlife, and the drinking water
supply. In the absence of federal protection, the
imperative to defend our shared waters falls increasingly on
individuals, states, and Native American Tribal
Nations. NRDC is actively working to prevent any further
weakening of the Clean Water Act (which the federal U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency intends to pursue) and to
ensure the law remains a robust tool for all wetland and stream
advocates, including Indigenous Peoples. Tribal Nations protect
and manage millions of acres of wetlands in the United States,
and with commitments made by the U.S. government to Tribal
co-management and co-stewardship of federal lands, the amount
of clean water safeguarded by Tribal Nations is growing.
Lake Berryessa remains free of invasive freshwater mussels —
for now. But the recent arrival of golden mussels in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has prompted Napa County to
bolster its efforts to keep the pests out. On Tuesday, the Napa
County Board of Supervisors signaled support for a new
ordinance that would give county inspectors and sheriff’s
deputies the authority to stop and inspect any vehicles,
trailers, boats or other watercraft that could be carrying
mussels — either adult or larval — at any of the lake’s resort
areas. The ordinance would also allow them to issue citations,
including fines and misdemeanor charges, to violators. The
inspection program itself isn’t new, said Thomas Zeleny, chief
deputy county counsel. The ordinance essentially codifies what
the county is already doing. … Sheriff Oscar Ortiz added
that existing rules lack enforcement power. Right now, there’s
“no teeth” — nothing inspectors can actually write a citation
for, he said.
Goodbye, climate.gov, the popular online clearinghouse for
federal climate science. Hello, noaa.gov/climate, a revamped
website that deemphasizes the previous site’s content. Kim
Doster, a NOAA spokesperson, said in an email that “NOAA is
relocating all research products from Climate.gov to
NOAA.gov/climate in an effort to centralize and consolidate
resources. Future research products previously housed under
Climate.gov will be available at NOAA.gov and its affiliate
websites.” In a reader notice atop the redirected website, NOAA
said the change was to comply with President Donald Trump’s May
23 executive order titled “Restoring Gold Standard Science”
followed by a Monday memorandum from the White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy about implementing the order.
“For the curious citizen, if you click on climate.gov, you get
redirected and the archived components of climate.gov are
buried,” said Craig McLean, the former assistant administrator
for research at NOAA and a Trump administration critic.
Demler Brothers Egg Ranch is proposing a newwastewater handling
system to address one of the major issues that resulted in a
cease-and-desist order from the San Diego Regional Water
Quality Control Board. The order against Demler Brothers, often
referred to by its former name of Pine Hill, was issued in
November 2023 after a three-year investigation over complaints
about odors and possibly contaminated water runoff at the
facility at 25818 Highway 78 in Ramona. The
improper discharge of wastewater used for
washing eggs produced at the ranch resulted in the
contamination of two nearby creeks and stormwater basins, water
board staff reported. Although water board inspectors
originally found high levels of ammonium-nitrate and phosphorus
at the egg ranch, later tests found almost no contaminants
after the facility began putting all of the egg wash wastewater
into temporary holding tanks and hauling it offsite. The
new wastewater system will feature 34 above-ground,
double-lined evaporation ponds housed in four barns.
… As the United States grapples with an escalating water
crisis, a powerful solution is gaining momentum. Buildings can
intelligently capture, treat, and reuse their own wastewater by
leveraging advanced technology, data analytics, and automation
to optimize every step of the water reuse process. These smart
systems continuously monitor water quality and usage,
automatically adjusting treatment processes to ensure safety
and efficiency. While current regulations limit this recycled
water to non-potable applications, the reality is that water
from these systems is often treated to a level that is
scientifically safe enough to drink. This isn’t about
compromise—it’s about building smarter, managing water as a
circular resource, and using it where it’s needed most, all
within the building itself. This innovation comes at a critical
moment. Nearly 45% of the lower 48 states are currently
experiencing drought conditions, with the Southwest and Plains
regions particularly hard-hit.
It’s not uncommon nowadays to fill a glass of water from your
tap and wonder what chemicals and contaminants may be lurking
in there. That’s because research has increasingly revealed
that heavy metals, radioactive substances, and harmful PFAS
(“forever chemicals”) are present in our water
systems. … The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found
that roughly 60% of the U.S. population—about 200 million
people—are served by water systems that have the chemicals PFOA
or PFOS in their drinking water at a concentration of 1 part
per trillion or higher, which is the maximum limit for PFAS in
drinking water endorsed by the EWG. Knowing there are
chemicals in your water is one thing—but should you be worried?
And is there anything you can do to reduce your exposure?
Here’s everything you need to know, according to experts who
spoke with Fortune.
Beginning January 1, 2025, the “Making Conservation a
California Way of Life” regulatory framework requires
urban retail water suppliers — not individual households or
businesses — to adopt a series of “urban water use
objectives.” And beginning January 1, 2027, the
regulations require urban retail water suppliers to annually
demonstrate compliance with those objectives. The objectives
are calculated based on indoor residential water use; outdoor
residential water use; commercial, industrial and institutional
irrigation use; and potable reuse. Implementation of the
objectives includes setting and meeting specific targets for
reducing water use per capita, improving system efficiency, and
reporting progress to state regulators. Urban retail water
suppliers are also required to implement water conservation
programs, support the development of drought–resilient
infrastructure, and encourage customers to adopt water-saving
practices such as using “climate ready” landscapes.
Tomorrow, June 26, the California Public Utilities Commission
was scheduled to adopt a proposed decision regarding the
Monterey Peninsula’s current water supply and forecasted demand
by 2050. And after already being rescheduled from the June
12 CPUC meeting by Commissioner Darcie Houck, who’s presiding
over the matter, on June 24 Houck pulled it from the agenda
again and rescheduled it until July 24, the CPUC’s next
meeting. … The talking points discussed were a rehashing
of Cal Am’s disagreement with the proposed decision, which
projected a 2050 water demand of 13,732 acre-feet per year—the
number Cal Am had been pushing for, and far higher than five
outside estimates—and a current water supply of 11,204
acre-feet per year, which Cal Am thinks is too high. Cal Am
officials also reiterated why they think the demand numbers are
correct. Water demand on the Peninsula last year dipped
below 9,000 acre-feet, the lowest level in decades, and the
proposed decision presumes it will increase more than 4,500
acre-feet over the next 25 years.
Good news for whitewater rafters: Improvements at Indian Bar
are complete. At its June 19 meeting, the Placer County Water
Agency (PCWA) Board of Directors authorized the filing of a
Notice of Completion for the Indian Bar River Access Project,
just in time for peak summer rafting and fishing season.
Located near Foresthill, the improved site provides safer and
more convenient access to one of California’s premier
whitewater rafting destinations. … The $1.7 million Indian
Bar project improves access to the Middle Fork of the American
River just downstream of the Agency’s Ralston Afterbay (Oxbow
Reservoir) near Foresthill. The Ralston Afterbay Dam is located
just below the confluence of the Middle Fork American and
Rubicon rivers. … The raft put in site is next to PCWA’s
Oxbow Powerhouse tailrace, the channel that carries water from
the powerhouse to the river’s main channel.
California’s existing groundwater infrastructure may fail to
quench the state’s thirst in an increasingly arid future, even
as officials celebrate widespread conservation achievements,
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) warned on Tuesday. “The data doesn’t lie,
and it is telling us that our water system is unprepared for
California’s hotter and drier climate,” Newsom said in
a statement. The governor was referring to data
published in a semiannual report by the California Department
of Water Resources that morning. The report, which indicated
California is collecting more groundwater data than ever
before, showed a 2.2 million acre-foot increase in storage last
year. Nonetheless, the governor’s office stressed that the
Golden State still lacks adequate water infrastructure to
provide Californians with the resources they will need in
future projected climate conditions.
Four major Front Range water managers have requested a state
hearing to fully air their objections to a Western Slope plan
to purchase historic, coveted Colorado River
water rights. The Colorado River Water Conservation District,
which represents 15 Western Slope counties, is leading the
effort to purchase the $99 million water rights tied to the
century-old Shoshone Power Plant, owned by a subsidiary of Xcel
Energy. The district wants to buy the rights to protect
historical water resources for Western Slope communities long
into the future. Front Range water managers — Aurora Water,
Denver Water, Colorado Springs Utilities and Northern Water
— also want to maintain the historical flows past Shoshone
which provides stability for their water supplies. They just
disagree over the numbers, namely how much water is included in
the deal. If the number is too high, it could throw a wrench in
their water systems.
The Kern County Water Agency is poised to cut off the only
water source for a 600-home development in Stanislaus County as
of June 30 unless residents there agree to a 200% increase in
water rates, jacking up their bills to $600 a month. Even then,
the increase will only buy a bare minimum of water through Dec.
31, according to a letter from KCWA to the Western Hills Water
District. … Western Hills serves the Diablo Grande
development, once planned as a sprawling 5,000-home luxury golf
community in the foothills west of Patterson. KCWA put
Western Hills on notice April 2 this year that it intends to
terminate the 24-year-contract under which it has been
delivering water to the community. KCWA’s stance is that
Western Hills stopped paying the water delivery costs five
years ago, racking up $13 million in debt, and KCWA can no
longer carry that load. Though the water Diablo Grande
residents run through their taps is actually State Water
Project overseen by the Department of Water Resources, that
agency is staying out of the fray.
The Colorado River runs over 1,450 miles through seven US
states, carving dramatic canyons and providing drinking water
for 40 million people before it crosses into Mexico. … Now,
in some of the region’s driest stretches, tech companies are
bringing a massive influx of water-guzzling data centers. …
Documents reviewed by Business Insider show that some of these
large data centers, football-field-size warehouses filled with
computer servers that power the artificial intelligence
revolution, could each demand millions of gallons of water a
day, enough for tens of thousands of Americans. Business
Insider found that 40% of the nation’s planned and existing
data centers are in areas that the nonprofit World Resources
Institute, which focuses on sustainability research, has
characterized as experiencing “extremely high” or “high” water
scarcity. … We found 24 of the largest centers, and 379
smaller ones, in the four states now negotiating over Colorado
River allotments.
The plan to put millions of acres of California forests, parks
and other public federal lands at risk of being sold got a
devastating, probably lethal, blow as the Senate
parliamentarian ruled lawmakers could not consider the proposal
as part of its “Big Beautiful Bill” this week. Before such
legislation can be considered by the Senate, Parliamentarian
Elizabeth MacDonough has to make sure what’s in it involves
fiscal policy. She decided the plan to sell the land did not
meet the standard. Popular destinations near Sacramento and
Lake Tahoe were on the original plan’s proposed sale list from
the Wilderness Society. … Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, led the
effort to sell up to 3 million acres nationwide. He vowed after
the ruling to keep fighting. “Stay tuned. We’re just getting
started,” he said in a post on X. … He outlined some of the
steps he plans. He said he would not be “selling off our
forests,” and only land within 5 miles of population centers
would be eligible for sales.
Several governors of Western states on Tuesday endorsed
formalizing a partnership to help each other deal with the
aftermath of increasingly devastating wildfires, citing the
long-term effects of post-fire flooding and also uncertainty
about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
future. Governors from New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and
Colorado attended a panel discussion on the topic of post-fire
flooding at the Western Governors’ Association meeting in Santa
Fe. … The governors described the phenomenon as increasingly
urgent due to wildfires burning hotter and larger across the
West. High-severity wildfires can change soil composition,
converting even modest rainstorms that fall on burn scars into
potential floods or debris flows. … (Utah Gov. Spencer) Cox,
who on Tuesday was named the new WGA chair, said he would
spearhead an effort to create a regional partnership.
The first recreational salmon season in California in three
years made such a big splash on its opening weekend that the
next three dates have been canceled. More than 9,000
Chinook salmon were taken statewide by 10,505 sport anglers
during the season opener on June 7 and 8, exceeding the harvest
limit of 7,000 fish for the summer season. As a result, the
remaining summer dates on July 5-6, July 31 through Aug. 3 and
Aug. 25 through 31 have been closed, the National Marine
Fisheries Service announced Monday. The opening weekend offered
“some of the best fishing many longtime anglers can remember,”
said California Department of Fish and Wildlife in a media
release. “We’ve seen so many pictures and heard many stories of
people enjoying their time on the water with family and
friends,” said director Charlton H. Bonham. “By all accounts,
the weekend was a huge success.”
Lifelong San José resident Apollo-Genesis Braddock-Layton has
fished the Pacific Coast’s shore for as long as he can
remember—catching horseshoe crabs, smelt, and stingrays while
listening to his grandfather’s stories of fishing in the
Philippines. “That’s how he had to feed his family,”
Braddock-Layton says. “If they didn’t catch fish that day, they
didn’t eat.” … But it’s likely that these fish contain
PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which
have been manufactured by chemical companies since the 1940s.
… PFAS ranks among the most concerning chemicals the San
Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) studies, says environmental
scientist Miguel Mendez, and they’ve slipped their way into the
Bay through runoff. … But this news won’t stop some Bay Area
residents like Braddock-Layton from fishing. While learning
about PFAS in fish “makes me not want to fish in the Bay
anymore,” he says, “I would most definitely go back.”
San Diego County leaders are committing the county to stepping
up efforts to help residents bearing the brunt of the
decades-long Tijuana River sewage crisis. On Tuesday, the Board
of Supervisors voted 3-1 to explore what it would take to
administer a plan that calls for further monitoring and
mitigation of cross-border pollution from Mexico and
implementing health protections. The plan, proposed by Imperial
Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and brought before the board by
Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, consists of five key elements:
study the health impacts of chronic exposure to the toxic sewer
gas hydrogen sulfide; assess the full scope of crisis-linked
economic losses; eliminate a hot spot along the Tijuana River
to lessen aerosolization of the gas; and create a county sewage
crisis chief position. It also suggests giving schools and
child care centers air filtration that’s engineered to remove
hydrogen sulfide from the air if the county can show that the
infrastructure will effectively eliminate odors.
… In his May Revision, Newsom endorsed a proposal to fast
track housing production and urged lawmakers to do the same for
the controversial Delta Conveyance Project.
Specifics weren’t available Tuesday, but main components of two
bills to streamline the California Environmental Quality Act to
speed housing projects would be included in future trailer
bills, according to the Senate analysis. Lawmakers declined to
take action to cut red tape on the Delta Conveyance Project, a
long-discussed plan to divert water from the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta down to Southern California. The governor had
said the project was necessary for climate adaptation, and
should bypass unneeded delays. There were no details about why
lawmakers rejected the governor’s suggestion, although several
legislators recently voted to audit the project, a proposal
that was ultimately shot down.
