The specter of California’s strict but confounding
conflict-of-interest law prohibiting public officials from
profiting from their own agencies came up recently in regards
to the Kern County Water Agency hiring its former board
president as its general manager. Was it OK, under California
Government Code Section 1090 for KCWA to hire Eric Averett as
its general manager though he had served as board president
while the position was being discussed for nearly four months?
A reader sent SJV Water several “advice letters” from the Fair
Political Practices Commission that seem to suggest it may not
have been OK.
California water-rights holders are required by state law
to measure and report the water they divert from
surface streams. For people who wish to take
the water measurements themselves, the University of
California Cooperative Extension will offer in-person training
to receive certification on Dec. 1 in Davis. … Senate
Bill 88 requires that all water right holders who have
previously diverted, or intend to divert, more than 10
acre-feet per year (riparian and pre-1914 claims); or who are
authorized to divert more than 10 acre-feet per year under a
permit, license or registration; to measure and report the
water they divert.
H.R. 2940 was introduced into the United States House of
Representatives. The legislation is denominated “Advancing
Water Reuse Act’’ (“Reuse Act”). The Reuse Act provides a
federal tax incentive to invest in water reuse projects.
Proponents of the Reuse Act argue that the United States water
infrastructure is aging and inadequate to meet growing public
and private demands for freshwater. They further argue that an
increasingly important way to supplement freshwater supplies is
water reuse. … The Reuse Act was referred to the U.S.
House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee.
A new film from Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) provides an
exclusive, inside look at the emotional, historic, and
triumphant journey of a group of Indigenous youth paddlers down
the newly restored Klamath River. “First Descent: Kayaking the
Klamath” premieres today as part of OPB’s “Oregon Field Guide”
series and on YouTube. “First Descent” captures the
transformation underway not just to the Klamath River itself –
where sections of river are now flowing freely for the first
time in more than a century – but among the Indigenous
communities that have lived in the Klamath Basin since time
immemorial.
A drought in California affects much of the western United
States. From 2011 to 2015, there was little rain and snow in
much of the region, but that was just part of the problem.
These areas also experienced record-high heat, which baked away
what little moisture remained in the soil. … One
study from the University of Minnesota and the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution found it’s the worst drought in 1,200
years. …To get historical data about past dry years, we can
use data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and a computer climate model called the North
American Drought Atlas.
Delta Caucus co-chairs, Assemblywoman Lori Wilson and Sen.
Jerry McNerney on Thursday called on the Delta Protection
Commission to file an official appeal of the certification “of
the costly and destructive Delta Tunnel Project.” “The
Legislature established the Delta Protection Commission to
‘protect, restore, and enhance the Delta ecosystem,’ so we call
on the commission to appeal the certification of the Delta
Tunnel Project because it will devastate communities, farms,
the environment, and historic and cultural resources
surrounding the largest and most important estuary on the West
Coast,” Wilson, D-Suisun City, and McNerney, D-Pleasanton, said
in a joint statement.
Evacuation warnings were issued across Los Angeles County on
Thursday evening as an atmospheric river approached Southern
California, bringing with it the potential to put an early end
to fire season while also bringing fresh risks of
flooding and mudslides. Under the storm
scenario deemed most likely by forecasters, downtown L.A. would
see 2.62 inches of rain Friday morning through Sunday. … Rain
of that extent would also make this L.A.’s wettest November in
40 years. … In Sierra Nevada, snow levels are
expected to fall to around 8,000 feet above sea level
around Tahoe and in Mono County from Thursday night into Friday
morning.
Officials at the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District on
Thursday formally unveiled plans to build a solar canopy array
and battery energy storage project at the Harmony Grove Village
Water Reclamation Facility in Escondido. The reclamation
facility runs up a power bill of about $5,000 each month and
the solar-plus-battery project will help offset the wastewater
treatment center’s energy costs. … The 302-kilowatt
solar array with 559 panels atop a canopy will generate
electricity to help run the treatment facility that recycles
more than 180,000 gallons of wastewater on a daily basis.
The seven Colorado River basin states, including
Wyoming, missed a Tuesday federal deadline to reach a
preliminary agreement on managing the river’s dwindling water
supply. Even so, there could be one last chance. In June, when
the Nov. 11 deadline was set for a preliminary agreement, the
Department of Interior also demanded a final agreement by
mid-February 2026. So, now representatives from the states and
federal officials are placing their bets on a consensus being
reached by then. If not, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum might
be forced to decree a new set of operating plans for the river,
regardless of what the states want.
Two Northern California tribes announced Wednesday that they
signed a treaty last month, committing to jointly restore the
Eel River and its fish populations. Leaders from the Round
Valley Indian Tribes in Mendocino County and the Yurok Tribe in
Del Norte and Humboldt counties met at the Eel River Canyon
Preserve in Trinity County last month to sign the “Treaty of
Friendship.” The agreement commits the tribes to restoring
the river and rebuilding its declining fish populations as
PG&E moves to decommission the Potter Valley Project
hydroelectric system’s Scott Dam in Mendocino County and Cape
Horn (also known as Van Arsdale) Dam in Lake County.
A late fall storm that soaked the North State and brought high
wind gust is padding rain totals for what has been a wet start
to Northern California’s water year. … November is
typically the month when Lake Shasta, the state’s
largest manmade reservoir, drops to its lowest level
for the year. But the lake’s level is trending higher so far
this year. Lake Shasta is at 106% of the historical average and
57% full, the California Department of Water Resources said.
Trinity Lake was 71% full, which is 123% of the historical
average.
Three years ago, Matteo Serena barely knew the difference
between a beaker and a bunker. Today, the native of Italy could
be the most crucial person to ever visit your golf grounds.
Sporting a history of academia and turfgrass research on his
C.V., Southern California-based Serena has fast risen to the
forefront of the game’s water conservation efforts as the
senior manager of irrigation research and services for the
USGA. His ascent fueled by intellect, outreach and an
inherent European charm (“golf’a”), Serena’s drop-by-drop
efforts have achieved exacting results across water-starved
SoCal and beyond.
… California is blessed with top-notch researchers—from state
and federal agencies, universities, consulting firms, and
NGOs—who are responsible for many of the tools the state uses
to manage its water. This spring, we convened some of these
experts, along with select leaders in water policy, for a
one-day intensive conversation. We asked them to evaluate the
state of water research in California and to identify research
priorities that could meet the challenges of the 21st century.
These conversations form the basis of our recommendations. This
report also highlights the challenges California is facing to
maintain vital research to support water management.
The Trump administration will soon roll out a sweeping Clean
Water Act rule that could erode protections for many
wetlands and small streams. The White House on Friday
finished reviewing EPA’s plan to redefine which waters are
covered by the law, signaling that the proposal is ready to be
released to the public. The issue is a top priority for the
Trump administration. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in
March plans to amend the scope of the Clean Water Act through a
new “waters of the U.S.” definition, marking the fifth time in
less than 15 years that would be changed.
In mountain regions like the Rockies, headwater streams make up
more than 70% of the river network and support the downstream
waterways and communities. … While these sources are crucial,
very few are monitored, and aspects of their hydrology are not
well understood. A team of researchers, including UConn
Department of Earth Sciences assistant professor Lijing Wang,
are working to determine what influences how and when water
moves through these streams, and what hidden source sustains
them long after the rush of snowmelt. Their findings are
published in Water Resources Research.
“If we take care of that water, we know that water is going to
take care of us,” stated Lorelei Cloud, who has spent a
lifetime advocating for water conservation and access. Cloud, a
former vice chairman of the Southern Ute tribe, was also the
first tribal member on record to serve on the Colorado Water
Conservation Board. On Thursday, Nov. 6, The Arts Campus
at Willits (TACAW) hosted Cloud and a fellow trustee of The
Nature Conservancy (TNC) Colorado, Johnny Le Coq, for a
presentation on their respective backgrounds and water
conservation work.
Northern Water will further delay an initial partial filling of
its new Chimney Hollow reservoir into next year to allow time
for expanded groundwater tests in the area to make sure
unexpected uranium leaching inside the planned pool would not
migrate to other supplies. … Filling of a small portion
of the reservoir had been planned for this month, but now is
“expected in early 2026,” according to the agency. … The
project was meant to “firm” or store water rights Northern
Water owns in the Windy Gap project near Granby, which collects
and pumps Colorado River water into the Adams Tunnel for Front
Range buyers.
U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Republicans from Texas,
have filed a bill to hold Mexico accountable for failing to
provide water to south Texas in accordance with a 1944-era
treaty. The Ensuring Predictable and Reliable Water
Deliveries Act of 2025 would strengthen enforcement of the 1944
Treaty of Utilization of Waters, which governs water usage
between the U.S. and Mexico. … The bill would impose
restrictions and measures against Mexico if it does not meet
its average annualized obligation. It requires the secretary of
State to report to Congress on Mexico’s status of meeting its
treaty obligations. If the secretary finds that Mexico hasn’t
met its obligations, the bill directs the president to deny all
non-treaty requests from the Mexican government.
Conservationists restoring salmon along California’s North
Coast have a mantra: A good coho salmon stream looks like a
teenager’s bedroom—if teenagers discarded logs and branches
instead of dirty clothes. … The first attempts to
restore Mendocino’s streams for coho and other salmon began in
the 1960s. Decades of logging in the area’s old-growth forests
left woody debris in stream channels, creating miles-long
barriers. Well-intentioned state conservationists decided to
remove it. … Gradually, researchers realized that salmon
needed the shelter provided by logjams.
Droughts in California don’t just strain water
supplies. They strain relations between people and wildlife. A
study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances found
that conflicts between humans and animals, be it a bear
break-in at Lake Tahoe, a mountain lion eating a sheep in
Sonoma County or a coyote toppling trash cans in San Francisco,
have been significantly higher during the state’s dry spells.
… Losing just one inch of annual precipitation, the
authors found, has meant, for some carnivores, as much as a 3%
increase in clashes with humans – an amount that adds up
quickly in years with substantially less rain.
