Winter storms, combined with debris from the Park Fire, pushed
the Five-Mile basin in northeast Chico to its limits for flood
control. Butte County Public Works Director Josh Pack received
a nod from the Board of Supervisors during Tuesday’s meeting to
look into a job order contract to mitigate flood risk, ideally
before winter. Pack said the Five-Mile Sediment Removal Project
would consist of two phases with the first made up of any work
that can be completed this year and the second being the
long-term work next year and beyond. Pack said the goal of the
first phase is to begin work by Aug. 15, creating a strict
timeline to get the project rolling. … To help aid in
the project, Pack said U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale)
helped secure $5.6 million in earmarked funding while state
Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) introduced a bill
that could expedite the work by exempting the project from the
California Environmental Quality Act and its required studies.
Clear Lake is the heart of Lake County, a popular spot for bass
fishing and water sports about 2.5 hours north of San
Francisco. It is also, according to a recent letter sent
to the California Legislature, “choking on past pollution and
toxic blooms” and “exceedingly malodorous.” That description
comes courtesy of a coalition of stakeholders in Lake County
who are requesting upward of $15 million in state funds to
rehabilitate Clear Lake. In the warmer months, the lake turns
dangerous when toxic algal blooms and
cyanobacteria surge. Tests have found
cyanotoxins in 56% of homes that draw water from the lake,
posing health risks ranging from rashes to liver
damage. … In a joint letter to California
legislators dated June 17, members of the Blue Ribbon Committee
— including tribal leaders, a Farm Bureau representative and a
Lake County supervisor — sent a blunt message about the ancient
lake.
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.
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.
On May 29, 2025, in a decision long-awaited by project
developers, the Supreme Court issued Seven County
Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, which
clarified the proper scope of review and deference to be
afforded to agency decisionmaking under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This decision reinforces
longstanding Supreme Court holdings and may help improve the
NEPA process by providing support for agencies to focus their
NEPA reviews on impacts associated with their authorizations.
… The decision is also noteworthy for its commentary on
how NEPA litigation has negatively impacted project
development. The Court noted that project opponents may not
always be motivated by their concern for the environment,
instead using NEPA to prevent new infrastructure
projects.
Seven people died and another person is missing after a boat
overturned near D.L. Bliss State Park at Lake Tahoe on Saturday
afternoon amid strong winds and rainy conditions. Elsewhere in
South Lake Tahoe, a number of boats crashed into each other and
came ashore near Camp Richardson. … The National Weather
Service in Reno noted in an early Saturday morning update that
occasional showers and thunderstorms were expected through the
afternoon around the Tahoe Basin and north of Highway 50, but
pegged those chances at 10-20%. Another update at 1:12 p.m.
also noted the chance for afternoon showers and thunderstorms.
NOAA/National Weather Service Meteorologist in Charge Chris
Smallcomb said the weather event that occurred on the lake that
afternoon was “sudden, localized and of limited
predictability.” It briefly produced wind gusts of 45 mph, he
said. … Below is how Smallcomb responded to KCRA’s
questions about Saturday’s event.
It’s been a little over a year since the Environmental
Protection Agency rolled out the first legally-enforceable
limits on some PFAS chemicals in drinking water. The
regulation came after years of research tying the human-made
chemicals to a range of health issues. … Under the EPA’s
first formal limits last year, drinking water can have no more
than four parts per trillion of the PFAS listed. … Tucson is
already in compliance. But (Tucson Water Director John) Kmiec
estimates the city has spent some $70 million of its own money
to get there. Additional federal funding came down for
communities nationwide last year — including a roughly $33
million for Tucson. That’ll be used to build a new treatment
plant Kmiec says will bring a handful of wells back online and
some 3.3 million gallons of drinking water back into the
system. … But some things are changing now, under the Trump
administration. A directive released by the EPA in May drops
four out of the six compounds listed in 2024. Only PFOA and
PFOS will remain regulated for now.
There’s a break in the clouds that have hovered over Colorado
River negotiations for more than a year. State water leaders
appear to be coalescing behind a new proposal for sharing the
river after talks were stuck in a deadlock for more than a
year. The river is used by nearly 40 million people across
seven states and Mexico, but it’s shrinking due to climate
change. As a result, state leaders need to rein in demand.
For months, they were mired in a standoff about how
to interpret a century-old legal agreement. The new proposal is
completely different. Instead of those states leaning on old
rules that don’t account for climate change, they’re proposing
a new system that divides the river based on how much water is
in it today. … The new plan says the amount should be
based on a three-year rolling average of the “natural flows” in
the river — basically, how much water would flow through it if
human dams and diversion weren’t in the way.
California’s June 7-8 Ocean salmon season offered some of the
best fishing many longtime anglers can remember. Fast action,
quick limits and bustling harbors characterized the weekend
along much of the coast with a hot salmon bite reported as far
south as San Luis Obispo County. Excellent ocean conditions
from Crescent City all the way down to Avila Beach allowed
anglers to get out both days and try to catch the iconic sport
fish in ocean waters for the first time since 2022. … The
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) estimates
9,165 Chinook salmon were taken statewide by 10,505 anglers
aboard both charter vessels and private skiffs, achieving the
summer fishery harvest guideline of 7,000 Chinook. On
recommendation from CDFW and industry, the National Marine
Fisheries Service took in-season action today to close the
remaining summer dates of July 5-6, July 31-August 3, and
August 25-31.
Anaheim’s ambitious push to turn the often-dry Santa
Ana River into a river walk with ample water and
activities for the public is estimated to cost $200 million,
according to a city budget overview. OC River Walk would add
inflatable rubber dams to the Santa Ana River
near Angel Stadium to create a riverbed with standing water.
Along the Santa Ana River, the city would construct new park
space with trails and terrace steps for what’s envisioned as a
destination for the region. City spokesperson Mike Lyster said
the $200 million figure is an estimate of what it would cost to
build today, but there are no plans to begin construction
anytime soon. The big costs are building the dam system,
embankments and a pedestrian bridge. Currently, city officials
are studying the project with grant support from other levels
of government and a nonprofit. Where new trails and bridges
might go is all to be determined. The city anticipates studies
on planning and design will take through at least 2030 and has
the funding identified for that.
Caltrans has proposed a $500 million project to widen a wine
country highway that the agency said could be underwater in 25
years. Members of the California Transportation Commission will
decide at a public meeting beginning Thursday whether to award
Caltrans and local agencies a $73 million grant that would
cover some of the cost to widen Highway 37 — a roadway linking
Vallejo to Sears Point across the Napa Sonoma
Marsh, much of which is only one lane in each
direction. In the long term, Caltrans has a plan to replace the
current road with an elevated causeway that would move vehicles
above the wetlands below. That project would cost more than $10
billion and is not funded. To deal with Highway 37’s
bottleneck in the meantime, the agency has proposed a $500
million “interim project” to widen the existing roadway. The
state agency estimated that construction on the first half — a
$250 million eastbound lane — would finish in 2029. The plan,
Caltrans said, “does not address sea level rise.”
… Efforts in Montecito have become an emblem of how
communities can come together after storms to rebuild a
resilient town ahead of future climate-driven disasters. …
Montecito officials and residents took a multifaceted response
to rebuilding after the 2018 debris flow, including a
realisation that new safety initiatives had to be adopted.
… The Flood Control District started regularly walking
debris basins that had been built in the 1960s after the
previous damaging mudslides, and using drones to spot any
debris needed for removal by bulldozers and trucks. Sediment
would have normally washed to the sea on its own but now gets
stuck in the basins. The county implemented a routine of
removing some of the larger sediment flows to nearby beaches as
part of an “emergency beach nourishment” programme, to help
keep the basins clear. They are also in touch with other
communities that might need sediment for uses such as a coastal
dune restoration site. While it was at first met with
criticism … because it de-beautified some of the community’s
beaches, the removal allowed the basins to stay open for future
storms.
The United States Department of Agriculture on Monday announced
that it will rescind a decades-old rule that protects 58.5
million acres of national forestland from road construction and
timber harvesting. The USDA, which oversees the U.S. Forest
Service, said it will eliminate the 2001 “Roadless Rule” which
established lasting protection for specific wilderness areas
within the nation’s national forests. Research has found that
building roads can fragment habitats, disrupt ecosystems, and
increase erosion and sediment pollution in drinking
water, among other potentially harmful outcomes. In a
statement, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins described the rule —
which applies to about 30% of national forestland — as outdated
and overly restrictive. … More than 40 states are home
to areas protected by the rule. In California, that encompasses
about 4.4 million acres across 21 national forests, including
the Angeles, Tahoe, Inyo, Shasta-Trinity and Los Padres
national forests.
Drought doesn’t just affect Utah’s lakes, rivers, and streams —
it also affects the fish who live in them, requiring more
thought and care from anglers this summer. While fish can’t
drown in quite the way people can, it is possible for them to
suffocate in the water when there isn’t enough dissolved
oxygen. And unfortunately for Utah’s fish, drought means not
only less water, but less dissolved oxygen in the water. …
That doesn’t mean, though, that you can’t or shouldn’t fish
during a drought — in fact, at Crouse Reservoir, anglers are
currently allowed to harvest more fish than usual, since
extremely low water levels have led to fears fish won’t
survive. … That means following some best management
practices when practicing catch and release to make sure the
fish can recover, including going earlier in the day, pinching
down the barbs on hooks, and minimizing the time you’re
fighting the fish or have them out of the water.
A year of average precipitation gave California’s groundwater
supplies a significant boost, according to a state analysis
released Tuesday. California’s aquifers gained an estimated 2.2
million acre-feet of groundwater in the 12 months that ended
Sept. 30, the state’s 2024 water year. That’s about half the
storage capacity of Shasta Lake, California’s largest
reservoir. State officials said local agencies reported that
about 1.9 million acre-feet of water went underground as a
result of managed aquifer recharge projects designed to capture
stormwater and replenish groundwater. … Gov. Gavin
Newsom said California is collecting more groundwater data than
it has previously, and is continuing to prioritize efforts to
recharge aquifers. He said, however, that the state’s water
infrastructure is unprepared for the effects of climate change,
and he reiterated his support for building a water tunnel
beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has initiated an
administrative order on consent with Radius Recycling Inc. in
response to alleged Clean Water Act violations at the
company’s metal recycling facility in West Oakland, California.
The order targets the site’s discharge of pollutants into the
Oakland Inner Harbor and San Francisco Bay in violation of the
facility’s permit under the Clean Water Act. In January,
EPA signed a memorandum of understanding with Radius Recycling,
the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), other
state regulators and a community organization to address the
impacts of the company’s metal shredding operation on the West
Oakland community. … Radius will install a granular activated
carbon treatment unit capable of reducing metals below effluent
limitations. Radius also will develop and implement a Water
Pollution Prevention Plan that increases inspections of the
site and strengthens cleaning and maintenance measures.
… On June 11, the California Energy Commission officially
approved the Darden Clean Energy Project, a sprawling solar
farm and battery storage facility proposed for a stretch of
fallow farmland in western Fresno County. Darden is the first
project approved under a new fast-track permitting program,
which gave the commission just 270 days to finish its
environmental review. …The land for the project, near Cantua
Creek, was once a productive site for agriculture. But droughts
and decades of farming have left the 9,500-acre area with dry
and alkaline soil. The Westlands Water District
currently owns the land and is shutting down irrigation on
it and other swaths of former farmland, aiming to
conserve water for areas with better dirt.
… The Supreme Court’s reasoning in Seven
County encourages judicial restraint in NEPA cases.
Thus, Seven County may prompt federal agencies to
conduct NEPA reviews with less fear of judicial oversight than
they may have had prior to the decision. For proponents of
water infrastructure projects involving the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (Corps), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), or
other federal agencies, this shift could create a less onerous
permitting process. However, these project proponents remain
exposed to regulatory uncertainty — especially in projects
involving multiple federal agencies — because of the recent
rollback of the Council on Environmental Quality’s unified NEPA
framework. The proponents also face litigation risk at the
state level, and under statutes that, unlike NEPA, impose
substantive constraints on development decisions. In fact,
approval of the project at the heart of Seven
County remains vacated under some such authorities at this
time. Therefore, all stakeholders — project proponents and
opposers alike — should proceed cautiously as this area of law
continues to evolve.
The Arizona House is taking up the so-called “Ag to Urban
bill.” The Senate approved the bipartisan measure Thursday.
Also known as Senate Bill 1611, the measure provides what
Senate Natural Resources Chair Thomas “T.J.” Shope calls
solutions to Arizona’s most pressing issues: groundwater
protection and skyrocketing home prices due to low supply.
Under the bill, farmers would be allowed to sell their land and
water rights to developers who will in turn build for-sale
housing to meet the needs of Arizona’s growing population. In a
press release, Shope, who’s also the Senate president pro
tempore, called this “the most consequential piece of
groundwater legislation” in decades. ”An analysis of the
Ag-to-Urban program by the Arizona Department of Water
Resources reveals our state will save 9.6-million-acre feet of
water over the next 100 years,” said the Republican senator.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon said his vote approving potential wind
development on state land in Niobrara and Converse counties
isn’t a slight to the state’s other industries, but a nod to
private property rights and economic development. The wind
projects garnering headlines and causing tension among
neighbors will produce energy to convert to clean
hydrogen. … The larger issue for many
is water, Gordon said. “What I’ve hear
more from Niobrara County folks is that our water is really
precious, and if we’re going to be turning it into hydrogen,
it’s going to be one more use and it’s going to take water away
from us and we already don’t have enough water,” he said. “I
understand that issue as well. People are forgetting that
water rights are sacred in Wyoming, and you
can’t just show up and build something and expect to get the
water.” That portion of the project, he said, is still in
development and wasn’t within the scope of what the state land
board voted upon.
