Topic: Legislation — California and Federal

Overview

Legislation — California and Federal

Today Californians face increased risks from flooding, water shortages, unhealthy water quality, ecosystem decline and infrastructure degradation. Many federal and state legislative acts address ways to improve water resource management, ecosystem restoration, as well as water rights settlements and strategies to oversee groundwater and surface water.

Aquafornia news AP News

House Republicans push to sell thousands of acres of land in Utah, Nevada

House Republicans added a provision to their sweeping tax cut package authorizing sales of hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah, prompting outrage from Democrats and environmentalists who called it a betrayal that could lead to drilling, mining and logging in sensitive areas. Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee adopted the land sales proposal early Wednesday morning. The initial draft had not included it amid bipartisan opposition. The land sale provision was put forward by Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah. The parcels could be used for economic development, mining and infrastructure projects such as the expansion of an airport and a reservoir in Utah, according to local officials and plans for the areas.

Other public land news:

Aquafornia news E&E News by Politico

Interior staff braces for impending layoffs

Interior Department employees are preparing for notices of layoffs as soon as next week, as the Trump administration appears to ready further cuts at bureaus and agencies that have already seen hundreds of employees voluntarily leave their posts. Interior indicated in mid-April that it would pursue staff reductions — continuing efforts initiated by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to slash executive branch agencies — when it issued staffers a list of “competitive areas” that could be subject to cuts. … Interior declined to detail how many of its employees — which numbered more than 69,000 individuals in September 2024 — have already accepted early retirement offers or enrolled in the “deferred resignation program.” But according to individuals with knowledge of reductions at the Bureau of Reclamation, for example, reductions have reached as many as 25 percent of the agency, or 1,400 people.

Other Interior Department news:

Aquafornia news Visalia Times-Delta (Calif.)

Tulare County Supervisors take water concerns to Sacramento

Tulare County Board of Supervisors made its annual trip to Sacramento to advocate for issues important to the county. The two days of meetings were held on April 22-23, immediately before the 2025 California State Association of Counties Legislative Conference. … “We talked to everybody about kind of the same issues,” (Supervisor Larry) Micari said, explaining that the main focus of the advocating effort was water. “The biggest thing that we talked about is the Airborne Snow Observatories,” he said. … “There’s talk of them reducing funding, so we spoke to them to try to get that funding to stay, and to actually increase it,” he said. 

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Shake-up at EPA threatens Energy Star, climate offices

A proposal by the Trump administration to reorganize the Environmental Protection Agency targets divisions that house its climate change offices as well as Energy Star, a widely popular program designed to help lower energy costs for American households. A chart of the proposed reorganization reviewed by The Times on Tuesday showed plans for vast changes to the Office of Air and Radiation, where the programs are currently held, among several other divisions. … And yet, perhaps the most dramatic cuts may be to the agency’s main office devoted to understanding, tracking and combating climate change, which is housed under the same division set for a shuffle.

Other EPA news:

Aquafornia news Berkeleyside (Calif.)

Fired (or not?) from Trump’s EPA, this Berkeley resident says his worst fears have come true

Berkeley resident Daniel Fahey, recently hired by the Environmental Protection Agency to administer Bay Area grants aimed at improving water quality and restoring wetlands, is among the thousands of so-called “probationary” federal workers who received an email in mid-February announcing they’d been fired. … The full impacts of the cuts are yet to be seen. Already, the EPA has suspended anticipated grants for North Richmond, putting $19 million in projects meant to improve the environment in limbo. More than 60 California grants are on a list of 400 that the EPA has targeted for termination, according to a list obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Other EPA news:

Aquafornia news E&E News by Politico

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Interior water nominee calls Colorado River ‘top priority’

Interior Department veteran Andrea Travnicek on Wednesday identified Colorado River policies, critical minerals development and infrastructure as her top three priorities if she is confirmed as Interior’s assistant secretary for water and science. With a background that includes service in the first Trump administration’s Interior Department and leadership of North Dakota’s Department of Water Resources, Travnicek noted that there are “a lot of discussions right now” related to the 1,450-mile river and the allocation of its water. “We’ve got some looming deadlines that are in front of us next year, so we’re going to have to work really closely with those seven states in the [Colorado River] basin,” Travnicek told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Other Colorado River Basin news:

Aquafornia news Lake County News (Clear Lake, Calif.)

Environmental panel approves bill calling for tribal input on water projects

A bill requiring the State Water Quality Control Board or regional water quality control board to describe and consider the impact on tribes of proposed water projects subject to their approval was approved (Wednesday) by the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) introduced the bill, AB 362, that also requires the state and local boards to adopt, when applicable, water quality standards to protect reasonable protections of tribal water uses. … In managing water quality and access, the State Water Board designates certain uses such as recreation, navigation, and preservation and protection of aquatic resources and wildlife as beneficial uses of water that are defined in the California Code of Regulations. 

Aquafornia news The Washington Post

EPA to cancel 781 environmental justice grants, court filing shows

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to cancel a total of 781 grants issued under President Joe Biden, EPA lawyers wrote in a little-noticed court filing last week, almost twice the number previously reported. The filing in Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council v. Department of Agriculture marks the first time the agency has publicly acknowledged the total number of grants set for termination, which includes all of its environmental justice grants. It comes during court fights over whether the EPA has violated its legal obligations when clawing back the funds. … The canceled grants would have funded a range of projects aimed at helping communities cope with the worsening effects of climate change.

Other EPA news:

Aquafornia news USA Today

EPA continues efforts to cut staff, pushes for voluntary exits

Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency got another nudge toward the door in an email offering a second chance at voluntary retirement or deferred resignation. The agency is encouraging thousands of workers who remain after several rounds of buyouts and layoffs to voluntarily leave the agency, according to an April 28 email received by USA TODAY. The ongoing staff reductions are part of a sweeping effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to slash the size of the federal work force and reduce federal spending and the federal deficit. … The two departure programs are being offered to most employees, with some exclusions, according to the April 28 notice. 

Other EPA news:

Aquafornia news Bay Nature

Blog: How (and when) can you get your hands on California’s climate bond?

… Proposition 4’s $10 billion bond (was) approved by California voters in November 2024 to fund climate adaptation work across the state. … But as Trump has cut or threatened federal climate funding, “everyone is hoping to get Prop 4 money,” says Robert Mazurek, the executive director of the California Marine Sanctuaries Foundation. Under Proposition 4, more than 30 state agencies (many under the umbrella of the California Natural Resources Agency) will give out bond money to grantees across the state for projects that help foster more resilient water systems, less fiery forests, more biodiverse landscapes, safer coastlines, cleaner air, and more. Most of those applications for grants haven’t opened yet—but many groups are already eyeing it. Here’s Bay Nature’s guide to help organizations understand and prep for Prop 4’s rollout.

Aquafornia news The Washington Post

Interior Secretary puts DOGE rep Tyler Hassen in charge of cuts

… In an order issued Thursday, (Interior Secretary Doug) Burgum put Tyler Hassen, who came to the Interior Department as a representative of the U.S. DOGE Service, in charge of a sweeping effort to “create significant efficiencies” and eliminate “redundant efforts” across the department. Hassen’s broad portfolio includes IT, human resources, training, financial management, international affairs, contracting, communications and other tasks. … Hassen’s decisions could have major implications for how Interior — which is responsible for maintaining national parks, protecting endangered species, and overseeing drilling in public lands and waters — operates going forward. … One of Hassen’s first tasks after President Donald Trump’s inauguration was visiting a Northern California water pumping station to push one of Trump’s long-standing priorities: rerouting water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state.

Related articles:

Aquafornia news SFGate

Trump administration mulls intervention in California dam removal

In a major twist, the Donald Trump administration is now reviewing regional appeals to halt PG&E’s plans to dismantle the Potter Valley Project. … In an April 14 letter, the Bureau of Reclamation responded to an inquiry from Aaron Sykes, a board member of the Lake Pillsbury Alliance, which represents the homeowners and stakeholders fighting to keep Scott Dam, the structure that holds back Lake Pillsbury. In the letter, which was reviewed by SFGATE, the federal agency said funding for the project is “undergoing reviews” to ensure it aligns with an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office that directs the government to explore any “undue burden” on the “use of domestic energy resources” including, oil, coal and hydropower.

Aquafornia news The San Joaquin Valley Sun (Fresno, Calif.)

U.S. Ag Secretary appoints Aubrey Bettencourt to senior post

California farmer Aubrey Bettencourt has been appointed as the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Bettencourt previously served as the President and CEO of the Almond Alliance and was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior during President Donald Trump’s first administration. … Along with her roles with the Almond Alliance and the USDA, Bettencourt comes to the NRCS after working as the Global Director of Government Relations and External Affairs for Netafilm, which is an Orbia company. 

Other agriculture news:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Trump administration seeks to narrow Endangered Species Act by redefining ‘harm’

The proposal advanced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service would limit the meaning to taking direct action to kill or injure endangered or threatened wildlife — removing the prohibition against habitat destruction that leads to those ends. It fits with White House officials’ intent to spur economic growth by slashing regulations. If adopted, the change could significantly curtail the reach of the Endangered Species Act, passed in 1973 under former President Nixon. It would also flout a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the definition of harm to encompass “significant habitat modification or degradation.” … (T)he previous definition prevented acts like cutting down swaths of old-growth forests in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest where federally threatened northern spotted owls nest and roost. Or filling in a wetland inhabited by red-legged frogs, California’s state amphibian also listed as federally threatened.

Related articles:

Aquafornia news San Francisco Chronicle

Read the Trump administration proposal that would upend NOAA

The Trump administration has proposed nearly $1.7 billion in cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that, if passed by Congress, could decimate funding to critical climate and extreme weather research and fundamentally change the structure of the agency. The proposal would cut more than $480 million from NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, according to a White House document obtained by the Chronicle. … The proposed budget would eliminate funding for NOAA’s six regional climate centers, which provide and manage unique environmental data to different parts of the United States based on regionally-specific weather and climate hazards. The Western Regional Climate Center monitors and researches drought, precipitation, wildfire smoke and other natural hazards in California and eight other states.

Other NOAA news:

Aquafornia news Politico

Federal judge orders immediate thaw of climate, infrastructure funds

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that EPA, the Interior and Energy Departments and other agencies unlawfully froze funds under Democrats’ climate and infrastructure spending laws, ordering the agencies to immediately resume disbursing the money. The ruling from Judge Mary McElroy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, who was named to the bench by President Donald Trump in 2019, comes on the eve of an expected decision from another judge in Washington on whether EPA lawfully terminated $20 billion in climate grants. That case and other litigation are part of a complex web of lawsuits over frozen funds and terminated grants playing out in multiple courts.

Other EPA news:

Aquafornia news Newsweek

Donald Trump cuts will impact weather forecasts across world, agency warns

Budget and staffing cuts under President Donald Trump’s administration are undermining global efforts to monitor the climate and produce accurate weather forecasts, warns the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The quality and quantity of climate observations available to scientists worldwide supplied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has already suffered a measurable decline, according to ECMWF Director General Florence Rabier. … Rabier said there has been a reduction in the number of observations shared by the U.S. since March, including a roughly 10 percent decline from weather balloons that collect data on temperature, humidity, and wind patterns.

Other NOAA news:

Aquafornia news Stormwater Solutions

Video: What does Assembly Bill 1313 mean for California?

Ben Harris, senior staff attorney with the LA Waterkeeper, discusses Assembly Bill 1313, which was introduced by assembly member Diane Papan on March 25. The bill would enact a statewide commercial stormwater permit in California that will balance the cost of stormwater management between private facilities and local governments while encouraging stormwater capture through the development of more green space in urban communities.  Harris expands on the purpose of the bill, why LA Waterkeeper sees it as necesssary and other details.

Aquafornia news The Guardian

NOAA fires hundreds of climate workers after court clears way for dismissals

Letters went out to hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) on Thursday, informing them their jobs had been terminated – again. The probationary employees, many who performed important roles at the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency, have spent weeks in limbo after being dismissed in late February, only to be rehired and put on administrative leave in mid-March following a federal court order. … These firings are already hampering the agency’s ability to provide essential climate and weather intelligence. Noaa is also bracing for more cuts as leaders make moves to comply with Trump’s “reduction in force”, an order that could cull 1,029 more positions.

Other NOAA news:

Aquafornia news Grist

Logging doesn’t prevent wildfires, but Trump is trying anyway

In an emergency directive issued late last week, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced her department’s plan to expand logging and timber production by 25 percent and, in the process, dismantle the half-a-century-old environmental review system that has blocked the federal government from finalizing major decisions concerning national forest lands without public insight. … While it may seem intuitive that cutting down high-risk trees will lead to less organic material that could incinerate, environmentalists say the administration’s plans to increase timber outputs, simplify permitting, and do away with certain environmental review processes are likely to only escalate wildfire risk and contribute more to climate change. 

Related articles:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Trump moves to undercut state climate laws, including California’s

The Trump administration this week ramped up its efforts to erode nationwide climate progress with a sweeping executive order aimed at undermining states’ ability to set their own environmental policies, including key components of California’s fight against climate change. In an order dated April 8, the president directed Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi to identify and “stop the enforcement of” state laws that address climate change and other environmental initiatives. … The order also takes aim at California’s cap-and-trade program — a first-of-its-kind initiative that sets limits on companies’ greenhouse gas emissions and allows them to sell “credits” for unused emissions to other companies.

Other water and energy executive order news:

Aquafornia news Aspen Public Radio (Colo.)

How the ‘Magna Carta’ of U.S. environmental law works in the West, and how the Trump administration wants to change it

For decades, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has governed how projects done by federal agencies must assess their impacts, and how the public is informed about these projects. But how does this legislation actually work in practice? And what changes are coming down the pike from the Trump administration? … “What does it look like to manage the Colorado River after 2026 when our current operating guidelines expire? And what will the impacts be to farmers, to municipalities, to wildlife habitat, to recreation or changing, potentially, how we allocate water and manage water in the Colorado River?” he (Chris Winter, the director of the Getches Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment at CU Boulder’s School of Law) said. “So that whole entire process of how people and the public engage in that conversation and submit their views to the government on what the government should do, that whole process is governed by the National Environmental Policy Act.”

Aquafornia news E&E News by Politico

Friday Top of the Scroll: California Senate scales back bill to Trump-proof water protections

Sen. Ben Allen accepted amendments Wednesday to narrow the scope of his bill meant to protect state waters from Trump administration rollbacks. What happened: The Senate Environmental Quality Committee said it would approve SB 601— which would create the term “nexus waters” to encompass all waters of the state that were under federal jurisdiction before the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA — after Allen agreed to amend it to clarify that it doesn’t apply to agricultural runoff or drinking water. “We are taking amendments to be very clear that we’re only talking about point sources, not non-point source,” said Sean Bothwell, executive director at California Coastkeeper Alliance and author of the bill.

Other California water legislation news:

Aquafornia news E&E News by Politico

Democrats’ forum on NOAA cuts draws fiery comments

A Navy admiral, a lawyer, a fisherman, an environmental group leader and a former head of the American Meteorological Society excoriated the Trump administration Wednesday for what they called a dangerous gutting of NOAA, the nation’s climate, weather and oceans agency. In a forum hosted by Democratic members of the House Natural Resources Committee, panelists representing a broad cross-section of experts and groups cast a grim picture of a core science agency hollowed out by firings and budget cuts. “I have hesitated to say this in prior instances in my life, but lives are at risk, people will die from this, I’m sorry to say,” Mary Glackin, the former AMS president and senior vice president of the Weather Company, told attendees of the hearing led by Rep. Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island.

Other NOAA news:

Aquafornia news Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nev.)

Walker River Paiute Tribe’s $20 million EPA grant suspended

A $20 million grant meant to strengthen a Nevada tribe’s poor access to electric power and clean water has been suspended, delaying construction timelines. The Environmental Protection Agency awarded the money to the Nevada Clean Energy Fund in December — one of 84 projects in that round of so-called Community Change Grants. With the money, the nonprofit aimed to work with the Walker River Paiute Tribe in west-central Nevada on needed infrastructure improvements. Kristen Stasio, the nonprofit’s CEO, said in an interview last week that the EPA hasn’t been communicative since she received notice March 7 that the grant was suspended.

Other federal water and weather project funding news:

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to Water Recycling
Updated 2024

Layperson's Guide to Water Recycling

Cities across California and the Southwest are significantly increasing and diversifying their use of recycled wastewater as traditional water supplies grow tighter.

The 5th edition of our Layperson’s Guide to Water Recycling covers the latest trends and statistics on water reuse as a strategic defense against prolonged drought and climate change.

Aquafornia news Ag Alert

Agencies race to fix plans to sustain groundwater levels

Seeking to prevent the California State Water Resources Control Board from stepping in to regulate groundwater in critically overdrafted subbasins, local agencies are working to correct deficiencies in their plans to protect groundwater. With groundwater sustainability agencies formed and groundwater sustainability plans evaluated, the state water board has moved to implement the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA. … Under probation, groundwater extractors in the Tulare Lake subbasin face annual fees of $300 per well and $20 per acre-foot pumped, plus a late reporting fee of 25%. SGMA also requires well owners to file annual groundwater extraction reports.

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Monday Top of the Scroll: California wants to harness more than half its land to combat climate change by 2045. Here’s how

California has unveiled an ambitious plan to help combat the worsening climate crisis with one of its invaluable assets: its land. Over the next 20 years, the state will work to transform more than half of its 100 million acres into multi-benefit landscapes that can absorb more carbon than they release, officials announced Monday. … The plan also calls for 11.9 million acres of forestland to be managed for biodiversity protection, carbon storage and water supply protection by 2045, and 2.7 million acres of shrublands and chaparral to be managed for carbon storage, resilience and habitat connectivity, among other efforts.

Related articles: 

Aquafornia news Congresswoman Norma Torres' Office

News release: Congresswoman Torres and Congressman Valadao introduce bipartisan “Removing Nitrate and Arsenic in Drinking Water Act”

Today, Congresswoman Norma Torres and Congressman David Valadao – members of the House Appropriations Committee – announced the introduction of the bipartisan Removing Nitrate and Arsenic in Drinking Water Act. This bill would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide grants for nitrate and arsenic reduction, by providing $15 million for FY25 and every fiscal year thereafter. The bill also directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take into consideration the needs of economically disadvantaged populations impacted by drinking water contamination. The California State Water Resources Control Board found the Inland Empire to have the highest levels of contamination of nitrate throughout the state including 82 sources in San Bernardino, 67 sources in Riverside County, and 123 sources in Los Angeles County.

Aquafornia news The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah looks to other states for more water under new bill

A much-anticipated water bill brought by one of the most powerful lawmakers on Capitol Hill became public Thursday. Senate President Stuart Adams’s SB 211, titled “Generational Water Infrastructure Amendments,” seeks to secure a water supply for decades to come. It forms a new council comprised of leadership from the state’s biggest water districts that will figure out Utah’s water needs for the next 50 to 75 years. It also creates a new governor-appointed “Utah Water Agent” with a $1 million annual budget that will “coordinate with the council to ensure Utah’s generational water needs are met,” according to a news release. But combing through the text of the bill reveals the water agent’s main job will be finding an out-of-state water supply. … The bill also notes the water agent won’t meddle with existing water compacts with other states on the Bear and Colorado rivers.

Related article: 

Aquafornia news Office of Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria

News release: Assemblywoman Soria introduces bill to boost groundwater recharge

Last week, Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria introduced AB 2060 to help divert local floodwater into regional groundwater basins. AB 2060 seeks to streamline the permitting process to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in support of Flood-MAR activities when a stream or river has reached flood-monitor or flood stage as determined by the California Nevada River Forecast Center or the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). This expedited approval process would be temporary during storm events with qualifying flows under the SWRCB permit.

Related article: 

Aquafornia news Western Water

California to uncloak water rights as it moves records online

… In California, just figuring out who holds a water right requires a trip to a downtown Sacramento storage room crammed with millions of paper and microfilmed records dating to the mid-1800s. Even the state’s water rights enforcers struggle to determine who is using what. … Come next year, however, the board expects to have all records electronically accessible to the public. Officials recently started scanning records tied to an estimated 45,000 water rights into an online database. They’re also designing a system that will give real-time data on how much water is being diverted from rivers and streams across the state. … Proponents say the information technology upgrade will help the state and water users better manage droughts, establish robust water trading markets and ensure water for fish and the environment.

Related article: 

JD Supra: Water regulation in the Western states: California’s 2023 legislative proposal highlights

Aquafornia news Ag Alert

Commentary: Can California reject a ’scarcity mindset’ on water?

… Without more investment and regulatory relief, Californians face a future of chronic water scarcity. Our system of water storage and distribution is in trouble. We have depleted aquifers, nearly empty reservoirs on the Colorado River, and a precarious network of century-old levees that are one big earthquake away from catastrophic failure. Then there’s always the next severe drought. Even if the governor aggressively pushes for more investment in water supply infrastructure and more regulatory relief so projects can go forward, the state is again staring down a budget deficit. Bonds to fund water infrastructure projects are going to have a hard time getting approval from voters already overburdened with among the highest taxes in America.
- Written by Edward Ring, senior fellow with the California Policy Center.

Aquafornia news Ag Alert

Summit tackles water challenges facing California

Below-average precipitation and snowpack during 2020-22 and depleted surface and groundwater supplies pushed California into a drought emergency that brought curtailment orders and calls for modernizing water rights. At the Water Education Foundation annual water summit last week in Sacramento, Eric Oppenheimer, chief deputy director of the California State Water Resources Control Board, discussed what he described as the state’s “antiquated” water rights system. He spoke before some 150 water managers, government officials, farmers, environmentalists and others as part of the event where interests come together to collaborate on some of the state’s most challenging water issues.

Related articles: 

Tour Nick Gray

San Joaquin River Restoration Tour 2022
Field Trip - November 2-3

This tour traveled along the San Joaquin River to learn firsthand about one of the nation’s largest and most expensive river restoration projects.

The San Joaquin River was the focus of one of the most contentious legal battles in California water history, ending in a 2006 settlement between the federal government, Friant Water Users Authority and a coalition of environmental groups.

Hampton Inn & Suites Fresno
327 E Fir Ave
Fresno, CA 93720

New EPA Regional Administrator Tackles Water Needs with a Wealth of Experience and $1 Billion in Federal Funding
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Martha Guzman says surge of federal dollars offers 'greatest opportunity' to address longstanding water needs, including for tribes & disadvantaged communities in EPA Region 9

EPA Region 9 Administrator Martha Guzman.Martha Guzman recalls those awful days working on water and other issues as a deputy legislative secretary for then-Gov. Jerry Brown. California was mired in a recession and the state’s finances were deep in the red. Parks were cut, schools were cut, programs were cut to try to balance a troubled state budget in what she remembers as “that terrible time.”

She now finds herself in a strikingly different position: As administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 9, she has a mandate to address water challenges across California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and $1 billion to help pay for it. It is the kind of funding, she said, that is usually spread out over a decade. Guzman called it the “absolutely greatest opportunity.”

Western Water By Gary Pitzer

Explainer: The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: The Law, The Judge And The Enforcer

The Resource

A groundwater pump in the San Joaquin Valley. Groundwater provides about 40 percent of the water in California for urban, rural and agricultural needs in typical years, and as much as 60 percent in dry years when surface water supplies are low. But in many areas of the state, groundwater is being extracted faster than it can be replenished through natural or artificial means.

Western Water California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Gary Pitzer

With Sustainability Plans Filed, Groundwater Agencies Now Must Figure Out How To Pay For Them
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: California's Prop. 218 taxpayer law and local politics could complicate efforts to finance groundwater improvement projects

A groundwater monitoring well in Colusa County, north of Sacramento. The bill is coming due, literally, to protect and restore groundwater in California.

Local agencies in the most depleted groundwater basins in California spent months putting together plans to show how they will achieve balance in about 20 years.

Western Water California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Understanding Streamflow Is Vital to Water Management in California, But Gaps In Data Exist
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: A new law aims to reactivate dormant stream gauges to aid in flood protection, water forecasting

Stream gauges gather important metrics such as  depth, flow (described as cubic feet per second) and temperature.  This gauge near downtown Sacramento measures water depth.California is chock full of rivers and creeks, yet the state’s network of stream gauges has significant gaps that limit real-time tracking of how much water is flowing downstream, information that is vital for flood protection, forecasting water supplies and knowing what the future might bring.

That network of stream gauges got a big boost Sept. 30 with the signing of SB 19. Authored by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), the law requires the state to develop a stream gauge deployment plan, focusing on reactivating existing gauges that have been offline for lack of funding and other reasons. Nearly half of California’s stream gauges are dormant.

Western Water Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Map Gary Pitzer

Bruce Babbitt Urges Creation of Bay-Delta Compact as Way to End ‘Culture of Conflict’ in California’s Key Water Hub
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Former Interior secretary says Colorado River Compact is a model for achieving peace and addressing environmental and water needs in the Delta

Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt gives the Anne J. Schneider Lecture April 3 at Sacramento's Crocker Art Museum.  Bruce Babbitt, the former Arizona governor and secretary of the Interior, has been a thoughtful, provocative and sometimes forceful voice in some of the most high-profile water conflicts over the last 40 years, including groundwater management in Arizona and the reduction of California’s take of the Colorado River. In 2016, former California Gov. Jerry Brown named Babbitt as a special adviser to work on matters relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Delta tunnels plan.

Western Water California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Gary Pitzer

As Deadline Looms for California’s Badly Overdrafted Groundwater Basins, Kern County Seeks a Balance to Keep Farms Thriving
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: Sustainability plans required by the state’s groundwater law could cap Kern County pumping, alter what's grown and how land is used

Water sprinklers irrigate a field in the southern region of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County.Groundwater helped make Kern County the king of California agricultural production, with a $7 billion annual array of crops that help feed the nation. That success has come at a price, however. Decades of unchecked groundwater pumping in the county and elsewhere across the state have left some aquifers severely depleted. Now, the county’s water managers have less than a year left to devise a plan that manages and protects groundwater for the long term, yet ensures that Kern County’s economy can continue to thrive, even with less water.

Western Water Gary Pitzer

California Officials Draft a $600M Plan To Help Low-Income Households Absorb Rising Water Bills
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: State Water Board report proposes new taxes on personal and business income or fees on bottled water and booze to fund rate relief program

Filling a glass with clean water from the kitchen tap.Low-income Californians can get help with their phone bills, their natural gas bills and their electric bills. But there’s only limited help available when it comes to water bills.

That could change if the recommendations of a new report are implemented into law. Drafted by the State Water Resources Control Board, the report outlines the possible components of a program to assist low-income households facing rising water bills.

Western Water Douglas E. Beeman

What Would You Do About Water If You Were California’s Next Governor?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Survey at Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit elicits a long and wide-ranging potential to-do list

There’s going to be a new governor in California next year – and a host of challenges both old and new involving the state’s most vital natural resource, water.

So what should be the next governor’s water priorities?

That was one of the questions put to more than 150 participants during a wrap-up session at the end of the Water Education Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento.

Western Water Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Gary Pitzer

Novel Effort to Aid Groundwater on California’s Central Coast Could Help Other Depleted Basins
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Michael Kiparsky, director of UC Berkeley's Wheeler Water Institute, explains Pajaro Valley groundwater recharge pilot project

Michael KiparskySpurred by drought and a major policy shift, groundwater management has assumed an unprecedented mantle of importance in California. Local agencies in the hardest-hit areas of groundwater depletion are drawing plans to halt overdraft and bring stressed aquifers to the road of recovery.

Along the way, an army of experts has been enlisted to help characterize the extent of the problem and how the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 is implemented in a manner that reflects its original intent.

Western Water California Water Bundle Gary Pitzer

Statewide Water Bond Measures Could Have Californians Doing a Double-Take in 2018
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Two bond measures, worth $13B, would aid flood preparation, subsidence, Salton Sea and other water needs

San Joaquin Valley bridge rippled by subsidence  California voters may experience a sense of déjà vu this year when they are asked twice in the same year to consider water bonds — one in June, the other headed to the November ballot.

Both tackle a variety of water issues, from helping disadvantaged communities get clean drinking water to making flood management improvements. But they avoid more controversial proposals, such as new surface storage, and they propose to do some very different things to appeal to different constituencies.

Tour

San Joaquin River Restoration Tour 2018

Participants of this tour snaked along the San Joaquin River to learn firsthand about one of the nation’s largest and most expensive river restoration projects.

Fishery worker capturing a fish in the San Joaquin River.

The San Joaquin River was the focus of one of the most contentious legal battles in California water history, ending in a 2006 settlement between the federal government, Friant Water Users Authority and a coalition of environmental groups.

Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)

A man watches as a groundwater pump pours water onto a field in Northern California.A new era of groundwater management began in 2014 with the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which aims for local and regional agencies to develop and implement sustainable groundwater management plans with the state as the backstop.

SGMA defines “sustainable groundwater management” as the “management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained during the planning and implementation horizon without causing undesirable results.”

Publication

The 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
A Handbook to Understanding and Implementing the Law

This handbook provides crucial background information on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, signed into law in 2014 by Gov. Jerry Brown. The handbook also includes a section on options for new governance.

Water Conservation

Drought-tolerant landscaping reduces the amount of water used on traditional lawns

Water conservation has become a way of life throughout the West with a growing recognition that water supply is not unlimited.

Drought is the most common motivator of increased water conservation. However, the gradual drying of the West due to climate change means the amount of fresh water available for drinking, irrigation, industry and other uses must be used as efficiently as possible.

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Salton Sea

As part of the historic Colorado River Delta, the Salton Sea regularly filled and dried for thousands of years due to its elevation of 237 feet below sea level.

The most recent version of the Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when the Colorado River broke through a series of dikes and flooded the seabed for two years, creating California’s largest inland body of water. The Salton Sea, which is saltier than the Pacific Ocean, includes 130 miles of shoreline and is larger than Lake Tahoe

Aquapedia background California Water Map Layperson's Guide to California Water

Safe Drinking Water Act

The federal Safe Drinking Water Act sets standards for drinking water quality in the United States.

Launched in 1974 and administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Safe Drinking Water Act oversees states, communities, and water suppliers who implement the drinking water standards at the local level.

The act’s regulations apply to every public water system in the United States but do not include private wells serving less than 25 people.

According to the EPA, there are more than 160,000 public water systems in the United States.

Aquapedia background California Water Map Layperson's Guide to California Water

California Environmental Quality Act

The California Environmental Quality Act, commonly known as CEQA, is foundational to the state’s environmental protection efforts. The law requires proposed developments with the potential for “significant” impacts on the physical environment to undergo an environmental review. 

Since its passage in 1970, CEQA (based on the National Environmental Policy Act) has served as a model for similar legislation in other states.

Western Water Magazine

Changing the Status Quo: The 2009 Water Package
January/February 2010

This printed issue of Western Water looks at some of the pieces of the 2009 water legislation, including the Delta Stewardship Council, the new requirements for groundwater monitoring and the proposed water bond.

Western Water Magazine

Overdrawn at the Bank: Managing California’s Groundwater
January/February 2014

This printed issue of Western Water looks at California groundwater and whether its sustainability can be assured by local, regional and state management. For more background information on groundwater please refer to the Founda­tion’s Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater.

Western Water Magazine

Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Quality: A Cause for Concern?
September/October 2012

This printed issue of Western Water looks at hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in California. Much of the information in the article was presented at a conference hosted by the Groundwater Resources Association of California.

Western Water Magazine

Water Policy 2007: The View from Washington and Sacramento
March/April 2007

This issue of Western Water looks at the political landscape in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento as it relates to water issues in 2007. Several issues are under consideration, including the means to deal with impending climate change, the fate of the San Joaquin River, the prospects for new surface storage in California and the Delta.

Western Water Magazine

Are We Keeping Up With Water Infrastructure Needs?
January/February 2012

This printed issue of Western Water examines water infrastructure – its costs and the quest to augment traditional brick-and-mortar facilities with sleeker, “green” features.

Western Water Magazine

Dollars and Sense: How We Pay for Water
September/October 2009

This printed issue of Western Water examines the financing of water infrastructure, both at the local level and from the statewide perspective, and some of the factors that influence how people receive their water, the price they pay for it and how much they might have to pay in the future.

Western Water Magazine

Making the Connection: The Water/Energy Nexus
September/October 2010

This printed issue of Western Water looks at the energy requirements associated with water use and the means by which state and local agencies are working to increase their knowledge and improve the management of both resources.

Western Water Magazine

Mimicking the Natural Landscape: Low Impact Development and Stormwater Capture
September/October 2011

This printed issue of Western Water discusses low impact development and stormwater capture – two areas of emerging interest that are viewed as important components of California’s future water supply and management scenario.

Western Water Magazine

A Call to Action? The Colorado River Basin Supply and Demand Study
November/December 2012

This printed issue of Western Water examines the Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study and what its finding might mean for the future of the lifeblood of the Southwest.

Western Water Magazine

Nitrate and the Struggle for Clean Drinking Water
March/April 2013

This printed issue of Western Water discusses the problems of nitrate-contaminated water in small disadvantaged communities and possible solutions.

Video

The Klamath Basin: A Restoration for the Ages (20 min. DVD)

20-minute version of the 2012 documentary The Klamath Basin: A Restoration for the Ages. This DVD is ideal for showing at community forums and speaking engagements to help the public understand the complex issues related to complex water management disputes in the Klamath River Basin. Narrated by actress Frances Fisher.

Video

The Klamath Basin: A Restoration for the Ages (60 min. DVD)

For over a century, the Klamath River Basin along the Oregon and California border has faced complex water management disputes. As relayed in this 2012, 60-minute public television documentary narrated by actress Frances Fisher, the water interests range from the Tribes near the river, to energy producer PacifiCorp, farmers, municipalities, commercial fishermen, environmentalists – all bearing legitimate arguments for how to manage the water. After years of fighting, a groundbreaking compromise may soon settle the battles with two epic agreements that hold the promise of peace and fish for the watershed. View an excerpt from the documentary here.

Video

Shaping of the West: 100 Years of Reclamation

30-minute DVD that traces the history of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and its role in the development of the West. Includes extensive historic footage of farming and the construction of dams and other water projects, and discusses historic and modern day issues.

Maps & Posters

San Joaquin River Restoration Map
Published 2012

This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, features a map of the San Joaquin River. The map text focuses on the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, which aims to restore flows and populations of Chinook salmon to the river below Friant Dam to its confluence with the Merced River. The text discusses the history of the program, its goals and ongoing challenges with implementation. 

Maps & Posters

Carson River Basin Map
Published 2006

A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this 24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson River, and its link to the Truckee River. The map includes the Lahontan Dam and reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming areas in the basin. Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and geography, the Newlands Project, land and water use within the basin and wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan Basin Area Office.

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law
Updated 2020

The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law, recognized as the most thorough explanation of California water rights law available to non-lawyers, traces the authority for water flowing in a stream or reservoir, from a faucet or into an irrigation ditch through the complex web of California water rights.

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to Water Marketing
Updated 2005

The 20-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Marketing provides background information on water rights, types of transfers and critical policy issues surrounding this topic. First published in 1996, the 2005 version offers expanded information on groundwater banking and conjunctive use, Colorado River transfers and the role of private companies in California’s developing water market. 

Order in bulk (25 or more copies of the same guide) for a reduced fee. Contact the Foundation, 916-444-6240, for details.

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to the State Water Project
Updated 2013

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the State Water Project provides an overview of the California-funded and constructed State Water Project.

The State Water Project is best known for the 444-mile-long aqueduct that provides water from the Delta to San Joaquin Valley agriculture and southern California cities. The guide contains information about the project’s history and facilities.

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to the Klamath River Basin
Published 2023

The Water Education Foundation’s second edition of the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is hot off the press and available for purchase.

Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview covers the history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers — and a vast watershed that hosts one of the nation’s oldest and largest reclamation projects.

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water Management
Published 2013

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication that provides background information on the principles of IRWM, its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water management approach.

Publication California Groundwater Map

Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater
Updated 2017

The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication that provides background and perspective on groundwater. The guide explains what groundwater is – not an underground network of rivers and lakes! – and the history of its use in California.

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to Flood Management
Updated 2009

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Flood Management explains the physical flood control system, including levees; discusses previous flood events (including the 1997 flooding); explores issues of floodplain management and development; provides an overview of flood forecasting; and outlines ongoing flood control projects. 

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project
Updated 2021

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project explores the history and development of the federal Central Valley Project (CVP), California’s largest surface water delivery system. In addition to the project’s history, the guide describes the various facilities, operations and benefits the water project brings to the state along with the CVP Improvement Act (CVPIA).

Publication Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Map

Layperson’s Guide to the Delta
Updated 2020

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Delta explores the competing uses and demands on California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Included in the guide are sections on the history of the Delta, its role in the state’s water system, and its many complex issues with sections on water quality, levees, salinity and agricultural drainage, fish and wildlife, and water distribution.

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Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Litigation

For more than 30 years, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been embroiled in continuing controversy over the struggle to restore the faltering ecosystem while maintaining its role as the hub of the state’s water supply.

Lawsuits and counter lawsuits have been filed, while environmentalists and water users continue to clash over  the amount of water that can be safely exported from the region.

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National Environmental Policy Act

Passed in 1970, the federal National Environmental Policy Act requires lead public agencies to prepare and submit for public review environmental impact reports and statements on major federal projects under their purview with potentially significant environmental effects.

According to the Department of Energy, administrator of NEPA:

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Judge Wanger Rulings

Federal Judge Oliver Wanger overturned a federal scientific study that aimed to protect Delta smelt in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

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Groundwater Legislation

California has considered, but not implemented, a comprehensive groundwater strategy many times over the last century.

One hundred years ago, the California Conservation Commission considered adding  groundwater regulation into the Water Commission Act of 1913.  After hearings were held, it was decided to leave groundwater rights out of the Water Code.

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Federal Reserved Rights

Federal reserved rights were created when the United States reserved land from the public domain for uses such as Indian reservations, military bases and national parks, forests and monuments.  [See also Pueblo Rights].

Aquapedia background California Water Map Layperson's Guide to California Water

Federal Endangered Species Act

The federal government passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, following earlier legislation. The first, the  Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, authorized land acquisition to conserve select species. The Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969 then expanded on the 1966 act, and authorized “the compilation of a list of animals “threatened with worldwide extinction” and prohibits their importation without a permit.”

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California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

North Fork of the American River,  a section deemed wild and scenic. California’s Legislature passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1972, following the passage of the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by Congress in 1968. Under California law, “[c]ertain rivers which possess extraordinary scenic, recreational, fishery, or wildlife values shall be preserved in their free-flowing state, together with their immediate environments, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of the state.”

Rivers are classified as:

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California Endangered Species Act

California was the first state in the nation to protect fish, flora and fauna with the enactment of the California Endangered Species Act in 1970. (Congress followed suit in 1973 by passing the federal Endangered Species Act. See also the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES.)

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Area-of-Origin and California Water

The legal term “area-of-origin” dates back to 1931 in California.

At that time, concerns over water transfers prompted enactment of four “area-of-origin” statutes. With water transfers from Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley to supply water for San Francisco and from Owens Valley to Los Angeles fresh in mind, the statutes were intended to protect local areas against export of water.

In particular, counties in Northern California had concerns about the state tapping their water to develop California’s supply.

Western Water Excerpt Gary PitzerRita Schmidt Sudman

Changing the Status Quo: The 2009 Water Package
January/February 2010

It would be a vast understatement to say the package of water bills approved by the California Legislature and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last November was anything but a significant achievement. During a time of fierce partisan battles and the state’s long-standing political gridlock with virtually all water policy, pundits at the beginning of 2009 would have given little chance to lawmakers being able to reach com­promise on water legislation.

Western Water Excerpt Gary PitzerRita Schmidt Sudman

Thirty Years of the Clean Water Act
Nov/Dec 2002

This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most significant environmental laws in American history, the Clean Water Act (CWA). The law that emerged from the consensus and compromise that characterizes the legislative process has had remarkable success, reversing years of neglect and outright abuse of the nation’s waters.

Western Water Excerpt Rita Schmidt Sudman

The Davis Administration and California Water
Mar/Apr 1999

In January, Mary Nichols joined the cabinet of the new Davis administration. With her appointment by Gov. Gray Davis as Secretary for Resources, Ms. Nichols, 53, took on the role of overseeing the state of California’s activities for the management, preservation and enhancement of its natural resources, including land, wildlife, water and minerals. As head of the Resources Agency, she directs the activities of 19 departments, conservancies, boards and commissions, serving as the governor’s representative on these boards and commissions.

Western Water Excerpt Rita Schmidt Sudman

CVP Improvement Act Update
May/Jun 1997

Two days before our annual Executive Briefing, I picked up my phone to hear “The White House calling… .” Vice President Al Gore had accepted the foundation’s invitation to speak at our March 13 briefing on California water issues. That was the start of a new experience for us. For in addition to conducting a briefing for about 250 people, we were now dealing with Secret Service agents, bomb sniffing dogs and government sharpshooters, speech writers, print and TV reporters, school children and public relations people.