More than 1 million Californians are affected by unsafe or
unreliable sources of water for cooking, drinking and bathing.
They can lose access to water supplies when their wells run dry,
especially during drought when groundwater is relied on more
heavily and the water table drops. Employment disruptions caused
by the COVID-19 pandemic can impair their ability to pay water
bills on time. Communities of color are most often burdened by
these challenges.
Below you’ll find the latest news articles raising
awareness on efforts to seek water equity written by the staff at
the Water Education Foundation and other organizations that were
posted in our Aquafornia news aggregate.
The Wonderful Company, California-based maker of the popular
pomegranate juice POM, is the state’s second-largest user of
paraquat – a toxic herbicide banned in over 60 countries – a
new Environmental Working Group investigation finds.
Studies have found a strong connection between paraquat
exposure and an elevated risk of Parkinson’s disease. The
chemical has also been linked with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and
childhood leukemia. … Wonderful’s brands include POM
pomegranate juice, Landmark Vineyards wine and Fiji Water,
among many others. In 2021 alone, Wonderful sprayed more
than 56,000 pounds of paraquat on California fields where it
grows pistachios, almonds and pomegranates, according to state
and county records analyzed by EWG. … The herbicide can
remain in soil for years.
Pretty much every time I write about the amount of Colorado
River water that is consumed to irrigate alfalfa and hay,
readers respond with a comment or question about how much of
the alfalfa — and therefore Colorado River water — is shipped
overseas. … It is true that Western farms export alfalfa
to foreign countries. … But there’s a big caveat here: Many
farms in Arizona — and most if not all of the Saudi Arabia
owned ones — irrigate with groundwater, not with water diverted
from the Colorado River.
Kings County growers will face millions of dollars in fees and
a mandate to report groundwater pumping after California
officials voted unanimously today to put local agencies on
probation for failing to protect the region’s underground water
supply. The unprecedented decision is a first step that could
eventually lead to the state wresting control of a groundwater
basin in a severely depleted part of the San Joaquin
Valley. Before issuing the probation order, the State
Water Resources Control Board had repeatedly warned five
groundwater agencies in Kings County that their management plan
for the Tulare Lake basin is seriously deficient, failing to
rein in the dried-up wells, contaminated water and sinking
earth worsened by overpumping.
One of the biggest battles over Colorado River water is being
staged in one of the west’s smallest rural enclaves.Tucked into
the bends of the lower Colorado River, Cibola, Arizona, is a
community of about 200 people. … Nearly a decade ago,
Greenstone Resource Partners LLC, a private company backed by
global investors, bought almost 500 acres of agricultural land
here in Cibola. In a first-of-its-kind deal, the company
recently sold the water rights tied to the land to the town of
Queen Creek, a suburb of Phoenix, for a $14m gross profit. More
than 2,000 acre-feet of water from the Colorado River that was
once used to irrigate farmland is now flowing, through a canal
system, to the taps of homes more than 200 miles away.
For the first time in California history, state officials are
poised to crack down on overpumping of groundwater in the
agricultural heartland. The State Water Resources Control
Board on Tuesday will weigh whether to put Kings County
groundwater agencies on probation for failing to rein in
growers’ overdrafting of the underground water supply.
Probation — which would levy state fees that could total
millions of dollars — is the first step that could allow
California regulators to eventually take over management of the
region’s groundwater.
President Biden has approved California’s request for a major
disaster declaration to support recovery efforts from a string
of February storms that drenched much of the state with
historic rainfall and mountain snow and resulted in numerous
deaths, officials announced Sunday. Nine California counties —
Butte, Glenn, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa
Barbara, Santa Cruz, Sutter and Ventura — will receive federal
aid as a result of the declaration, which also includes funding
for statewide hazard mitigation efforts, officials said. “
Workers hurriedly tried to shore up a rural Utah dam after a
60-foot crack sent water pouring into a creek and endangering
the 1,800 residents of a downstream town. State and local
leaders don’t think the Panguitch Lake Dam is in imminent
danger of breaking open but have told residents to be prepared
to evacuate if conditions worsen.
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.
California lawmakers want to establish the state’s position on
environmental health, taking a first step Monday in their
proactive approach to ensure processes for the state’s
environmental management remains secure, regardless of any
federal changes. … The Los Angeles Democrat is
propositioning a constitutional amendment that would enshrine
into law the Californian’s right to clean air, water and the
environment. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 16,
authored by Bryan, passed Monday out of the Assembly Natural
Resources Committee and into his chamber’s Appropriations
Committee. It must pass both houses by at least two-thirds and
then secure a majority vote at the polls.
The Commerce Department announced Monday it pledged up to
$6.6 billion to Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC,
which will add a third chip manufacturing facility in Arizona
to the two in the works. The grant will go down in Washington
as one of the crown jewels of the Biden administration’s
initiative to bring the supply chain for ubiquitous—and
strategically vital—computer chips back to the United
States. But in Phoenix, where the factories are going to
be built, TSMC faces a lingering question: where’s the water
going to come from in one of the driest cities in the
country?
New California legislation seeks to permanently ban paraquat, a
powerful and widely used weedkiller that has been linked to
Parkinson’s disease and other serious health issues. Assembly
Bill 1963, introduced recently by Assemblymember Laura Friedman
(D-Glendale), would sunset the use of paraquat beginning in
January 2026. The herbicide, which is described by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency as highly toxic, is regularly
sprayed on almonds, grapes, cotton and other crops in the
state. … California is the nation’s top user of paraquat
…
Nearly half of US prisons draw water from sources likely
contaminated with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, new research
finds. At least around 1m people incarcerated in the US,
including 13,000 juveniles, are estimated to be housed in the
prisons, and they are especially vulnerable to the dangerous
chemicals because there is little they can do to protect
themselves, said Nicholas Shapiro, a study co-author at the
University of California in Los Angeles.
Zimbabwe declared a state of disaster Wednesday over a
devastating drought that’s sweeping across much of southern
Africa, with the country’s president saying it needs $2 billion
for humanitarian assistance. The declaration was widely
expected following similar actions by neighboring Zambia and
Malawi, where drought linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon
has scorched crops, leaving millions of people in need of food
assistance. … [President Emmerson Mnangagwa] appealed to
United Nations agencies, local businesses and faith
organizations to contribute towards humanitarian
assistance. El Nino, a naturally occurring climatic
phenomenon that warms parts of the Pacific Ocean every two to
seven years, has varied effects on the world’s weather. In
southern Africa, it typically causes below-average rainfall,
but this year has seen the worst drought in decades.
As Attorney General Kris Mayes gathers evidence to take action
against corporate farms’ groundwater pumping, some lawmakers
would like to establish protections that discourage such
lawsuits. Agricultural operations could get their legal fees
paid by the plaintiff if they are sued in a nuisance action to
reduce or take away their water use under a bill filed early
this year by state Rep. Austin Smith, R-Wittmann. The measure
would have a “chilling effect” on new approaches to reduce
groundwater use, several legal experts told The Arizona
Republic, because the claimant would need to pay filing fees
and attorney fees for themselves and the sued party.
Water is a crucial topic in the American Southwest, as
continued drought and cuts to Colorado River water allocations
make more urgent the policy decisions on the future of water in
the region. Gaps in water policies have historically left
tribal communities with limited access to clean water and
infrastructure, a situation that Cora Tso is working to
correct. Tso, a new senior research fellow with the Kyl Center
for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison
Institute, is particularly well-suited to address tribal water
policy issues as both a lawyer specializing in Indian and water
law and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She aims to
share her expertise with others, both through an assessment
tool she is creating and an upcoming free webinar on tribal
water issues April 9 that is open to the public…. Tso
was recently recognized as a Colorado River Water
Leader by the Water Education Foundation
and has strong ambitions as she continues in her career.
Groundwater in Arizona belongs to all of us. It is a public
resource and sensible management of it is vital to our shared
future. But instead of fulfilling their obligation to
protect this finite and diminishing water supply, Arizona’s
Republican legislators have introduced dozens of bills at the
statehouse aimed at enriching residential developers and
corporate farmers who want to expand their groundwater
use. Many of these bills are advancing and will end up on
the governor’s desk. One intent of these bills is to
weaken the state’s assured water supply requirement for
development in urban areas. This crucial consumer protection
prevents the sale of subdivision lots that lack a 100-year
water supply, thereby assuring our desert state’s
longevity. -Written by Kathleen Ferris, a Phoenix water
attorney and sits on the Governor’s Water Policy
Council.
California’s State Water Board is wrestling with what terms to
set for water conservation regulation for urban areas. This
regulation implements state policy designed to Make
Conservation a California Way of Life. But the only way to make
that vision equitable is to ensure the needs of low-income
communities are taken into account. Unfortunately, the Water
Board is considering making it too easy to slow-walk
investments in conservation, not only in low-income
communities, but also in wealthy places like Beverly Hills that
use significantly more than their fair share. The proposed
regulation currently under consideration means that 72% of
Californians will not need to save a single additional drop
until 2035. -Written by Kyle Jones, Policy & Legal Director
at the Community Water Center.
[Denise] Moreno Ramírez wasn’t surprised when she heard an
Australian mining company, South32, planned to open a
manganese, zinc, lead and silver operation in the same area
where her family had worked. … But this latest proposed mine
was alarming, she said, because Biden is fast-tracking
it in the name of the energy transition – potentially
compromising the mountain’s delicate ecosystems, many of which
have begun to be restored as mines have shut
down. … A growing network of Arizona residents say
that allowing the mine to proceed as planned could introduce a
grave new layer of environmental injustices.
…Conservationists say they worry that South32 is seeking to
use water irresponsibly amid long-term drought.
An elected member of a Ventura County water board has pleaded
guilty to a felony charge of stealing water for his Oxnard
farm. Daniel Naumann, 66, admitted to one count of grand theft
of water, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said
in a Friday news release. As part of his plea agreement,
five other felony charges will be dropped, the Ventura
County Star reports. Naumann,
a Camarillo resident who is owner and operator of
Naumann Family Farms, was an elected board member of the United
Water Conservation District and an alternate board member of
the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency. … Despite
those roles, Naumann took nearly $30,000 in water between 2019
and 2021 using “diversion bypasses [that] were installed on two
commercial water pumps that irrigated Naumann’s crops,” the
release stated.
A generational issue for the families living in San Lucas
continues as they’ve gone decades without drinking water. Soon
federal, state, and local leaders will secure nearly a million
dollars to build a pipeline to King City. … Plants not
growing, animals dying, young children unable to bathe, this is
the reality for those living in the unincorporated South
Monterey County town of San Lucas.