A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation News & Publications Director Vik Jolly.
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Lake Mead National Recreation Area is having a very bad start
to spring. The water level is dwindling in Lake Mead,
America’s largest reservoir and a major
supplier of drinking water to California, and soaring
temperatures are driving toxic algae outbreaks in the water and
prompting federal officials to close hiking trails. … As
unseasonably warm winter weather scorched much of the American
West over the past several weeks, Lake Mead has lost crucial
opportunities for replenishment. … Meanwhile,
hydroelectric power output continues to decline at Hoover Dam
as Lake Mead shrinks.
… Water Resource Advocates was one of more than a dozen
groups that gathered Wednesday for a joint meeting of the
[Nev.] interim committees on natural resources and
infrastructure. The meeting focused solely on data centers and
their water and energy needs. … Representatives of
the data center industry suggested existing estimates related
to water use are inflated because they are based on outdated
technology. … Groups more critical of data centers
emphasized a need for more transparency and reporting on actual
water usage. … Beyond the water used on site for
cooling, there remains the fact that producing electricity also
requires a lot of water.
A beaver no-kill bill pitched as a way to expand Colorado’s
wildfire and drought mitigation efforts failed in a state
legislative committee Monday, preserving current rights to hunt
and trap the animals on public lands. Hunters and trappers
loudly opposed House Bill 1323, which would have made it
illegal in Colorado to kill beavers for recreation on state
public land or federal lands where state rules apply.
Governments could still have trapped beavers for forest or
wetlands management. But the House Agriculture, Water and
Natural Resources committee indefinitely postponed the bill,
thereby killing it for this session, in a 10-3
vote. … Wildlife and wildfire researchers are
increasingly relying on the wetlands that beavers naturally
create behind river dams and lodges to serve as beneficial fire
breaks.
When you think of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where do
you picture its boundaries? Some may see it as part of a larger
whole, an estuary and landscape that stretches from the upper
watershed in the Sierra to the Pacific Ocean at the Golden
Gate, and beyond. Others may think of the Delta in terms of a
specific community or their favorite fishing spot. While all of
these and many more make up the Delta, the Delta Plan
references specific jurisdictional bounds: the Legal Delta and
Suisun Marsh, political boundaries that we commonly refer to as
the “Delta.” … Council staff built an interactive online
Delta atlas as a useful reference tool to make data accessible
and more easily answer these types of questions.
Just over 75 years ago, the California Legislature passed the
Dickey Water Pollution Act, the nation’s first comprehensive
attempt to address pollution control at the state level. Though
still protective of industry, the act established the framework
for the State Water Board and nine Regional Water Quality
Control Boards. … The Dickey Act created the State Water
Pollution Control Board, a predecessor to the State Water
Board, that was comprised of gubernatorial appointees and state
officials who set statewide policy and coordinated pollution
control efforts. … Here are stories about the dramatic
improvement in the San Diego Bay, San Francisco Bay and the
Klamath River.
Valley farmers will see a 5% increase in the region’s water
supply following Tuesday’s announcement from the Bureau of
Reclamation. After rainstorms in late February, this increase
boosts the Central Valley Project water supply from 15% to 20%.
“20% is significantly under what we need to grow most of those
crops,” said Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen.
While growers and water experts say every drop of water counts,
it’s simply not enough. Jacobsen says this drought could be a
hit to our economy, food production, and jobs. … In
a statement, the Bureau of Reclamation says it is being
cautious to protect long-term sustainability.
The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District has completed
emergency repairs to a hydraulic gate at the R.W. Mathews Dam
on Ruth Lake, according to a press release issued today.
Environmental containment and cleanup operations have also been
wrapped up following a March 3 failure in the dam gate’s
hydraulic operating system. The subsequent discovery of a
hydraulic fluid leak triggered “an all-hands emergency that
demanded immediate action to protect our community’s water
supply,” District General Manager Michiko Mares says in the
press release. No oil was observed in the Mad River at any
point during the incident or repair operations, according to
the district.
A boat traveling through Wyoming from Oklahoma to Montana was
found to have zebra mussels on it. Wyoming Game and Fish
officials found viable mussels attached to the hull of the
craft during an inspection at a check station. The aquatic
invasive species (AIS) are a threat to Wyoming’s lake, pond and
river habitats. Once established, it’s nearly impossible to
eradicate an infestation of zebra or quagga mussels, which can
cause clogged pipes, damage boats and make shorelines less
enjoyable. The boat was purchased near Lake Oologah in
Oklahoma, which is known to be infested with zebra mussels. The
owner removed the craft from the water 24 hours before
transporting it.
… [T]he California Ocean Protection Council (OPC), in
partnership with the California Ocean Science Trust, released
the 2026 California Coast and Ocean Report – the first
comprehensive, science-based assessment of coastal and ocean
health in California history. … The Council also approved
over $6 million in funding for nine key science and restoration
projects that support healthy oceans and advance the state’s
goal to conserve 30% of its coastal waters by 2030. Scientific
research projects will help identify biodiversity “hotspots” to
prioritize for conservation, while restoration work will
bolster biodiversity in eelgrass, estuary, and
kelp forest ecosystems impacted by climate change, wildfire,
and other threats.
Water managers along the Colorado River are looking for
an amount of water equal to what the entire state of
Utah has rights to in order to head off a water and power
crisis across the West, they said Tuesday. …
Speaking at a meeting of the Upper Colorado River Commission on
Tuesday, Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart said the
upstream states estimate an additional 1.7 million acre-feet of
water will need to be added to Lake Powell to keep the water
level there from falling below the hydropower turbines at Glen
Canyon Dam. The Bureau of Reclamation has said it will not let
water levels fall below the turbines because of concerns that
doing so could damage the dam, which sits on the river near the
Arizona and Utah border.
The heat dome that settled over California, broke records, and
scorched most of California last week is creeping eastward,
with some temperature relief in sight. In the meantime,
temperatures across the Golden State will remain slightly above
average into April. … Weather experts say the state’s
snowpack was reported below normal, with less than 50% of the
average across much of Northern California.
… California’s reservoirs are in good shape,
above historic averages, with many nearing capacity.
But that summertime snowbank on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada
is disappearing early and fast, dropping to 38% of average for
mid-March statewide.
Other snowmelt and heat wave news around the West:
An update from the Bureau of Reclamation means a modest
increase in water sent to south-of-Delta contractors, including
Westlands Water District. On Tuesday, the bureau announced the
yearly allocation would increase to 20% from 15%. This comes as
a recent heat wave has experts worried about accelerated
melting of the vital Sierra snowpack. Allison Febbo, general
manager of Westlands, said in a release that the
government needs to better coordinate with experts to adapt
allocations to real-world conditions and decrease the need for
groundwater pumping.
Do you use Chat GPT? Do you talk to Siri on your phone? If so,
you’ve helped fuel the rise in data centers. Now, the
energy-hungry, water-thirsty centers are
coming to places in the Southwest, including the lands of
native peoples. That was the topic of a panel discussion Friday
in Window Rock, Arizona, organized by Diné C.A.R.E., a Navajo
environmental organization. Executive director of Diné
C.A.R.E. Robyn Jackson said data centers have become a serious
concern for the Navajo Nation. She said five centers have been
proposed in and near the nation, three in Arizona and two in
New Mexico. … Water required to cool the facilities is
also enormous. Yet centers are being built in hot, arid states
such as Arizona, even as it and six other states wrangle over
how to allocate Colorado River water.
California’s largest solar energy project won approval Tuesday
with the Kern County Board of Supervisors’ 4-0 vote in favor of
a 2-gigawatt photovoltaic installation expected to create 1,300
construction jobs at its peak and generate tax revenue of $1.5
billion during its roughly three-decade lifespan. Complete
with batteries capable of delivering 16 gigawatt-hours of
energy, the Buttonbush Solar and Storage project represents a
significant shift, in that Kern’s other utility-scale solar
farms are located in the eastern portion of the county. San
Diego-based developer Avantus says it chose western Kern for
its transmission capacity and because farmland there is under
stress from groundwater management
regulations.
Denver Water commissioners could decide at a Wednesday board
meeting on implementing Stage 1 drought restrictions for
customers across its service area. The utility is targeting a
20% reduction in water use as it’s facing severe drought
conditions and Denver Water warns low snowpack could impact
supply this year. If Denver’s Board of Water Commissioners
approves the Stage 1 drought restrictions Wednesday, the limits
would be in place through April of next year. In the meantime,
Denver Water is asking everyone to start conserving now. This
would be the first time that level of restriction has been in
place since 2013, according to the utility.
A Chico-based nonprofit is leading two large-scale restoration
projects along the Sacramento River corridor aimed at improving
salmon populations, restoring wildlife habitat, and expanding
public access to nature in Northern California. … [I]n
collaboration with agencies like the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management and the California Wildlife Conservation Board,
River Partners is advancing two major restoration projects,
Rancho Breisgau and Battle Creek Ranch, along Battle Creek
between Redding and Red Bluff. The Rancho Breisgau and
Battle Creek Ranch projects are designed to reconnect critical
habitat corridors stretching from the Sacramento River toward
Lassen Volcanic National Park.
A major milestone has been reached for the proposed Sites
Reservoir project, a plan to build a large new water storage
facility west of Colusa. The state has issued a draft decision
to conditionally approve a key water right permit for the
project. Under the proposal, water would be pumped from the
Sacramento River to the reservoir, which would store up to 1.5
million acre-feet of water. Supporters say the added storage
would help improve water supply during dry years for farms,
communities and wildlife. … Environmental groups are
opposing the project. “The draft water right decision clearly
shows that the Board agrees with our position that the proposed
reservoir will cause major water quality and environmental
impacts that need to be addressed,” said Keiko Mertz, policy
director of Friends of the River.
While regional agencies weigh a proposal to raise a floodprone
stretch of U.S. Highway 101 between the Manzanita park-and-ride
and Donahue Street in Marin County, a local scholar has
explored an alternate vision: putting the freeway in a tunnel
beneath a new linear park. The two views highlight the
stakes for Marin City, a lowlying community that is already
likened by experts to a bathtub with an inadequate drain as sea
levels rise. There is currently a preliminary plan to
elevate Highway 101 from Manzanita to Donahue at a rough
estimate of $1.2 billion, with an extra $33 million for
stormwater pumps and a drain pipe to carry rainwater beneath a
shopping center that sits on slightly higher ground between
Marin City’s entrance road and Richardson Bay.
Colorado’s dry winter is now raising concerns about what summer
recreation could look like, but rafting outfitters said the
outlook isn’t as bleak as it might seem. At Dillon
Reservoir, low snowpack paints a concerning picture, with
statewide levels dipping to record lows. But according to AVA
Rafting and Ziplining owner Duke Bradford, snowpack is only
part of the equation. Bradford said rafting conditions
depend heavily on spring and summer rain, especially on
free-flowing rivers like Clear Creek near Idaho Springs. He
explained that water levels, measured in cubic feet per second
(cfs), could rise dramatically overnight with the right storm.
New research suggests drought conditions may
promote elevated antibiotic resistance in soil microbes,
researchers reported yesterday in Nature Microbiology. To
determine how drought might affect soil microbial communities,
which have been the source of many antibiotics used in clinical
medicine, scientists from the California Institute of
Technology began by compiling five metagenomic
datasets. … When the researchers exposed dried soil
samples to a representative natural antibiotic
(phenazine-1-carboxylic acid), they found that lower water
content favored the growth of bacteria that were resistant to
the antibiotic. In addition, they found that drought conditions
also increased the abundance of antibiotic-resistance genes.
