A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation Writer Matt Jenkins.
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The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office is seeking
records from the Mexican government to determine whether
Tijuana-based industrial businesses might be contributing to
cross-border pollution, officials said Thursday. While billions
of gallons of sewage flow into the county via the Tijuana River
on an annual basis, jeopardizing the health of South Bay
residents, the D.A.’s Office cited a recent report from
nonprofit environmental organization San Diego Coastkeeper that
found industrial pollutants were also present in the water.
Among the chemicals detected were volatile and semi-volatile
compounds such as heavy metals, pesticides, PFAs, acetone,
phenols and benzoic acid. Coastkeeper’s report, the 2025
Tijuana River Valley Water Quality Report, stated that the
findings pointed to pollutants coming from Tijuana factories
known as maquiladoras.
Fresno Irrigation District growers can get help with up to 80%
of their costs for projects that improve groundwater
conservation and irrigation efficiency through a program run by
the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service and Bureau
of Reclamation. The fund helps pay for projects such as drip
irrigation or adding soil moisture sensors on farms. It also
pays water districts for large-scale work such as new recharge
basins. Applications are open until Nov. 6. Though
applications go directly to the federal agencies, Fresno
Irrigation District growers have a slight edge as the district
received a “priority area” designation four years ago,
according to Kassy Chauhan, special projects manager for the
district. That designation reduces the competition pool to
just other growers and districts within their geographic area,
she explained.
Seven western states, including Oregon, have lost more than
one-third of their glacial cover since 1950 and more than 300
glaciers in those states have disappeared entirely as the earth
has rapidly warmed, a first-of-its-kind inventory and analysis
confirms. Researchers at Portland State University and the
U.S. Geological Survey built their findings on
an earlier analysis that looked at the lost area and
volume among 612 federally recognized glaciers in California,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming since
1950. … The total glacier area in the West has shrunk by
35%, and volume has shrunk by 33%. The lost volume, if averaged
across all remaining glaciers, would be equivalent to each of
them dropping by 38 feet. … Snowpack in the
Northwest and in the Cascade Range, which acts as a reservoir
during the summer months when there’s little rain and many
communities rely on snowmelt, is sitting at some of the lowest
levels since record-keeping began in 1985.
People and agencies facing the effects of proposed changes to
a major California water plan spoke in waves
Wednesday, making their cases to the state’s water board. The
State Water Resources Control Board is proposing amendments to
the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water
quality control plan. The plan sets water quality goals
for the Bay-Delta, a massive watershed that provides drinking
and municipal water to some 30 million people, along with
irrigation water for 4 million acres. The law requires
periodic updates to the plan, leading to a multiyear process
that culminated in a two- to three-day meeting that began
Wednesday. The water board did not vote on the proposed
changes that day.
Leaders from three tribes in northeastern Arizona urged
Congress on Wednesday to pass legislation settling their water
rights, saying the agreement would ensure their access
to the vital resource and provide greater certainty for water
users across the Colorado River basin. The
legislation, known as the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water
Rights Settlement Act, was the focus of a panel discussion. …
It featured leaders from the Hopi Tribe, San Juan Southern
Paiute Tribe and Navajo Nation. A settlement would resolve the
tribes’ outstanding water claims, fund a pipeline from
Lake Powell to deliver water and create trust funds for the
three tribes. It would also establish a reservation
for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and allow the Navajo
Nation and Hopi Tribe to lease their Upper Basin
Colorado River water to other Arizona users — a
provision that Upper Basin states oppose.
San Diego has unveiled its long-awaited plan to prevent
a major flood at Lake Hodges Dam: spend $30 million to $50
million to structurally shrink the unsound dam by
lowering its spillway from 315 feet to 280 feet. The proposed
project, which will take an estimated seven years to complete,
is unpopular with civic groups near the 108-year-old
dam, who prefer a higher water level for recreational
and wildfire-prevention reasons. City officials say
the seven-year project is considered an “interim solution” and
that they are still pursuing a nearby replacement dam
that might start being built shortly after the existing dam’s
spillway is lowered. Civic groups, including Friends
of Lake Hodges, are questioning the financial sensibility of
pursuing the interim spillway-lowering project when a long-term
solution might be built so quickly afterward.
… A historically strong El Niño is poised
to raise water levels higher than ever [in San
Rafael]. … It’s a particular concern for San
Rafael’s Canal District, where nearly one-fifth of city
residents are already living largely below sea
level. City officials are warning that muddied
seawater could fill neighborhood streets and take hours or even
days to recede. Since the only two evacuation routes
are at risk of flooding, emergency responders would have to
rescue stranded residents by boat. … Earlier
this month, the city declared a local state of emergency. It
set aside $500,000 in city funds and secured $3 million from
the county for flood preparedness and
response. These funds will go toward more water
pumps and community outreach, but it may not be enough.
Buried in the language of Proposition 45, the initiative that
would overhaul California’s powerful law on environmental
review, are provisions that would mean government
agencies have to consult only with certain tribes in the
state, and not others when they develop major
projects. … Proposition 45 on the Nov. 3 California ballot
would create a streamlined environmental review process
for projects deemed “essential” — including most
housing, transportation, water, health,
wildfire mitigation, education, internet access and clean
energy projects. The streamlining would mean stricter deadlines
for review and court challenges, would bar local governments
from requesting repeated analyses and allow developers to
propose a single alternative with less environmental impact
rather than several.
Days after historic flooding swept through southwestern
Colorado, the scope of the destruction is still coming into
focus. Emergency responders shared early statistics at an
Archuleta County community meeting Tuesday. Transportation
officials are requesting millions of dollars in federal aid. As
new information comes to light, it offers a glimpse into the
devastating impacts of the floods. But these facts and
figures are changing quickly, and they don’t fully capture the
losses, strain and sense of community caused by the flooding.
… From staggering rainfall totals to the hours county
crews have spent repairing roads so far, and the millions of
dollars requested to rebuild state roads, here’s a look at the
flooding and its aftermath, by the numbers.
City of San Diego water customers will see changes to their
bills starting in January, when a new billing structure for
single-family homes takes effect alongside a previously
approved water rate increase. The changes stem from a lawsuit
filed in 2015 challenging the city’s tiered water pricing
system. Under the new structure, customers who use less water
are expected to see their monthly bills increase, while those
who use more water could pay less. The city estimates the
average monthly bill for a low-use customer in a single-family
home will increase by about $6, while the bill for a high-use
customer is expected to decrease by $20. The San Diego
City Council voted 6-2 on Tuesday to approve the modified water
rate structure. City leaders said they disagreed with the
court’s decision but were legally required to comply.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday advanced a
$2.5 million project meant to reduce toxic air pollution at
Saturn Boulevard, the South County hot spot where cascading
Tijuana River flows release hydrogen sulfide into nearby
neighborhoods. The board voted to adopt a memorandum of
agreement with the city of San Diego, authorizing the county to
advertise and award a construction contract. At the crossing,
in the Nestor area near Imperial Beach, polluted river water
flows during dry weather through two to three culvert pipes and
spills into a downstream pond. … The project will attach
high-density polyethylene pipe to two of the existing culverts.
The extensions will run about 40 to 60 feet into the pond so
the flow discharges below the water’s surface. The report says
the extensions are designed so they will not raise flood
levels.
This year’s salmon count is expected to be the best we’ve seen
in years, and a significant event is planned in Roseville to
celebrate the arrival of this year’s fish after their long and
treacherous journey to our local waterways. A significant event
is being organized in the Roseville area for the salmon
arrival: the Dry Creek Conservancy and Placer Group-Sierra Club
announced the first-ever Salmon Homecoming event in
anticipation of the especially strong salmon run this year.
… Sean O’Brien, Director of Dry Creek Conservancy said
this year’s salmon run is looking good. “During our 2025 salmon
survey, volunteers counted 254 King/Chinook salmon, our best
count in 11 years,” said O’Brien.
When PFAS concentrations in drinking water fall below
laboratory reporting limits, they are sometimes treated as
“zero” in statistical analyses. But a new study published in
Cell Reports Sustainability, which reanalyzed federal
monitoring data, found that estimated PFAS concentrations in
U.S. drinking water could be more than twice as high as
calculations that treat results below laboratory reporting
limits as zero suggest. … By using statistical
models to estimate concentrations below laboratory reporting
limits, the researchers found that more sampling locations
could reach or exceed the study’s comparison threshold of 4.05
parts per trillion, just above the EPA’s drinking water limit
of 4 parts per trillion.
Colorado water managers say a state-run conservation
program planned for 2027 is in jeopardy as they wait
on an agreement with federal officials. Before they open
the application period for a new conservation program,
state officials want assurance from the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation that conserved water they store in Lake Powell
won’t just be released downstream for Lower Basin use.
In September, the state water board approved
the application review process and criteria for what
state officials are calling Colorado’s near-term contribution
program for 2027. The program aims to use nearly $100
million in funding from Reclamation to pay water users in the
Upper Basin states (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and
Wyoming) to voluntarily cut back.
The Central Arizona Project has filed a motion to intervene in
Nevada’s lawsuit challenging a federal plan to curtail Colorado
River water to those two states and California. CAP,
which delivers water from the river to the Phoenix and Tucson
areas, has strenuously objected to the U.S. Department
of the Interior’s new “framework” for managing the river in the
coming decade in a manner that theoretically could
deplete all of the canal’s supply during the driest of years
while not forcing any new cuts on the four upstream
states collectively known at the river’s Upper Basin.
Now it is joining Nevada’s challenge to that plan.
… Arizona had previously joined Nevada’s
lawsuit, and announced it had done so on Oct. 16.
San Diego approved higher water rates Tuesday for low-volume
users and cheaper water for golf courses and other high-volume
users to comply with a controversial court ruling that
essentially outlaws rewarding conservation. City
officials also dashed hopes that a new state law might allow
them to revive rates rewarding conservation as soon as 2028,
contending they must wait for the state Supreme Court to rule
on the issue. The new rates, which kick in Jan. 1, represent
the same overall increase of 14.5% for calendar year
2027 that the council approved last fall. But the
increase will now be divided up differently, with
larger hikes for low-volume single-family homes and
smaller hikes for high-volume single-family homes, apartment
buildings and golf courses.
More water — or less — could be sent cascading down the
San Joaquin River through Stockton as a result
of a State Water Resources Control Board meeting
starting Wednesday. The board is considering revisions
to the Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan, the document that
sets goals for the amount and quality of what flows
through major rivers surrounding the Delta. It’s the
latest update to a plan that started in 1978 and has seen
updates three times since. Because it involves California’s
most precious commodity — water — any changes are sure to bring
disagreements. The latest issue pits farmers, Native American
tribes, water districts, environmentalists and others
trying to get sufficient water to meet their
divergent needs. At issue is just how much water
should course through Northern California rivers to ensure that
badly depleted fish stocks can be replenished.
… Roadway flooding is expected to return multiple times this
week and could be just the start of a nightmare for the
region during El Niño. According to a new report from
the UC Davis Road Ecology Center, the high risk of flooding
this winter threatens key infrastructure statewide.
… The National Weather Service has issued a coastal
flooding advisory in the Bay Area through Friday, warning that
flooding along the bayshore will continue this
week. At-risk locations include the shoreline of San
Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay and San Pablo Bay, as well as
low-lying areas bordering the ocean. … In an effort to
protect the road, Highway 37 closed this past week for
emergency construction after Gov. Gavin Newsom directed
Caltrans to elevate the flood-prone sections.
… The UC Davis report identified the problem that other
key parts of Bay Area infrastructure, such as SFO, are built on
former marshes.
Farmers in the Westlands Water District got a surprise addition
to their annual water allocation after the Bureau of
Reclamation announced Tuesday it would increase the
allocation of Central Valley Project contractors from 28% to
31% of their contract total. Westlands’ General
Manager, Allison Febbo, said in a statement, “While allocation
increases this late in the water year are unusual, the latest
hydrologic data shows there is water available in our
reservoirs that can be put to beneficial use now.” The
increase of three percentage points of the district’s total
contract (1,195,000 acre-feet) is 37,450 acre-feet, which is
close to the amount growers told Westlands they would need to
pump beyond what the Bureau had initially allocated to the west
Fresno district.
Invasive golden mussels that have been clogging pipelines
throughout the state’s water systems over the past two years
may also weaken concrete and cause water quality
issues, according to several studies. Westlands Water
District Deputy General Manager Kelly Vandergon told the
district’s board in September that a study in China
showed golden mussel attachment could weaken
cement. Vandergon said the study showed that the
way the mussel’s byssal threads attach to concrete
“essentially loosens that upper surface, allowing water
to penetrate deeper into the concrete
structure.” The mussels secrete byssal threads,
thin strands with adhesive tips, from inside their
shells. Vandergon said the concrete issue is “one of the
research projects we’re trying to develop for Prop 4 funding,
which has not yet been made available by the state.”
