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.
Subscribe to our weekday emails to have news delivered to your inbox at about 9 a.m. Monday through Friday except for holidays.
Please Note:
Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing.
We occasionally bold words in the text to ensure the water connection is clear.
The headlines below are the original headlines used in the publication cited at the time they are posted here and do not reflect the stance of the Water Education Foundation, an impartial nonprofit that remains neutral.
As the summer boating season gets underway with Memorial Day
weekend, golden mussels continue to pose a threat to
California’s waterways, officials said. The invasive
mussels clog critical water delivery pipes, damage boats and
outcompete native fish. They also spread rapidly,
mostly via boats. On Tuesday, Kern County supervisors
declared a local emergency over the mussels, joining San
Joaquin County. Many lakes and waterways across California,
including Lake Tahoe, now require inspections before you can
put your boat in the water. “Golden mussels are not in Lake
Tahoe, and you can help us keep it that way,” the Lake Tahoe
Invasive Species Program said. Motorized boats are required to
be decontaminated before entering the lake.
Scientists predict that an upcoming “Super El Niño” will make
2026 to 2027 the hottest years on record and bring significant
sea level rise to the Bay. An update on Thursday from the
National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said that
El Niño is likely to emerge as soon as May and persist through
the end of winter. While El Niño, a warming of the ocean,
and La Niña, a cooling of the ocean, are natural patterns that
come and go every 2 to 7 years, this year’s El Niño could be
one of the strongest on record. … Beyond sustained sea
level rise, scientists expect major storms and flooding
starting this winter. They predict that these storms will be
particularly strong as the effects of El Niño compound with the
effects of climate change.
For the first time in three years, Morro Bay fisherman Mark
Tognazzini sailed into the harbor this month with a catch of
wild Chinook salmon. The state reopened the commercial salmon
fishery on May 1 after a three-year hiatus, and the fishermen
who survived the closure readied their boats and dashed out to
sea to catch their share of an icon of the Pacific coast.
… From May 1 to 6, fishermen across the state caught
about 16,975 salmon, according to the California Department of
Fish and Wildlife. After a two-day break to allow the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife to tally the number
of salmon caught, the fishermen launched for another five days
of fishing on May 9.
Stockton assured thousands of residents [last] week that
its tap water is safe to drink despite a foul odor, while
residents of a Mountain View neighborhood continue to face boil
restrictions weeks after their water supply was
contaminated. Stockton’s supplier, the California
Water Service, said the odor was caused by a seasonal sourcing
shift but that the supply continues to meet safety standards.
… Meanwhile, in Mountain View, water samples taken at
service lines near homes north of Cuesta Park came back clear
of bacteria this week, while a fire hydrant in the affected
area tested positive for bacteria and was disconnected from the
system, the city said in an update Friday.
In many San Luis Obispo County communities, water is the single
biggest limiting factor on development. Social media commenters
with a shallow understanding of water economics frequently
suggest that water districts are weak willed. The argument
is, “You got all the water you need, the biggest ocean in the
world is right there. Go get it.” … The county is studying
desalination as a resilient source of drinking water, and there
are certainly communities that need water — Nipomo, Los Osos
and Cambria spring to mind. But when wells and reservoirs
are full of relatively cheap water, it is hard to sell
expensive desal. It has been a long evolution of finding the
easiest cheapest water sources.
Just off Palm Canyon Drive in Borrego Springs, a dead honey
mesquite tree remains rooted in the hot sand. It’s lifeless but
not yet useless — not to the creatures that find shade under
its branches or the plants that count on its nutrients. Over
the last year, mesquite has been at the heart of a growing
water war in Borrego Springs, a tiny but scenic town deep in
the San Diego County desert that for years seemed blessed with
a rare combination of blazing sun and a font of available
groundwater. A century ago, abundant green mesquite blanketed
the landscape. But in the decades since, the forest the trees
form has deteriorated — just as the town has pumped too much
water out of its underground subbasin to sustain its farms,
resorts, golf courses and some 3,000 residents. Now,
controversy has broken out over whether that mesquite forest
relies on the same water as the town.
The likelihood of a potentially powerful El Niño taking shape
in the Pacific Ocean is rising, heightening concerns that
Southern California could be in for an extreme rainy season.
There is now an 82% chance that El Niño is likely to
emerge over the next few months, up from the 61%
chance estimated a month ago. And there’s now a 96% chance
that the climate pattern — characterized by warmer
ocean waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific — will
be in force this winter, the National Weather Service’s Climate
Prediction Center said Thursday. … While it’s no given
that El Niño will bring a potent rain season to Southern
California, some previously high-powered patterns have been
monsters.
Arizona climate experts recommended Thursday that Governor
Katie Hobbs renew a drought declaration in effect since 1999 as
the state continues to reel from the hottest March on
record. … In Northern Arizona, wildfires are
already raging about a month ahead of schedule. Little to no
snowpack, drought-stressed trees and a lot of dead pinyon and
juniper means a higher risk this year for crown fires, in which
fire climbs to the tops of trees and quickly spreads across the
canopy. … Both the 1999 declaration and a later drought
declaration enacted in 2007 by then-Governor Janet Napolitano
will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. Hobbs last
renewed the declarations in 2024.
After months of pressing Western states to come to their own
agreement, the Trump administration told their leaders it’s
drawing up a 10-year plan for dealing with water shortages on
the Colorado River. The river is a major water source
forSouthern California and much of the
Southwest, but its largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and
Lake Powell, are severely depleted and their
levels continue to drop. News of the federal government’s
preliminary plan surfaced Wednesday during
a meeting in Phoenix. Tom Buschatzke, director of the
Arizona Department of Water Resources, said federal officials
informed state water managers they are developing a
“10-year framework” with specific rules requiring water
reductions that would be reassessed every two years.
Golden mussels are continuing to spread throughout
California, potentially imperiling key water infrastructure and
leading Kern County to declare an emergency. … This
week, Kern County officials declared a local emergency over the
invasive species. … Kern County is the second to
declare an emergency due to the invading bivalves. On
April 28, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors also
declared a local emergency, reporting that golden mussels had
already affected key infrastructure, including a $100 million
floodgate. And the invasive mussels are also impacting the
Bay Area. Earlier this month, water officials in Santa Clara
County reported two golden mussels were found for the first
time in their water treatment facilities.
After nearly a decade of advocacy, residents of the
unincorporated community of Tombstone Territory in Fresno
County are now connected to a reliable water source. Families
in Tombstone Territory endured years of unsafe and unreliable
water supply, according to the nonprofit organization
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. The group
says residents dealt with wells going dry and with contaminated
water. But residents in the area, with roughly 40 homes,
recently celebrated a consolidation project that connected the
community to the City of Sanger’s water system. The
consolidation project cost $5 million. The effort is part of a
state program known as the Safe and Affordable Funding for
Equity and Resilience, or SAFER.
Chants of “no data center!” echoed in the Utah Capitol Thursday
as protesters carried a letter to the office of Gov. Spencer
Cox demanding independent reviews of the planned 40,000-acre
Stratos project in Box Elder County and a “genuine public
comment period.” … With signs saying “Keep sharks out of
the Great Salt Lake” and “You can’t drink data,” they sang,
chanted and called for state officials to press pause on the
fast-moving Stratos proposal. … Cox said the developers
are committing to pursue other types of energy apart from
natural gas that could include low- or no-emissions solutions,
and he’s asked them to publish a water plan showing how they’ll
avoid any degradation to the lake. … Opponents say the
Great Salt Lake Basin doesn’t have an extra drop to give.
Rain and melted snow from mountain forests in northern and
eastern Arizona flow into Horseshoe and Bartlett dams, where
the water is transported by Salt River Project’s canals to
water taps in the Valley. But over seven decades, that water
has been depositing natural sediment at the bottom of Horseshoe
and Bartlett reservoirs, reducing their combined ability to
store water by about 15%, according to the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation’s 2021 survey. As the Verde River flows south into
Salt River, both together supply roughly 40% of the surface
water for the Phoenix metropolitan area. … Gilbert and
22 other Valley municipalities, tribal and agricultural
entities are partnering with SRP and the Reclamation Bureau on
a feasibility study to evaluate four proposed project
alternatives to restore and enhance the storage capacity of
Verde River water.
Emergency repairs began Thursday night on a leaking wastewater
pipe in Tijuana, which may result in stronger odors, increased
wastewater, and potential beach closures, the US International
Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) reports. The repair on the
leaking Parallel Gravity Line is expected to take at least 24
hours. During the repair window, two pump stations — PBCILA and
PB1 — will be taken offline, rerouting flow from the Tijuana
sanitation system to the South Bay International Wastewater
Treatment Plant. The IBWC warned that area residents may notice
increased wastewater and stronger odors along the Tijuana River
Channel as a result. Transboundary flows, which have been a
chronic driver of the ongoing sewage crisis that has prompted
beach closures from Imperial Beach to Coronado for years,
remain a concern.
House appropriators unveiled a conservative spending bill for
federal energy and water infrastructure
programs Thursday, proposing to surge funding for
nuclear energy and artificial intelligence while slashing
Biden-era energy priorities. … The House Energy
and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee is set to
mark up the new legislation Friday morning. Extended
debate on the bill and votes on amendments will take place at
the full committee markup, which is scheduled for next
Wednesday. “This legislation builds on the successes of prior
years by continuing the modernization of our nation’s nuclear
deterrent, pushing the frontiers of science and technology,
unleashing more abundant and reliable energy to power our
communities, and improving the coastal and inland waterways
that connect our nation and link us to the global economy,”
said subcommittee Chair Chuck Fleischmann.
Many of us almost forgot what it’s like to have a real salmon
season along the Central Coast of California. As the Chinook
situation developed over the past month, things are actually
looking pretty good. Last week, water temps dropped a critical
four or five degrees thanks to an increase in northwest winds
and resultant upwelling, which brings cool nutrient-rich water
towards the ocean surface and feed a beautiful array of sea
life, including salmon. … Because the population of
Chinook salmon is fragile, with most West Coast runs labeled as
“threatened” and a few considered “endangered,” the powers that
be included total harvest restrictions in the regulations. The
Harvest Guideline for “Summer Season” in the Central Region is
set at 21,800 fish. The official count of king salmon caught
since the opener as is 2,328 recreational chinook as of April
30. That leaves 19,472 fish still available to catch before
Aug. 31.
Three months after residents began waging a campaign on
Instagram saying they’re concerned herbicides are poisoning
local creeks, Orange County officials announced they are
halting spraying of the chemicals, for now, in waterways
throughout the county. Starting in February, posts by the
community group Creek Team OC sparked an outpouring of concern
among residents. They posted images of workers spraying
chemicals and used artificial intelligence to make
illustrations featuring surfers under the slogan “Endless
Herbicides.” In March, county Supervisor Katrina Foley told
residents the county would halt spraying of herbicides in two
creeks near Doheny State Beach.
… Being collaborative with water will help ensure it is a
sustainable resource into the future. As we move through
another year with the reservoirs in Marin mostly full, drought
may not be the first issue we think to address. However, we are
in the midst of climate change that can have significant
impacts on water supply. We need to know our water system and
use available tools to keep it functioning for future
generations. The “old” water that seemed plentiful is not the
“new” water that we recognize as a limited resource. We can
reinvent our understanding of water for our future. –Written by Ken Eichstaedt, president of the North Marin
Water District Board of Directors, and Ranjiv Khush, a member
of the Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors.
The Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA) and the
California Institute for Water Resources have signed a
collaboration agreement aimed at addressing the impact of
climate change and droughts, two elements that are increasingly
frequent in both territories. This agreement will promote
scientific cooperation in research, innovation, and
technological development related to sustainable water
management, and to promote the movement of researchers between
both two centres. The two institutions sealed their cooperation
arangement with Catalan president Salvador Illa present in
California, while ICRA researchers visited the University of
California. … Additionally, a Catalonia-California
seminar on water management is planned to be held in California
in November 2026.
A pound of mushrooms requires less than two gallons of water to
grow. That’s a lot less than crops like sweet corn, which uses
148 gallons per pound. A pound of beef soaks up 1,852 gallons.
Eating more mushrooms could be a helpful adaptation in a world
with dwindling water supplies. That was one of the messages
from Dr. Gordon Walker, a mushroom educator who visited
Carbondale in April for a talk about his new book, hosted by
the Western Colorado Mycological Association. Walker, aka “Dr.
Fun Guy” has amassed millions of social media followers of his
informational accounts called @fascinatedbyfungi. But Walker
said Americans have barely scratched the surface of edible
mushrooms’ potential.
