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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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.
Last week, more than a dozen tribes across the U.S. commented
on a new proposal by the Trump administration to let developers
obtain preliminary permits for hydropower projects on
reservations in spite of tribal opposition. This rule would
apply to projects like dams, reservoirs and pump-storage
facilities — all overseen by the independent Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, which, under a Biden-era rule, does not
issue such permits without consent. The regulator is being
asked to change course by Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
The Delta Protection Commission continued its
consideration on the Certification of Consistency for the Delta
Conveyance Project. Of the 11 members present, two … recused
themselves and left prior to the beginning of discussion on the
item,” a staff report following the Thursday meeting in Hood
stated. “Two of the remaining members indicated they would
abstain.” … ”That left only seven members who would be
available to vote on (the item), when eight are required for
action. The commission evaluated its options and decided to
adjourn and continue the meeting to 10 a.m. Monday via
teleconference.”
When it comes to zebra mussels in the Colorado River system,
Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis summed it up
this way: “We look, we find.” While Colorado’s first
detection of the highly invasive zebra mussel was in 2022,
Parks and Wildlife, alongside federal and local partners, has
ramped up testing for the species following a growing number of
finds this summer on the Western Slope. … Zebra mussels
are an invasive aquatic species notorious for their prolific
reproduction and destruction of ecosystems and
infrastructure.
When New Mexico water users convinced the federal government to
build the San Juan-Chama Project in 1962, they hoped it would
relieve stress on the Rio Grande. The pipeline from southern
Colorado to Northern New Mexico would bring water from the
Colorado River Basin to the Rio Grande Valley. But in recent
years, as Northern New Mexico has seen historic shortages on
the Rio Grande, water managers say the Colorado River has not
softened the blow. Rather, the two water sources have both
become more unreliable, linked to one another by legal and
natural systems that have turned stretches of wet river into
highways of mud and sand.
Environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers say delays at the
Environmental Protection Agency are putting Americans’ drinking
water at risk, accusing the agency of withholding critical
public health information about PFAS chemicals. Rep. Chellie
Pingree, D-Maine, said the EPA has failed for months to release
a report on PFNA, a type of PFAS contaminant. PFAS, often
called “forever chemicals,” are man-made substances found in
air, groundwater and drinking water across the country.
… Pingree sent a letter last month to EPA Administrator
Lee Zeldin demanding an update, but she said the agency has not
responded.
The California Farm Water Coalition is pleased to announce the
selection of Michelle Paul as its next executive director. Ms.
Paul will replace Mike Wade, who is retiring in February from
his role as the Coalition’s executive director, a position he
has held since 1998. Ms. Paul was selected following a
comprehensive statewide search led by the Coalition’s executive
director selection committee, which considered a strong and
diverse field of candidates from across California. She will
join the Coalition in mid-January and assume full
responsibilities on March 1.
Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP has identified Riverside, San
Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Ventura as the
California counties most susceptible to wildfires in 2026,
based on recent hazard mapping and federal risk
data. … According to the firm, environmental
conditions such as prolonged drought, high temperatures, low
humidity and strong winds including Santa Ana and Diablo winds
dry out vegetation and accelerate fire spread. It flags
additional factors such as dry lightning strikes, dead
vegetation, invasive plant species, extensive tree mortality
from pests and the build-up of fuel where natural fire cycles
have been suppressed.
Evacuation warnings were issued across Los Angeles County on
Thursday evening as an atmospheric river approached Southern
California, bringing with it the potential to put an early end
to fire season while also bringing fresh risks of
flooding and mudslides. Under the storm
scenario deemed most likely by forecasters, downtown L.A. would
see 2.62 inches of rain Friday morning through Sunday. … Rain
of that extent would also make this L.A.’s wettest November in
40 years. … In Sierra Nevada, snow levels are
expected to fall to around 8,000 feet above sea level
around Tahoe and in Mono County from Thursday night into Friday
morning.
Delta Caucus co-chairs, Assemblywoman Lori Wilson and Sen.
Jerry McNerney on Thursday called on the Delta Protection
Commission to file an official appeal of the certification “of
the costly and destructive Delta Tunnel Project.” “The
Legislature established the Delta Protection Commission to
‘protect, restore, and enhance the Delta ecosystem,’ so we call
on the commission to appeal the certification of the Delta
Tunnel Project because it will devastate communities, farms,
the environment, and historic and cultural resources
surrounding the largest and most important estuary on the West
Coast,” Wilson, D-Suisun City, and McNerney, D-Pleasanton, said
in a joint statement.
A late fall storm that soaked the North State and brought high
wind gust is padding rain totals for what has been a wet start
to Northern California’s water year. … November is
typically the month when Lake Shasta, the state’s
largest manmade reservoir, drops to its lowest level
for the year. But the lake’s level is trending higher so far
this year. Lake Shasta is at 106% of the historical average and
57% full, the California Department of Water Resources said.
Trinity Lake was 71% full, which is 123% of the historical
average.
Two Northern California tribes announced Wednesday that they
signed a treaty last month, committing to jointly restore the
Eel River and its fish populations. Leaders from the Round
Valley Indian Tribes in Mendocino County and the Yurok Tribe in
Del Norte and Humboldt counties met at the Eel River Canyon
Preserve in Trinity County last month to sign the “Treaty of
Friendship.” The agreement commits the tribes to restoring
the river and rebuilding its declining fish populations as
PG&E moves to decommission the Potter Valley Project
hydroelectric system’s Scott Dam in Mendocino County and Cape
Horn (also known as Van Arsdale) Dam in Lake County.
The CVP and SWP (referred to collectively as “the Projects”)
rarely deliver their full contracted amount of water. … [I]n
late 2023 USBR contracted with the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to form an expert
committee that could serve as an independent review for the CVP
and SWP as they operate into the future. … The three actions
chosen for the study—the Shasta Coldwater Pool Management
Action, the Old and Middle River Flow Management Action, and
the Summer-Fall Habitat Action for Delta Smelt— are perceived
as consequential for species survival and controversial for
their effects on water deliveries to contractors.
The seven Colorado River basin states, including
Wyoming, missed a Tuesday federal deadline to reach a
preliminary agreement on managing the river’s dwindling water
supply. Even so, there could be one last chance. In June, when
the Nov. 11 deadline was set for a preliminary agreement, the
Department of Interior also demanded a final agreement by
mid-February 2026. So, now representatives from the states and
federal officials are placing their bets on a consensus being
reached by then. If not, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum might
be forced to decree a new set of operating plans for the river,
regardless of what the states want.
The specter of California’s strict but confounding
conflict-of-interest law prohibiting public officials from
profiting from their own agencies came up recently in regards
to the Kern County Water Agency hiring its former board
president as its general manager. Was it OK, under California
Government Code Section 1090 for KCWA to hire Eric Averett as
its general manager though he had served as board president
while the position was being discussed for nearly four months?
A reader sent SJV Water several “advice letters” from the Fair
Political Practices Commission that seem to suggest it may not
have been OK.
Officials at the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District on
Thursday formally unveiled plans to build a solar canopy array
and battery energy storage project at the Harmony Grove Village
Water Reclamation Facility in Escondido. The reclamation
facility runs up a power bill of about $5,000 each month and
the solar-plus-battery project will help offset the wastewater
treatment center’s energy costs. … The 302-kilowatt
solar array with 559 panels atop a canopy will generate
electricity to help run the treatment facility that recycles
more than 180,000 gallons of wastewater on a daily basis.
Three years ago, Matteo Serena barely knew the difference
between a beaker and a bunker. Today, the native of Italy could
be the most crucial person to ever visit your golf grounds.
Sporting a history of academia and turfgrass research on his
C.V., Southern California-based Serena has fast risen to the
forefront of the game’s water conservation efforts as the
senior manager of irrigation research and services for the
USGA. His ascent fueled by intellect, outreach and an
inherent European charm (“golf’a”), Serena’s drop-by-drop
efforts have achieved exacting results across water-starved
SoCal and beyond.
A new film from Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) provides an
exclusive, inside look at the emotional, historic, and
triumphant journey of a group of Indigenous youth paddlers down
the newly restored Klamath River. “First Descent: Kayaking the
Klamath” premieres today as part of OPB’s “Oregon Field Guide”
series and on YouTube. “First Descent” captures the
transformation underway not just to the Klamath River itself –
where sections of river are now flowing freely for the first
time in more than a century – but among the Indigenous
communities that have lived in the Klamath Basin since time
immemorial.
California water-rights holders are required by state law
to measure and report the water they divert from
surface streams. For people who wish to take
the water measurements themselves, the University of
California Cooperative Extension will offer in-person training
to receive certification on Dec. 1 in Davis. … Senate
Bill 88 requires that all water right holders who have
previously diverted, or intend to divert, more than 10
acre-feet per year (riparian and pre-1914 claims); or who are
authorized to divert more than 10 acre-feet per year under a
permit, license or registration; to measure and report the
water they divert.
H.R. 2940 was introduced into the United States House of
Representatives. The legislation is denominated “Advancing
Water Reuse Act’’ (“Reuse Act”). The Reuse Act provides a
federal tax incentive to invest in water reuse projects.
Proponents of the Reuse Act argue that the United States water
infrastructure is aging and inadequate to meet growing public
and private demands for freshwater. They further argue that an
increasingly important way to supplement freshwater supplies is
water reuse. … The Reuse Act was referred to the U.S.
House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee.
A drought in California affects much of the western United
States. From 2011 to 2015, there was little rain and snow in
much of the region, but that was just part of the problem.
These areas also experienced record-high heat, which baked away
what little moisture remained in the soil. … One
study from the University of Minnesota and the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution found it’s the worst drought in 1,200
years. …To get historical data about past dry years, we can
use data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and a computer climate model called the North
American Drought Atlas.
