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.
In a study recently published in the Journal of
Geophysical Research: Planets, researchers from the University
of Arizona used drones equipped with ground-penetrating radar
to learn more about two debris-covered glaciers in the US.
These so-called ‘buried glaciers’ bear striking resemblance to
buried ice deposits observed on Mars and could therefore guide
the search for water on the Red Planet. … These kinds of
glaciers only make up 5% of glaciers globally, but
they’re found in mountainous regions across the world,
including in warmer areas such as Colorado and
California, where debris insulates the ice underneath
and stops it from melting. On Mars, similar-looking,
debris-covered glaciers are found in mid-latitude
regions.
Dozens of Mountain View homes have gone nearly a week without
safe drinking water after a construction mishap
contaminated a city water main, forcing families to
cook, clean and care for children using bottled water. …
[T]he contamination incident … began last Friday when a
slurry mix came into contact with a water main that was
undergoing repair and upgrade work, causing tests to come back
positive for coliform bacteria. City officials have not said
whether the contamination was caused by contractor error or
whether proper safety protocols were followed. While limited in
scope, the outage has highlighted how a single infrastructure
failure can leave residents without one of the most basic
necessities: safe drinking water.
The January 2025 fires in Los Angeles County exposed a critical
gap: water systems were never designed to fight large-scale
wildfires. As fire risks intensify, communities are asking what
the role of water systems should be in extreme events moving
forward and how these systems can remain reliable, affordable,
and resilient. On January 23, 2026, the UCLA and UC ANR Urban
Water Supply + Fire working group — organized by the
Sustainable LA Grand Challenge, Luskin Center for Innovation,
and the California Institute for Water Resources — convened 54
experts to examine a critical and underexplored issue: how to
finance water systems as fire risks change and intensify. The
workshop organizers have just released a report, Water Supply
Systems, Fire, and Finance, synthesizing key insights from the
convening.
The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors declared a local
emergency Tuesday, April 28, as the invasive golden
mussel continues to damage infrastructure and threaten water
systems across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The
board of supervisors approved the proclamation after hearing an
update from county staff and members of an ad hoc committee
formed to respond to the infestation, which was first detected
at the Port of Stockton in October 2024. … [District 2
Supervisor Paul] Canepa said officials first thought the
invasive golden mussel was a boating issue, but it became “way
more than a boating issue.” He referred to the Delta as “ground
zero” for the infestation in California, which now affects
agriculture, municipal water systems and flood protection
infrastructure.
… A winter of record-low snowfall in much of the U.S. West
means less snowmelt to feed the rivers and lakes that supply
the region’s water. It has sent a clear message to communities,
agricultural producers and businesses — everyone must live with
less. Cities are implementing outdoor watering restrictions.
Denver Water announced drought restrictions on March 25 — the
earliest in their history. Salt Lake City has urged residents
to voluntarily cut back and mandates that government offices
do. Cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Albuquerque
already have year-round seasonal watering rules. … Even
where restrictions don’t apply, growing your own produce can be
done in a water-wise way, even in a thirsty desert.
The cities of Phoenix and Tucson are setting up a new system
for sharing water among cities, towns and other water users in
Arizona. City officials are framing it as a way to help keep
cities around the state from going dry in the face of a
shrinking Colorado River. The program, which will be called the
“Secure Water Arizona Program” or “SWAP” will create an
emergency reserve of water and connect cities that are
interested in buying and selling water from other cities and
businesses. … SWAP is designed to be a completely
voluntary program that can help cities and towns facing water
cutbacks.
Members of the House Natural Resources Committee debated
Wednesday whether to give local water contractors input into
Endangered Species Act reviews, as shrinking water supplies
across the West increasingly put agricultural and environmental
needs at odds. The Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and
Fisheries reviewed H.R.8259, the “Federal Water Projects
Consultation Improvement Act,” which would require federal
agencies to involve local contractors during ESA biological
assessments, which can dictate when and how much water flows.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.), focuses on
the Bureau of Reclamation which operates across 17 western
states. That includes the Klamath Basinin Oregon [and California], where Reclamation
is rewriting the endangered species rules that govern its dams
and pumps.
Summer 2026 is expected to bring a volatile mix of heat, severe
thunderstorms and flooding to the United States, with El Niño
developing and flexing its influence on the weather pattern.
… Flooding can also be a concern in the
Southwest and southern Rockies when the North American monsoon
ramps up and tropical moisture surges northward. … While
flooding is a concern in some parts of the country,
drought is expected to worsen in others.
Drought conditions are likely to expand across the Northwest
and Northern California. … Moisture
could start to arrive near the end of June, which is slightly
earlier than normal. That may bring some welcome relief to the
Southwest after a hot, dry start to the summer.
San Luis Obispo County is investigating the potential for
building a desalination facility as a new drinking water
source. As weather patterns change and the length of droughts
increase due to climate change, the county is interested in
pursuing a drinking water source that doesn’t rely on
rainfall. … The San Luis Obispo County Flood
Control and Water Conservation District launched an almost $1.2
million feasibility study to evaluate where a desalination
facility could be located, how it could be funded and what
communities could use the water, San Luis Obispo Public Works
Department resource management group deputy director Courtney
Howard said.
There is no need to wait to show your love for the Water
Education Foundation! You can donate early to our
Big Day of Giving campaign and help us reach our
fundraising goal of $10,000 by May 7. Big Day of Giving is a
24-hour online fundraising marathon for nonprofits. Donations
will benefit our programs and publications centering on the
most precious natural resource in California and across the
West. In conjunction with the Big Day of Giving, we are
hosting an open house on May 7. Stop by our
Sacramento office anytime between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to enjoy
happy hour refreshments, get to know our programs and team, and
network with Foundation fans from across the water
world! RSVP
now to let us know you’re coming and to get
directions. Everyone who attends will get their choice of a
water map or guide!
The California Department of Water Resources says it is ending
its invasive mussel inspection program at Lake Oroville, the
Thermalito Forebay and the Thermalito Afterbay. Effective
Wednesday, DWR says watercraft inspections, decontamination
services and seal checking at the Oroville facilities are no
longer required. … The decision to implement an
invasive mussel boat inspection program at DWR’s Oroville
facilities in May 2025 was based on available information about
how best to protect DWR infrastructure from golden mussel
establishment. Additional analyses of golden mussel biology and
habitat requirements, as well as an assessment of DWR’s
Oroville infrastructure, have shown a lower risk of golden
mussel establishment than was originally anticipated.
Salmon are becoming river ‘ghosts’ as brutal droughts and
violent floods cause unprecedented losses on their treacherous
journey to the Pacific Ocean, scientists say. A major study led
by the University of Essex, NOAA Fisheries, University
of California, Davis, and Cramer Fish Sciences found
that young Californian Chinook salmon face a
deadly double threat from extreme weather and the destruction
of historical wetland habitats they rely on. The study
emphasised how deadly droughts are for young fish and how they
thrive in wetter conditions. However, the results also
indicated that in modern, simplified rivers, extreme flows
during winter storms can be devastating too.
Arizona judges won’t force state officials to determine if
there should be greater state oversight of water use along the
upper San Pedro River. In a new ruling Wednesday, the state
Court of Appeals acknowledged that state law requires the
Arizona Department of Water Resources to “periodically review”
whether to create what are known as “active management areas”
in parts of the state which now have minimal to no limits on
groundwater pumping. Such a designation would
give the state the power to impose new restrictions on pumping.
The court did not dispute arguments by two environmental groups
that it has been more than 20 years since the state agency
conducted such a review of the area.
Colorado forecasters expect the recent pattern of wetter,
cooler weather to continue into the start of May, offering
relief — but not real healing — from drought conditions after a
historically hot, dry winter. … Widespread drought conditions
persist across Colorado, with the U.S. Drought Monitor showing
nearly the entire Western Slope under extreme — Level 3 of 4 —
or exceptional — Level 4 of 4 — drought conditions. The
northwest corner of Colorado is facing some of the worst
drought conditions in the entire country. … [T]he drought
conditions are so severe that the precipitation, which is about
average for April, will hardly make a dent.
… Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural
Resources Committee, has opened an investigation into the Trump
administration’s role in brokering a potential deal that would
send Eel River water to a water district in Southern
California, roughly 600 miles away. The controversy centers on
the Potter Valley Project, a pair of aging dams on the Eel
River that PG&E no longer wants to operate. Under a deal
reached in early 2025 and supported by tribal nations,
conservation groups and five counties, the Scott and Cape Horn
dams were set to be removed, which would have made the Eel the
longest free-flowing river in California and reopened hundreds
of miles of salmon habitat.
California’s state parks system is getting larger, following a
trio of new additions announced on Earth Day. State
officials said the three parks will be located in an area where
these public spaces have long been few and
far-between. They are the Feather River
Park near Olivehurst in Yuba County — the county’s
first state park — the San Joaquin River
Parkway in Fresno and Madera counties, and the Dust
Bowl Camp near Bakersfield in Kern County. … State Parks
Director Armando Quintero spoke with Insight Host Vicki
Gonzalez about these latest efforts to expand recreational and
conservation efforts in the Central Valley.
When you think about how California’s water travels, you might
imagine the water cycle diagram many of us were shown in
elementary school: evaporation, transpiration, condensation,
precipitation. However, the reality is a bit more complicated,
especially in California’s spring-fed systems, which
are of critical importance for water security for both
fish and people. … In 2023, CalTrout and our
partners embarked on a three-year study to provide a
scientifically based toolset to better understand, manage, and
advance the protection of the cold, clean spring waters in the
Upper Sacramento River Basin. New research
from CalTrout and our partners at UC Davis, Lawrence Livermore
Lab, and Cal State East Bay is revealing how these spring
systems actually work, and how resilient they may be as
California’s climate changes.
With watering restrictions in place in many communities
across the Denver metro area, more people are considering
different ways to conserve water and use it in their lawns.
Installing a rain barrel can be a great option, but there are
some rules in place for how you can use that water.
… Under Colorado state law, homeowners can install up to
two rain barrels with a combined storage of 110 gallons of
water or less. … Rainwater that’s collected can be used
only for outdoor use, like watering your lawns, plants, or
gardens. … The rainwater collected must also be used
outdoors on the same property it was collected on.
As thirsty downstream states along the Colorado
River drainage continue to clamor for water,
Wyoming is having problems of its own, as
indicated by low levels at Fontenelle Reservoir in
Lincoln County. As of early April, Fontenelle Reservoir was at
49% of its full storage capacity, according to the Bureau of
Reclamation — despite March inflows roughly 99% of average.
Downstream from Fontenelle, Flaming Gorge Reservoir will be
drawn down between 660,000 and up to 1 million
acre-feet between now and April 2027, according to the Bureau
of Reclamation. … So far, there are not any plans for
similar drawdowns at Fontenelle Reservoir. But some Wyomingites
wonder if that’s inevitable as drought conditions persist
across the West.
A Northern California member of Congress is opening an inquiry
into the Trump administration’s bid to stop dam removal on the
Eel River, citing potential legal,
environmental, economic and water-supply problems. Rep. Jared
Huffman, D-San Rafael, wants details on why Agriculture
Secretary Brooke Rollins is advocating for a Southern
California water agency to buy the century-old Potter Valley
hydroelectric project in Mendocino and Lake counties,
including its two dams, and continue operating
it. … “My concern is that this is part of a bigger
water play,” Huffman told the Chronicle. … “There’s also a
history here that can’t be divorced from this moment: Folks in
Southern California and the Central Valley have had their eye
on Eel River water for a long time.”
