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.
Residents and environmental advocates in the Tijuana River
Valley are once again pushing for urgent action to address the
ongoing cross-border sewage crisis that has plagued South Bay
communities for years. Members of the Tijuana River Valley
Subcommittee, part of the Otay Mesa-Nestor Community Planning
Group, gathered in Nestor on Wednesday night to discuss both
temporary and long-term solutions to the pollution problem.
Community leaders said residents can no longer wait for
large-scale infrastructure projects while continuing to deal
with foul odors, health concerns and environmental damage.
… For decades, pollution flowing through the river
valley has triggered repeated beach closures along the South
Bay coastline.
The owners of a planned data center in Box Elder County will be
subject to a new Utah law about water reporting requirements
that coincidentally just went into effect on Wednesday. “When
it comes to this proposed project in Box Elder County, they
will have to report 90 days prior to construction what their
estimated water use would look like and then there’s annual
reporting required,” said Representative Jill Koford, the
sponsor of the bill. Koford clarified that this
legislation did not come about because of a specific data
center plan, like the one in Box Elder County that has been
drawing a lot of criticism. She said she is heavily involved in
water policy and this law was conceptualized before the last
legislative session when she and other leaders were talking
about ways to help the Great Salt Lake.
In 2024, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR)
selected the Pajaro River Watershed as one of five watersheds
to pilot its watershed resilience program. On May 5, following
18 months of development and collaboration across public
agencies, tribal representatives, agricultural leaders and
other stakeholders, the program’s advisory group released the
official Pajaro River Watershed Resilience Plan. The
initiative is supported by a $2 million grant from DWR and
administered by Pajaro Valley Water. It was prompted by climate
hazards, including flooding, drought and wildfires, that have
exposed vulnerabilities in communities and economies reliant on
the watershed.
After nearly two weeks without safe drinking water, 46 of the
67 Mountain View households affected by the recent water main
contamination breach near Cuesta Park have been told that they
are in the clear. The city is still working to return full
water services to 21 homes in the area. Mountain View
announced Wednesday morning that, in coordination with the
California State Water Resources Control Board, it had lifted
the “boil water” notice – which went into effect on Friday, May
1 – for most of the impacted homes. The households still under
the advisory are on Drucilla Drive and Carla Court, where the
city is currently working on a “super chlorination” treatment
process for the pipeline serving that area.
The EPA on Wednesday unveiled a new online mapping tool to help
developers and government officials quickly tell which agency
has jurisdiction. Many projects require federal, state,
municipal, and Tribal approval before they can move forward.
Projects often get bogged down when either developers or
government officials can’t tell who’s responsible for reviewing
and approving permit applications. The Environmental Protection
Agency’s Permitting Authority Map covers permits under the
Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act; Safe Drinking Water Act; and Marine Protection,
Research, and Sanctuaries Act.
… The village of Rumsen was located at Carmel River, about
five miles inland from San Carlos Mission in Carmel and the
coast. … According to the U.S. government, this
tribe had ceased to exist years ago. But people such as Munoz
and Hettinger, known as Ohlone Sisters, have a different
story to tell, marking the presence of a Costanoan Rumsen
Carmel Tribe community in Pomona. Today, the tribe has more
than 2,000 members, they say. This exhibit documents the
history and culture of the tribe with a series of photos and
videos that show tribal regalia and other clothing,
customs, dances and traditional ways of doing things, such as
making a tule boat, a traditional boat members of the tribe
used to navigate in the wetlands of Carmel River.
While some Americans were gazing at tulips and mowing lawns,
people in Colorado and Wyoming were getting
out their snow shovels. A late snowstorm swept over the Rocky
Mountains and into the High Plains on Tuesday, bringing heavy,
wet accumulation north of Denver into southeastern Wyoming.
… Even as Denver imposed lawn-watering restrictions to
address what have been low mountain snows, the city was facing
what may be its biggest snowfall of the season.
… But one storm won’t solve the West’s water
problems. A report from the National Drought
Mitigation Center said recent precipitation helped boost
topsoil moisture and reduced irrigation demands, but hasn’t
changed a “mostly bleak” water outlook heading into the
summer.
The Colorado River is flowing at record-low depths, raising
concerns for water providers and consumers across the Western
Slope. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), the Colorado River below the Grand
Valley Diversion near Palisade reached a maximum depth of 9.91
feet in June 2024. … Mesa County is in an exceptional
drought, according to the Drought Response Information Project
(DRIP). … Ty Jones, district manager of Clifton Water
District, said the river is flowing at less than a
fourth of what it was in 2025. “We’re seeing
things never seen before, in all the records that we’ve kept in
the last 100 plus years,” Jones said. “I mean, we’ve not seen
that here in the valley.”
Lake Oroville [the anchor reservoir of the State Water
Project] is nearing full capacity at 97%, according to the
Department of Water Resources (DWR). The lake is at an
elevation of 893 feet as of May 1. Releases from Lake Oroville
to the Feather River have decreased from 1,700 cubic feet per
second to 1,300 cubic feet per second on May 3. This accounts
for reduced inflows and optimizes storage for water supply,
recreation and fish and wildlife enhancement. Releases from the
Feather River are assessed by DWR daily. DWR manages water
releases from Oroville Dam for flood control during the winter
and early spring months. … Due to dry conditions
and low snowpack in the Feather River watershed, DWR has the
flexibility to conserve water and encroach into the flood
space.
As New Mexico faces extreme drought, the state has launched a
new website to track the water goals the
governor set two years ago. Extremely low snowpack
levels threaten the state’s rivers and aquifers this
year, a trend that’s expected to continue, with a
recent report from water experts across the state projecting
that changing climate patterns and groundwater overuse could
reduce water supplies by 25% in coming decades. The remaining
waters are more vulnerable to pollution concerns from wildfires
and other contaminants. The dashboard includes data on water
conservation, development of new water resources and protection
of existing water resources.
An annual groundwater conference is being moved this year from
downtown Sacramento to Clovis in an attempt to reach those most
affected by the state’s new groundwater law – farmers. The
conference, “Faces of SGMA Implementation Summit” put on by the
Groundwater Resources Association will be held June 2-3 at the
Clovis Veterans Memorial Building. … The Groundwater
Resources Association’s mission is to help improve groundwater
supply by fostering greater education. To that end, this year’s
conference will feature large and small
growers who will give examples of how they’ve
modified their operations under SGMA.
City officials shut off water access to the planned
Project Blue data centers complex and are demanding
reimbursement after discovering what they call unauthorized use
of city water at the construction site. Tucson City
Manager Timothy Thomure sent a letter to the project’s
developers Monday, stating that the city revoked a construction
water meter obtained by contractor Ames Construction, which was
using city water for “dust control purposes at the Project Blue
site” on South Houghton Road near the Pima County
Fairgrounds. The letter claims the contractor obtained the
water meter within the Tucson Water service area and
transported it out for use at the site. “This was completely
unacceptable and was terminated by Tucson Water immediately,”
the letter says.
A citizen-led coalition has submitted more than 151,000
signatures in an effort to put a half-cent sales tax increase
before San Diego voters this November to address the
long-running Tijuana River sewage crisis. The proposed “San
Diego Health and Safety Act” would direct funding toward
stopping toxic sewage pollution from the Tijuana River,
expanding health care access and childcare support, and
strengthening wildfire and 9-1-1 response. The San Diego
County Registrar of Voters has 30 days to verify the signatures
before the measure can be placed on the ballot. While
supporters say the region has waited years for meaningful
solutions, not everyone is convinced a tax increase is the
right approach.
… Firefighters and wildfire experts say that perception
matches reality. Wildfires have become more intense and more
extreme, according to Bakersfield Battalion Chief AJ Clark, who
pointed to major incidents in recent years. … But
according to those who have spent decades studying this
phenomenon, the drivers behind worsening wildfire seasons may
surprise people who assume drought is the primary cause.
“Plants are the source of the fire, the fuel,” UC Riverside
wildfire expert Dr. Richard Minnich said. “So the more it
rains, the more it burns in the climate around here. We think
somehow that drought is a necessary thing. It’s not, not really
at all.”
Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Rio Dell feeder project,
which will provide more reliable and increased electrical
capacity, has received approval from the California State Lands
Commission. … The project includes the installation of two
20-inch conduit castings under the Eel River,
using Horizontal Directional Drilling. The Horizontal
Directional Drilling method is a trenchless technique meant to
avoid disturbance along the bore path to minimize impacts to
waterways and sensitive habitats. … Permits are
still needed from the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife and the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control
Board.
There is not enough water. That is the blunt assessment from
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the feasibility of four
modest plans intended to address environmental and health
problems at the Salton Sea. The announcement came [April 30]
during a community informational meeting at the North Shore
Yacht Club in Mecca, one of a series of recent meetings the
Corps has held on the long-standing crisis. The four plans,
developed to ease the dust and air pollution created as the
Salton Sea shrinks and more lakebed is exposed, share one
critical flaw: none has the water needed to be viable. A
hydrology study presented at the meeting concluded
there is not enough water available to support even the
most modest restoration alternatives.
San Luis Obispo County is studying the construction of a major
seawater desalination plant along its 90-mile coastline, to
provide a drought-proof water supply for 16 partner water
agencies. One of the leading options involves pairing or
expanding the plant at or near Diablo Canyon, California’s last
operating nuclear power station. … This path carries
substantial risks. Critics contend economic pressures and
electric grid reliability concerns shouldn’t be prioritized
over public health, safety and the environment. –Written by William Simpson, executive director of the
Wild Horse Fire Brigade.
… San Diego is not alone in experiencing catastrophic extreme
weather disasters, and many are often hit hardest due to
neglected infrastructure. We cannot afford another climate
disaster in this city — the human cost is too high. Human lives
were lost, along with pets, wildlife and plants in the area
surrounding Chollas Creek flood channels. Today, all of
the recovery work and reconstruction of homes is now at risk of
flooding again because the flood channels have not received the
investment needed to bring them up to date. Flood survivors
have yet to receive all the support needed to live, recover and
heal. What they have received has been because we spoke up.
It’s time to do so again. –Written by Jessica Calix, a San Diego resident whose home
in Southcrest was destroyed in the 2024 flood.
For nearly three decades, Cal Poly Humboldt Wildlife Professor
Jeff Black and citizen scientists have been quietly documenting
the lives of one of the North Coast’s most charismatic
residents: river otters. Now, marking the 27th and final year
of this long-term research effort, Black is sharing new
observations at the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary—a place
where wastewater treatment, wildlife habitat, and public access
intersect. Based on two years of intensive study, the latest
findings, published in the Northwestern
Naturalist, reveal just how deeply river otters rely on
the marsh. Otters were present nearly every day, using the
wetlands not only to hunt, but to raise pups, socialize, rest,
and navigate a landscape shared with hundreds of daily
visitors.
The federal government has agreed to pump more than
$450 million into programs to carry out additional
Colorado River water conservation, Arizona Department of Water
Resources chief Tom Buschatzke said Monday. The
spending is necessary to make the new proposal from
Arizona, Nevada and California work, Buschatzke
and other water officials said Friday in releasing their offer
to save 700,000 to 1 million acre-feet of river water through
2028. … The U.S. Interior Department proposed that the money
be spent, and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, which
must sign off on all federal expenditures, approved it,
Buschatze said at a news briefing Monday afternoon on the new
plan from the three Lower Colorado River Basin states.
