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 Chris Bowman.
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The widespread use of certain chemical or synthetic fire
suppressants may be leading to heavy metal contamination in
wildfire-prone areas, a new study has found. … In an
investigation of a range of these products, published Wednesday
in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, the
researchers found that several contained high levels of at
least one metal, including chromium and cadmium. “Wildfires are
associated with the release of toxic heavy metals to the
environment, but until now, it was assumed that these metals
came from natural sources like soil,” senior author Daniel
McCurry, an assistant professor of civil and environmental
engineering at the University of Southern California, said in a
statement. “We now know that fire retardants may contribute to
these metal releases.”
Lois Henry, a journalist who launched SJV Water as a
nonprofit news site devoted to covering water in the San
Joaquin Valley, was named the 2024 recipient of the Water
Education Foundation’s
Rita Schmidt Sudman Award for Excellence in Water
Journalism. Henry said she was honored to receive
the award, which acknowledges outstanding work that
illuminates complicated water issues in California and the
West. “I’m grateful and humbled to receive this recognition,”
Henry said. “Water is such an arcane and politically rife
topic. We really strive to explain what’s happening in layman’s
terms and walk an unbiased line. So, it’s exciting to know our
work has hit the mark and provided value to our readers.”
Los Angeles County has filed suit against the world’s largest
beverage companies — Coca-Cola and Pepsi — claiming the soda
and drink makers lied to the public about the effectiveness of
plastic recycling, and as a result, left county residents and
ecosystems choking in discarded plastic. The suit is the latest
in a series of high-profile legal actions California officials
have taken against petrochemical corporations and plastic
manufacturers.
Mining lithium from the drying Salton Sea could bring jobs and
much-needed tax revenue to one of California’s poorest
counties, boosters say. But when Imperial County approved
permits for a company to do just that, officials failed to
thoroughly analyze impacts on nearby communities, two
environmental said in a petition filed in Imperial County in
March. At a hearing in the case on Thursday, Los Angeles lawyer
Jordan Sisson, who’s representing the environmental groups,
outlined their concerns over the project. Imperial County used
outdated data to determine how much Colorado River
water the project would need, Sisson said. He said
officials also failed to meaningfully consult locals about the
project — and in particular, to ask local Indigenous groups
about the impact it would have on sacred sites.
Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut off federal
disaster aid for California’s wildfires if he returns to the
White House, most recently at a campaign rally in Coachella and
in remarks at his golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes. Such a
loss in federal funds would be a devastating blow to a state
where wildfires have grown larger and more destructive in part
due to climate change. A single severe fire season can rack up
tens of billions of dollars in damage, firefighting costs and
economic losses. The prospect of losing disaster aid has state
officials and politicians mulling contingency plans ahead of
next week’s election. … Trump has said he’ll withhold
disaster funding if state officials don’t back his policies —
most recently threatening to do so if Gov. Gavin Newsom doesn’t
make more water available to farmers and
homeowners.
With its innovative Harvest Water program, the Sacramento Area
Sewer District supports Central Valley growers, thereby
supporting the nation. In the heart of California’s Central
Valley, a significant project is creating a blueprint for
sustainable water management and collaboration in agriculture.
The Sacramento Area Sewer District (SacSewer) is implementing
what may be California’s most ambitious agricultural water
recycling program to date: Harvest Water. Declining groundwater
levels have impacted water sustainability in the region. This
program will allow the use of recycled water instead of pumped
groundwater for irrigation, raise local groundwater levels by
up to 35 feet over 15 years, and increase groundwater storage
by approximately 370,000 acre-feet.
In the Western water world, measuring in gallons or cubic feet
isn’t quite enough. Unless Nevadans are attuned to the inner
workings of their state’s water issues, they may not have
grasped the concept.
Former President Donald Trump — and to some degree, Vice
President Kamala Harris — have been on the campaign trail
talking about federal land in Western states, including
Arizona. The vast open tracts are seen as prime real estate
that could help reduce a national housing shortage. But one
Republican candidate for state office has taken it a step
further, promoting policy positions on land and
water that would undercut tribal sovereignty.
… Vince Leach laid out his plan to address the affordable
housing problem in Arizona, some 24 hours after he acknowledged
Columbus Day. “We got to work with the feds to get our land
back. Give me my land,” Leach said during an event sponsored by
the Citizens for Picture Rocks in Pima County. “We’ve got to
open up more land.”
Three subcommittees exploring ways to protect the Crystal River
met in Marble on Monday to share their status and findings
after six months of work. The Crystal River Collaborative
Steering Committee split into three subcommittees in March,
each focused on evaluating a different method of river
protection: a peaking instream flow, an intergovernmental
agreement, and a federal Wild & Scenic designation. Some
Crystal Valley residents, along with Pitkin County, have pushed
for a Wild & Scenic designation for years as the best way to
prevent future dams and diversions. Others, wary of any federal
involvement, have balked at the idea, instead proposing
different types of protections. But nearly everyone involved
agrees that some type of protection is necessary to ensure that
one of Colorado’s last free-flowing rivers
stays that way.
Farmers can estimate the size of a harvest months in advance by
counting the blossoms on their trees. Similarly, salmon fishers
can cast an eye into the future by counting spawning fish in a
river. Fishery managers are doing that now in the Sacramento
River and its tributaries, and what they’re seeing could be a
bad sign for next year. … Overall, the unwelcome numbers,
mirroring similar figures from last year, are alarming to
people who fish, for they portend the possible continuation of
the two-year-and-counting statewide ban on salmon fishing,
imposed in 2023 following a weak spawning season.
San Joaquin County declared a state of emergency Wednesday for
a potential levee failure on Victoria Island in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that could damage farmland and
compromise water for the region. County engineers on Oct. 21
found slumping at a levee on Old River that could damage
Highway 4, a critical artery for the region. County officials
took “emergency measures” to temporarily erect protective
barriers, but the levee is still at risk, San Joaquin County’s
Office of Emergency Services said in a news release.
Tucked in a $10 billion climate bond on the November ballot is
an earmark to improve drinking water quality for communities
such as East Orosi. Proposition 4 would allocate $610 million
for clean, safe, and reliable drinking water and require at
least 40% be spent on projects that benefit vulnerable
populations or disadvantaged communities. But it’s a fraction
of what the state says is needed. While most Californians have
access to safe water, roughly 750,000 people as of late October
are served by 383 failing water systems, many clustered in
remote and sparsely populated areas. A June assessment by the
California State Water Resources Control Board pegged the cost
of repairing failing and at-risk public water systems at about
$11.5 billion.
The Interior Department will put $46 million toward wetland and
habitat restoration in the Klamath River Basin, part of an
ongoing bid to balance environmental and agricultural water
demands in the region after the removal of four dams. The
agency announced Wednesday that it will fund two dozen projects
to restore wetlands, shorelines and native habitats in southern
Oregon and Northern California. The nonprofit Klamath River
Renewal Corp. recently completed the removal of four dams — the
Iron Gate, Copco 1, Copco 2 and J.C. Boyle structures —
restoring more than 400 miles of free-flowing waterway for
salmon and other fish species.
… Now under consideration by the State Water Resources
Control Board, the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes framework is a
potential alternative to traditional water quality regulations
in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay. This
approach seeks to restore ecosystem health and improve water
reliability, offering a more collaborative and adaptive
strategy to protect both fish and wildlife and local economies.
As statewide snowpack sits at 152 percent of the to-date
long-term norm in Colorado thanks to several big October
storms, one river basin is leading the charge at 529 percent of
the snowpack that’s expected for this time of the year. The
state’s southwesternmost river basin – the San
Miguel-Dolores-Animas-San Juan River Basin (home to Durango and
Telluride) – is where this well-above-average snowpack is
found, with neighboring Upper Rio Grande and Gunnison river
basins having above-average snowpack as well, at 316 percent
and 243 percent of the to-date norm, respectively.
… Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner, head of the IBWC, told
[Matt] Henry and others gathered at the meeting that a
long-awaited project to repair and expand the dilapidated
[South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant] broke
ground earlier Tuesday. … But it will be several years before
the benefits of construction projects on both sides of the
border are felt and data yet to be collected reveals other
possible solutions. …Together with the overhaul of a
wastewater plant in Baja California, [the] expansion
should eliminate about 90 percent of untreated wastewater
reaching South County shorelines.
The Environmental Protection Agency will be sending $47 million
to the state of Nevada to upgrade Nevada’s water
infrastructure. The grants will fund projects managing
wastewater, protect freshwater resources, and deliver drinking
water to homes, schools, and businesses. The funding was
announced by Nevada Senators Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez
Masto. “All Nevadans deserve access to clean, safe drinking
water, and I’m proud to see these funds coming to Nevada to
make critical improvements to our water infrastructure,” said
Senator Cortez Masto. “I’ll continue working in the Senate to
deliver essential resources to protect our water supply for
generations to come.”
The San Juan National Forest Dolores Ranger District has
acquired the 160-acre Dunton Meadows property located southwest
of Telluride. According to a press release, the property is a
“critically important wetland meadow complex” at the headwaters
of the Dolores River. The release states that this acquisition
will protect a source of clean, cold water for Colorado River
cutthroat trout in a Dolores River headwater tributary called
Coal Creek. Coal Creek contains some of the richest habitats in
the upper Dolores River basin for the Colorado River cutthroat
trout.
Imagine Sonoma County without Crane melons, Bernier garlic, or
Russian River pinot noir. Local farms shape the landscape,
economy, and culture. But their future is uncertain, and what
happens next depends on consumer choices and local support.
Farming isn’t easy. In 2024, Sonoma County farmers face climate
change, water shortages, labor gaps, and costly new technology.
Unpredictable weather — droughts, floods, wildfires — threatens
crops and disrupts practices. Managing water is crucial, as
farmers juggle conservation and irrigation. Labor shortages
push up costs and slow down operations. While tech can boost
efficiency, it often requires heavy investment and specialized
skills. These challenges demand resilience and innovation from
the farming community. Farming has been essential since humans
first cultivated crops.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun construction on a
new 59,000-square-foot Agricultural Research and Technology
Center at the University of California, Davis. … The center,
dubbed ARTC, will include laboratories, greenhouses and
capacity for scientists exploring ways agriculture can adapt to
climate change, water scarcity, emerging pests and increasing
global demand, the release said. The two-story ARTC will house
four research units: crops pathology and genetics, invasive
species and pollinator health, national tree fruit, nuts and
grapes clonal germplasm repository and sustainable water
systems.
