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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A Sebastopol environmental watchdog group has threatened to sue
Sonoma Water and the small sewer district it operates in
Guerneville over alleged water quality violations tied to a
massive, multi-day spill of wastewater during a heavy storm
this past January. A March 18 letter from local attorney Jack
Silver, representing the nonprofit California River Watch,
accuses the county water agency and Russian River Sanitation
District of violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The
notice of intent to sue comes three months after an
estimated 5.5 million gallons of wastewater, including
untreated sewage, overflowed from the district’s Guerneville
treatment plant into the lower Russian River over three days,
making for the largest such spill in the river in more than
four decades.
… Since 2018, more than 100 billion gallons (378 billion
liters) of raw sewage laden with industrial chemicals and trash
have poured into the Tijuana River, according to the
International Boundary and Water Commission. The river
traverses land where three generations of the Egger family once
raised dairy cows. The United States and Mexico signed
an agreement last year to clean up the longstanding problem by
upgrading wastewater plants to keep up with Tijuana’s
population growth and industrial waste from factories, many
owned by U.S. companies. In the meantime, tens of
thousands of people are being exposed to the sewage.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced
the availability of $30 million in grant funding to strengthen
water services in small and rural communities across the United
States. This newly available funding supports technical
assistance and training to benefit small drinking water
and wastewater systems and to help private well owners improve
drinking water quality. The funding forms part of the
agency’s Real Water Technical Assistance initiative
(RealWaterTA). The RealWaterTA program helps connect
small and rural drinking water and wastewater systems with
established services, including engineering and design
expertise, operational support, workforce development and
financial management.
California dam safety regulations are set for a significant
update after the California Water Commission approved changes
proposed by the state Department of Water Resources (DWR)
Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Under DWR’s Division of Safety
of Dams (DSOD), the state proposed additions and modifications
to existing dam safety regulations. The Division of Safety of
Dams updated Articles Two, Five, Six and Seven to clarify the
application process for dam alterations, repairs and removals,
as well as time extensions and how unlawfully constructed dams
are addressed. The changes also require the State Water Project
to cover DSOD labor costs, eliminate hard copies of technical
memorandums, allow written hearings and simplify the lien
process.
The Salinas Watsonville growing region was beset by significant
amounts of rain this past weekend, so it was time to go out and
have a look. It’s tough to see this, since while the crews are
out picking as they have been for about a month, the fruit is
being thrown away rather than put into clamshells and boxes for
shipping. Removing all the damaged fruit of course is good
field practice and is done to maintain good sanitation around
the plant, keeping things on the up and up to prepare for
better days ahead. Much of the damage in the pictures below has
to do with “water soaking”, meaning the riper fruit has pulled
water into itself via osmotic pressure and the extra water
coming in so quick has subsequently burst the
epidermis.
Along Northern California’s Sonoma Coast, finding stretches of
shoreline that still feel truly wild and undeveloped is
becoming increasingly rare. That’s what makes the Estero
Americano Coast Preserve, just south of Bodega Bay, such a
remarkable discovery. … For generations, this land was
part of a working coastal ranch. The rolling grasslands and
estuary edges were privately owned and used primarily for
agriculture and grazing, keeping the coastline off-limits to
the public for nearly 100 years. … Birdwatchers may spot
great blue herons stalking the shallows, snowy egrets moving
through the marsh, and hawks riding the coastal updrafts above
the bluffs.
Federal water managers are soon expected to announce a
round of water releases that would prop up Lake Powell, the
nation’s second-largest reservoir. Water levels there
are near record lows, and they are expected to plummet even
lower after a historically dry winter. The Bureau of
Reclamation, the federal agency which manages dams and
reservoirs around the West, is trying to protect Glen Canyon
Dam in northern Arizona. If water levels there drop much lower,
it could become impossible for the dam to generate hydropower.
Farther drops could make it impossible to pass water into the
Colorado River on the other side. Reclamation has
indicated that it will explore a release of up to 1 million
acre-feet of water from reservoirs in the Rocky Mountains and
send it downstream to Lake Powell.
Residents in the South Bay say the rolling chronic sewage
crisis has gone from a nuisance to an acute health hazard.
… County officials say the toxicity of the Tijuana River
has reached record levels, and local leaders are calling on the
Governor and the President to declare a state of emergency,
which would waive all local, state, and federal regulations,
allowing emergency action to address the overwhelming sewage
health disaster. … Currently, while work is ongoing with
catch collectors, [San Diego Supervisor Paloma] Aguirre says
there is no plan to address the root cause of the issue, which
is the broken Mexican waste management system.
Commercial salmon season is opening off the coast of California
for the first time since 2022 this May. … This season,
though, might be less propitious than hoped for [by] fishermen
on the North Coast, who have hoped their three years of
sacrifice would pay immediate dividends. Salmon fishing will
remain closed from the Oregon border to Point Arena (the
Klamath Management Zone, or KMZ, and the zone immediately to
the south of that) and further restricted from Point Arena to
Pigeon Point. … What’s more, California has adopted a quota
for the number of salmon to be caught, a model not unlike how
salmon fisheries are managed in Washington state, which is a
departure from the state’s traditional “wide-open season.”
Methane, the second-biggest contributor to climate change, is
spewing into the atmosphere from the oil and gas industry,
landfills and dairy farms. It’s also coming from another
lesser-known source: reservoirs. As plants break down
underwater, they form methane, which then bubbles to the
surface. California doesn’t monitor how much is coming from
these waters, but now several environmental groups are urging
air regulators to find out, and some experts agree it’s
important. … The coalition of environmental groups —
including Friends of the River, Tell The Dam Truth and five
other organizations, as well as the clothing company Patagonia
— submitted a petition last month saying the California Air
Resources Board should require reports on greenhouse gases from
dams and reservoirs.
The weekend storms that drenched the Bay Area left rain totals
that are significant for April. … In the Sierra, the
weekend storm produced feet of snow. UC Berkeley’s
Central Sierra Snow Laboratory received more than 3.5
feet of snow over the past three days. Tahoe ski
resorts also logged big snow totals, with Palisades Tahoe
reporting 43 inches over the recent storm. The statewide
snowpack remains well below average, however, at just 23% of
normal for this time of year, as of Monday. An exceptionally
warm and dry March contributed to the second-lowest snowpack
measured in modern times earlier this month.
Governor Gavin Newsom has announced the creation of the Salton
Sea Conservancy, which is meant to restore the habitat in the
area and improve air quality. It’s the state’s first
conservancy in 15 years. … Residents like Imari Kariotis
say they’ve developed chronic health issues from living in the
area. “I have breathing issues. So I am on this Nova disc in
the morning. I have a rescue inhaler,” Kariotis says. She’s
lived in the area for 30 years and says affordability is
what brings most people to the area. But she says the
government has neglected the region. … Joe Shea, who
works on Salton Sea policy with the California Natural
Resources Agency, says the conservancy will expand the state’s
capacity for projects at the Salton Sea.
There are currently no active applications for a data center in
Cochise County. Still, many residents wanted to ban the
facilities outright. On Tuesday, the county adopted a set of
data center regulations after a 3-0 vote by its supervisors.
… Its new regulations ask data center developers
to submit noise impact analyses and water use plans.
They will also require them to show they can supply power
without “adversely impacting existing users” and mostly bar
them from using potable water for cooling servers.
… Still, many county residents who spoke at the April 7
board meeting felt that a moratorium, not the regulations,
better reflected their wishes.
Hundreds of water sector professionals are meeting with
lawmakers in Washington, D.C., this week as part of the annual
National Water Policy Fly-In during Water Week, urging Congress
to take action on funding, PFAS, and affordability challenges.
The fly-in is a joint effort led by National Association of
Clean Water Agencies, Association of Metropolitan Water
Agencies, The Water Research Foundation, Water Environment
Federation, and WateReuse Association. … A key focus of this
year’s discussions is declining federal investment in water
infrastructure, with sector leaders warning that authorizations
for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds
could expire in September without congressional action.
The state is demanding farmers in Kings and and parts of Tulare
counties begin reporting how much groundwater they pump or face
fines starting May 1. But it apparently doesn’t have a reliable
system to take in that information. The state Water Resources
Control Board’s reporting platform, known as GEARS, had already
received criticism for being clunky and hard to navigate. …
Then GEARS quit functioning altogether on Monday. …The
breakdown comes just weeks before farmers in the Tulare Lake
and Tule subbasins are required to begin reporting their
pumping as part of being placed on probation by the Water Board
in 2024 for lacking a plan that would stop rampant subsidence
in the region.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s board
has voted to allocate $150 million over the next two years to
continue planning for its Pure Water Southern California
wastewater recycling project. This project aims to provide
enough local water to meet the daily needs of at least 1.5
million people when fully developed. Environmental advocates
have praised the decision, emphasizing the importance of
investing in sustainable local water supplies, particularly
given the challenges facing the Colorado River and California’s
snowpacks. Bruce Reznik, executive director of Los Angeles
Waterkeeper, highlighted that Pure Water Southern California
represents a resilient water solution that could help address
ongoing water scarcity concerns.
Due to the threat of the highly invasive golden mussel,
Stanislaus National Forest (STF) officials will close the
Beardsley Lake Boat Ramp for the next two months. … The
Tri-Dam Project is a partnership between the Oakdale Irrigation
District (OID) and the South San Joaquin Irrigation District
(SSJID). They noted that the closure is needed to prevent the
spread to Beardsley and to downstream partners, including
Pacific Gas & Electric, the United States Bureau of
Reclamation, irrigators, and water treatment plants in the
valley. Forest officials added, “The action is aligned with
actions taken by many reservoirs in California in response to
the golden mussel threat.”
The mighty-but-little-known Amargosa River
gained dubious national recognition this week. Without
intervention preventing mining and solar farm development, the
river that makes life possible in one of America’s harshest
deserts is in grave danger, the nonprofit American Rivers
declares in its top 10 most endangered rivers list, which
was released Tuesday. … Today, after small-town Nevada
successfully pushed back against exploration for
lithium near the refuge in the early 2020s, the area is
experiencing pressure from developers who hope for expanded
mining, solar energy development and even AI data centers.
California is resuming commercial salmon fishing after three
consecutive years of closure due to concerns over declining
populations. Gavin Newsom and state officials celebrated the
move, citing the state’s conservation efforts as a key factor
that has contributed to the progress. … The state has
restricted commercial fishing for three consecutive years since
2023 and has leaned on a number of efforts to support the
salmon population, including increasing the number of
hatchery-reared salmon, while conservationists continue to call
for stronger measures and increased water
allocations. “The return of salmon seasons in 2026 is a
testament to the heavy rains of 2023, not a shift in
management,” Vance Staplin, executive director of the Golden
State Salmon Association said in an email.
Despite pressure from Colorado’s congressional delegation,
around $140 million in federal funding previously granted to
Western Slope water projects has lingered in limbo for nearly
16 months. The funds, awarded to 17 Western Slope projects in
the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration, were
part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s drought mitigation grant
opportunity for the Upper Colorado River Basin. This included
$40 million granted to the Colorado River District to aid in
its purchase of the Shoshone water rights, the oldest and
largest non-consumptive right on the Colorado River tied to the
hydropower plant in Glenwood Canyon. … In June, the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation released funds for two of the projects in
the Orchard Mesa Irrigation District in Palisade, but the rest
remain frozen.
