A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation Writer Matt Jenkins.
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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.
The U.S. Supreme Court has approved a settlement package
designed to rein in groundwater pumping along one of North
America’s longest rivers and ensure enough water reliably makes
it from New Mexico to Texas, ending a long-running dispute over
management of the Rio Grande. In a brief order Tuesday, the
court accepted the recommendation of a special master to move
forward with agreements first proposed last year by New Mexico,
Texas and Colorado. The settlement calls for
reducing groundwater pumping along the dwindling river
and retiring water rights from irrigated farmland in
southern New Mexico. … While the Colorado
River gets all the headlines, experts say the
situation along the Rio Grande is just as dire. Stretches of
the river as far north as Albuquerque are expected to go dry
again this year, marking the third time in five years.
A proposed 12-month moratorium on data centers in Cheyenne was
rejected on a 9-1 City Council vote after nearly four hours of
emotional, and at times angry, testimony Tuesday night.
… Cheyenne’s debate over whether to halt data centers
mirrors a broader national conversation unfolding as
communities grapple with the explosive growth of artificial
intelligence infrastructure and the enormous power and
water demands tied to hyperscale data centers.
… Lawmakers in at least 14 states have recently
introduced or considered legislation aimed at slowing or
temporarily pausing new data center construction while
governments study long-term impacts on energy grids, water
supplies and community growth.
U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a stronger federal response to
golden mussels, an invasive species found on the U.S.
west coast that can cause massive damage to waterways and
infrastructure. … At the federal level, Schiff
and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) have introduced
the Golden Mussel Eradication and Control Act in the Senate
[May 20] to help address the threat. If passed, the legislation
would establish a demonstration program to prevent, eradicate,
and control golden mussels, track their dispersal and create an
early warning systems for future infestations, and provide
grant funding for local or state efforts to tackle golden
mussels. … A companion bill was introduced in the U.S.
House of Representatives in June 2025 by U.S. Representative
Josh Harder (D-California).
… The Golden State Salmon Association is urging Californians
to contact their Assembly members and oppose AB 2215, a bill
designed to advance the proposed Delta Tunnel by bypassing the
normal water rights review process at the State Water Resources
Control Board. A California court recently ruled that the
Department of Water Resources does not currently hold the water
rights needed to divert additional water through the proposed
tunnel. Rather than going through the standard review process,
which includes public oversight and scientific evaluation, AB
2215 would attempt to change those expired 60-year-old water
rights through legislation.
Casually surveying the urban landscapes in much of Colorado’s
Front Range, you’d never know that the Colorado River — the
source for roughly half the water of the cities — has
deteriorated to its most pitiful shape of perhaps the last
century. Oh, yes, some utilities — notably Denver Water and
Aurora Water, which together serve 1.9 million residents — have
imposed rigorous stage-one drought watering restrictions.
Outdoor irrigation is allowed twice per week and never during
the heat of day. Other water utilities that tap Colorado River
water, however, have asked only for voluntary cutbacks, if any
at all. Jeff Lukas, a water consultant with several decades
invested in climate change work, says this seeming aloofness of
some cities will not persist indefinitely.
As the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reviews the Pacific
Gas and Electric company’s application to surrender and
decommission its hydroelectric plant in Mendocino County known
as the Potter Valley Project, it has scheduled two
“scoping meetings” in Ukiah next month to collect public
comments. “This notice initiates the start of a
scoping process the commission will use to gather input from
the public and interested agencies about issues regarding the
proposal,” the Scoping Document recently released by FERC
states.
In an event earlier this month, PPIC Water Policy Center
research associate Kyle Greenspan presented new research about
California’s efforts to reduce severe wildfire hazards.
… Scott Stephens, Henry Vaux special professor of forest
policy at UC Berkeley, explained the problem. “It’s about
what’s going on inside that fire. Maybe 30–40% of that 2020
year of fire was high severity, so you’re killing all trees
over thousands of acres continuously. That’s incredibly
detrimental.” It’s particularly problematic for the state’s
water supply, the vast majority of which originates in
California’s headwaters regions, like the Sierra-Cascade
Mountains.
A new environmental report raises serious health concerns
about surface water frequently tested across California.
… Environmental Working Group (EWG) – a Washington
D.C.-based nonprofit – targeted agricultural areas throughout
the Golden State and found “forever chemicals” or PFAS in half
the samples tested. Repeated samples in ten counties, including
Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, tested positive. The Santa
Maria River and Oso Flaco Creek were two local, surface waters
tested. EWG researchers said the findings suggest
fungicides, herbicides and insecticides not only end up on
produce but could also be exposing millions of Californians to
PFAS through water and soil. … A new bill making its way
through the California legislature aims to phase out PFAS
pesticides by 2035.
The Tijuana River sewage crisis is a multi-faceted problem,
with environmental, public health and political challenges to
overcome. … Enter Sarah Federman’s Peace Studies students.
She teaches conflict resolution at the University of San
Diego’s Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and this spring
semester, she taught her class on the ongoing cross-border
sewage crisis. … “We found a lot of fragmented data,”
said Elise Free, a USD student who supported Federman’s class.
“We found a lot of very dense scientific reports. And so, our
next goal was to create a document that made all of that
legible.” They wanted to create a chemical index that the
public could use to better understand where the chemicals were
coming from and what dangers they pose to their health.
The United Nations estimates that 2.2 billion people lack
safely managed drinking water, and communities from California
to the Middle East rely on desalination plants to convert ocean
water to fresh water. Common desalination techniques, such as
reverse osmosis and thermal distillation, are energy-intensive,
require pre- and post-water treatment, and leave behind a
concentrated saltwater byproduct called brine. The brine
byproduct wreaks havoc on sea life when it’s deposited back
into the ocean by raising the salt level and lowering oxygen in
the water. But a novel approach developed at the University of
Rochester offers a way to overcome these drawbacks. Researchers
at URochester’s Institute of Optics developed a new
solar-thermal desalination process to produce fresh water in an
energy-efficient way that does not leave behind brine and
requires no chemical additives to pre-treat the water.
The federal agency responsible for approving Pacific Gas &
Electric Co.’s bid to decommission two Eel River damsand a
downstream hydroelectric powerplant has signaled its support
for the utility’s plans, despite last-ditch efforts by
those who oppose the teardown to keep the waterworks in Lake
and Mendocino counties intact. In a May 22 scoping
document that provides an overview of proposed actions and
potential resource issues, the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission noted it “proposed to eliminate … alternatives” to
full decommissioning, including a proposed takeover of the dams
either by the federal government or other public agency.
Federal takeover of two PG&E dams and shuttered powerplant,
known as the Potter Valley Project, would require congressional
approval.
A funding agreement signed this week between Cadiz,
Inc. and the US Bureau of Reclamation has put fresh
attention on one of the American Southwest’s most contested
water infrastructure proposals: the Mojave Groundwater
Bank, a conjunctive-use groundwater storage project in
southeastern California that has been seeking regulatory
approval for nearly three decades. Under the
agreement, Cadiz will finance Reclamation’s technical
review of the project, covering validation of water supply
resources, assessment of proposed water exchange mechanisms
within the Colorado River system, and
identification of steps required to enable potential federal
investment. … It is designed to connect the Colorado
River and California State Water Project systems through new
pipeline infrastructure, including converted fossil fuel
pipelines.
A late-season storm is rolling through the Sierra Nevada this
week, bringing snowfall, high winds and
lightning. Although the storm system is expected to target
the whole region, the most snow is likely to fall in the
central and southern Sierra. From Tuesday through Thursday,
up to about 8 inches [of snow] could stick on the
highest peaks, according to the National Weather
Service office in Reno. … There’s about an 80% chance of
at least light precipitation regionwide, as temperatures dip 15
to 20 degrees below the averages for late May. Snow levels
could drop to 5,500 feet by Wednesday morning; hover between
6,500 and 7,500 feet from Wednesday through Thursday morning;
and then rise up to 8,000 feet by Thursday afternoon.
PFAS, often referred to as “forever chemicals,” were frequently
found in surface water and sediment in 10 counties across
California, according to a new study. The analysis from
the Environmental Working Group showed that as much as
50% of California surface water samples contained
PFAS, stemming from their use in agricultural
pesticides. … Using data from California’s Surface Water
Database from 2020 to 2024, samples were taken from waterways
across several counties, including Butte, Colusa, Imperial,
Merced, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Stanislaus,
Sutter and Yolo. Each study found some level of contamination
near agricultural areas, with some at higher concentrations
than others.
The House Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held an
oversight hearing on May 20 examining the future of the Bureau
of Reclamation, the federal agency that delivers water to 31
million people across the American West. The hearing exposed a
sharp partisan divide over whether the primary barrier to water
infrastructure is bureaucratic red tape, as Republicans argued,
or the Trump administration’s own budget cuts and staffing
reductions, as Democrats contended. … The hearing’s most
contentious exchange came when [Rep. Jared] Huffman pressed
Scott Cameron, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S.
Department of the Interior, on whether the
administration’s proposed elimination of the Water Smart
program, a drought resilience initiative with bipartisan
support, was a serious budget proposal.
The Nye County Water District Governing Board unanimously
approved an emergency order Tuesday requesting that the Nye
County Commission place a moratorium on data centers in the
Pahrump Valley. The emergency order is non-binding and
includes draft language for an ordinance that would
make data center projects a non-permissive use of
water within the Pahrump Regional Planning District
and Nevada Hydrographic Basin 162, a critically
over-appropriated aquifer. Board members emphasized that
they do not have the authority to approve or deny data centers,
and that any recommendation they make will have to be approved
by the Nye County Commission. … The vote comes after the
Reno City Council placed a temporary pause on new data center
applications earlier this month.
Lawmakers and local water agencies are ramping up efforts to
tackle the spread of Golden Mussels, an invasive species that
experts warn could threaten critical water infrastructure
across the state. At the same time, a photo circulating on
Facebook showing a farmer’s pipe in Tracy covered in mussels is
drawing attention online. FOX26 News was unsuccessful in
obtaining permission to air the image, but scenes like it are
becoming a growing concern throughout Delta-connected
waterways. … Now, those conversations are also happening
at the state level. At the California State Capitol,
Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom introduced California Assembly
Bill 2032, legislation aimed at strengthening California’s
response to Golden Mussels.
Mendocino County is not in a drought. That was the message
Tuesday, May 19, from county Department of Transportation
staff, who delivered the first formal drought briefing since
the county adopted its Drought Resilience Plan on May 20, 2025
— nearly a year ago to the day. … Jeanine Jones,
interstate resources manager for the California Department of
Water Resources, gave the statewide picture and a warning about
the El Niño headlines now circulating. A strong El Niño does
not reliably mean a wet California winter, she said. She
pointed to water year 2016, when one of the strongest El Niño
events on record fell in the fifth year of the 2012-2017
drought.
Communities living with one of the most severe pollution
problems in California could see immediate relief if San Diego
leaders can get a key Tijuana River project out of the
gate. While millions of gallons of untreated sewage enter
the river on a regular basis, one road crossing, known as the
Saturn Boulevard hot spot, is the source of most airborne
pollution from the river. As the U.S. and Mexico pursue a
combined $800 million in upgrades to wastewater facilities on
both sides of the border, local governments are working on a
smaller fix to that chokepoint that could improve conditions as
soon as next year, officials said. San Diego leaders are trying
to secure about $25 million to repair the road crossing at
Saturn Boulevard. … But they’re still trying to nail down a
funding source for the project.
The Kings County Water District Board approved hiring a new
general manager a month after firing its long time manager of
12 years. The district hired Madalyn Vieira with an annual
salary of $155,000 at its May 21 special board meeting. Vieira
is expected to start on May 27. … Vieira founded Valley
Water Strategies, a consulting firm that offers groundwater
management support just this month, according to her
LinkedIn. Before that, she was a water policy manager at
4Creeks, a Visalia-based construction and engineering firm, for
nearly two years then a legal operations director for 11
months, according to her LinkedIn.
