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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Facing an abysmal snowpack and spring runoff, the state’s
largest Front Range water provider has enacted an agreement
that lets it take more water from the Western Slope for a
limited time. On March 18, Denver Water put the Shoshone call
reduction agreement into effect with water rights owner Xcel
Energy, which allows Denver Water to divert more water
from the headwaters of the Colorado River in an
attempt to alleviate shortages. The agreement reduces the call
at the Shoshone hydroelectric plant in Glenwood Canyon by half,
from 1,408 cfs to 704 cfs.
Other Colorado River management and Western drought news:
The light snow flurries in the Tahoe area this week after a
spell of record-setting March heatwaves across California were
not enough to reverse the damage. California’s water officials
gathered at Philips Station near Lake Tahoe on the first day of
April to measure what is typically the winter’s peak snowpack.
Instead, they found only thin, patchy snow and no
measurable snow, marking the second-lowest April 1 snowpack in
75 years. … The devastating final snow survey
of the season at Phillips Station aligned with a broader snow
drought trend across the state, with the statewide snowpack
remaining far below average at 18%.
Financial support for the controversial Delta Conveyance
Project has been eroding among Kern County agricultural water
districts over the past year and lost another significant chunk
when the Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District opted
recently to cut its contribution by nearly 97% – from $4.6
million down to $146,000. … Four other large State Water
Project contractors in Kern are also considering lowering their
participation levels as the Department of Water Resources is
trying to firm up agreements to collect $300 million from
contractors for the ongoing planning and design phase of the
$20 billion project.
The U.S. Geological Survey released a new machine learning tool
that forecasts droughts up to 90 days ahead nationwide. The
tool may provide communities extra time to prepare for water
shortages that could impact agriculture, municipal supplies,
recreation and ecosystems. The tool forecasts streamflow
drought, which is when rivers and streams drop below normal
levels for extended periods, which may directly impact water
availability even when rainfall returns to normal. The USGS
River DroughtCast uses machine learning models trained on data
from thousands of USGS streamgages, some with more than 100
years of continuous records, to forecast when rivers and
streams will drop to abnormally low levels.
Our Layperson’s
Guide to California Water has been completely
updated for 2026, providing a comprehensive overview of the
ways water is used, as well as its critical ecological role,
throughout the state. The 24-page publication traces the
history of the vital resource at the core of California’s
identity, politics and culture since its founding in 1850. A
first-ever Spanish-language edition of the guide will also be
published this summer in partnership with Fresno State’s
California Water Institute. The Layperson’s Guide to California
Water is available for $18.Get
your copy here.
… It was only three years ago, at a press conference, that
state and federal lawmakers and business figures were touting
the [Salton Sea] area’s great promise for extracting lithium, a
mineral critical for batteries in electric cars, smartphones
and industrial power systems, from volcanic layers deep in the
ground. … But lithium demand alone cannot solve the
problem of harvesting it. BHE Renewables built a pilot plant in
Calipatria near the Salton Sea, only for dissolved solids in
the brine to gunk up the equipment meant to filter out the
lithium. … Most concerning for residents is that the
plan could result in dirtier air. Nearly a third of the water
for farms in the Lithium Valley region ends up as runoff for
the Salton Sea, so less agriculture would result in its
shrinking — exposing more dusty lake bed.
Plans to raise water levels at Shasta Dam are sparking debate,
with tribal members warning the change would cause spiritual
harm. The proposal would increase water storage capacity, and
state leaders say the additional storage is needed during
drought years. But for the Redding Rancheria, which has members
of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, the issue goes beyond water.
Tribal Chairman Jack Potter said the dam has already disrupted
salmon runs and that raising water levels would submerge sacred
areas that remain, including burial sites and places where they
hold traditional ceremonies.
The Karuk Tribe of California and the city of Yreka will host a
creek cleanup April 25 aimed at restoring Yreka Creek, a
waterway biologists consider the “last stronghold” for coho
salmon in the Shasta River watershed. Though the creek runs
through an urban area, it supports a small but significant
salmon population that many residents may not realize is there.
… The cleanup will focus on removing trash and invasive
Himalayan blackberry, which can grow in dense thickets up to 8
feet tall and crowd out native vegetation. The effort is
especially important for coho salmon, which are listed under
the Endangered Species Act due to declining populations.
Environmental advocates acknowledge there is political will
between Mexico and the United States to address the beach
pollution crisis, but they also recognize funding is lacking to
build sewage-mitigation projects. “If having meetings and
signing agreements resolved the problem, there wouldn’t be any
problem,” said Fay Crevoshay, director of communications and
public policy for WILDCOAST, an environmental group in San
Diego. … Crevoshay says Mexico has committed $59 million
in state and federal funds to launch seven projects, including
the rehabilitation of various collectors and two sewage-pumping
stations, money yet to be delivered.
PG&E got one of the certifications it needed to release
wastewater from the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant for the
next 20 years — but three nonprofit organizations are fighting
to shorten that window. … On Feb. 26, the Central Coast
Regional Water Quality Board issued a five-year permit that
allows the power plant to release that wastewater back into the
Pacific Ocean. Also at that meeting, the board certified that
the 20-year operating license PG&E requested from the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission would comply with the Clean Water
Act. But a group of nonprofit organizations said the 20-year
certification violates state law.
Bruce Howarth’s last day on the job at Alpaugh Irrigation
District is April Fool’s Day, but one thing he doesn’t joke
about is his admiration for the district and its
landowners. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” he said. “I
love working with farmers.” Howarth is retiring today after 12
years at the helm of the tiny district, which was founded in
1915 and covers about 10,000 acres on the far southwestern edge
of Tulare County. … Stepping in to fill the
position is Mike Battles, who previously worked at Lower Tule
River and Pixley irrigation districts. … Howarth said he
will never forget the two thorniest issues of his tenure: high
speed rail line; and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
(SGMA).
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) today conducted the
critical April snow survey at Phillips Station and found no
measurable snow, a stark indicator of how record‑hot March
temperatures and high‑elevation rain have erased the Sierra
Nevada snowpack months ahead of schedule. The combination of
warm storms and unusually hot temperatures rapidly melted what
remained of this year’s already sparse snowpack.
Statewide, the snowpack is now just 18 percent of
average for this date, according to the automated snow
sensor network.
California’s snowpack is supposed to reach its peak April 1, so
today, state surveyors hold their final Sierra snow survey of
the year. But instead of peak snow, there’s almost none.
Snow across California’s Sierra Nevada measured just
18% of average Monday — among the smallest in decades.
A month of record-shattering heat thawed the snow and sent
runoff coursing into streams and rivers, leaving only minimal
water in the mountains as the state heads into dry
season. The early melt is a symptom of global warming that
scientists say is becoming more pronounced.
In Park City, Utah, skiers could find patches of grass poking
through the slopes for much of the winter — a striking sign of
a season that never really arrived. Now, after one of the
warmest winters on record, much of the West is entering spring
with snowpack at historic lows and an early
heat wave that pushed temperatures into triple digits. These
woes could be straight out of a climate fiction novel. But the
West’s no good, very bad winter was alarmingly real. And,
experts say, a worrisome combination of low snowpack and a
devastating heat wave could create a summer ripe for climate
disasters.
Other Colorado River Basin snowpack and drought news:
The federal government has complied with the Endangered Species
Act in its activities at two dams on California’s Yuba
River, a judge ruled Tuesday in a decade-old case.
However, U.S. District Judge Daniel Calabretta had one carveout
in his decision. He determined the National Marine Fisheries
Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers improperly excluded
the Brophy Diversion from an analysis. He remanded that aspect
of the case to the service for reassessment. The judge’s
decision on the motions for summary judgement closes the 2016
case that at its heart focused on three fish: Central Valley
spring chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, and North
American green sturgeon.
In north Phoenix, where the landscape is a patchwork of scrubby
desert and master-planned communities, the future of the city’s
water system is taking shape. With climate change and
drought shrinking the amount of water in the rivers
and reservoirs that supply the nation’s fifth-largest
city, Phoenix is betting big on technology that can
turn sewage into clean, safe drinking water. It will allow
water managers to squeeze every last drop out of the supply
they already have at a time when they expect less to be coming
down the pipe from once-dependable sources. … [T]he
[Cave Creek Water Reclamation Plant] project is coming at a
pivotal time, as federal officials are proposing steep cutbacks
to the Central Arizona Project, which delivers Colorado River
water to the Phoenix metro area.
In California’s Sacramento River Valley, a
lush agricultural region known for producing rice and alfalfa,
one tribal group is taking steps to claim a piece of the global
AI boom. Colusa Indian Energy, a power company wholly owned by
the Colusa Indian Community, [announced]
Tuesday that it’s partnering with developer Strata Expanse to
build an AI infrastructure project on land belonging to the
Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians. … Developers have
pushed for more and larger facilities in rural communities,
deserts and downtowns, sparking growing community pushback over
concerns about straining power grids and the supply of
water, among other issues.
The potential collapse of the Central Arizona Project due to
continued low Colorado River flows could be a
game-changer for Arizona’s water use and policies, triggering
vastly increased emphasis on water conservation and possibly
even future growth limits. Or, the state could simply return to
its post-World War II custom of unlimited groundwater pumping,
combined with building massive water augmentation projects such
as desalination plants.
U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) announced Tuesday that more
than $6 million in federal funding has been earmarked for the
Imperial Valley, targeting a critical mix of environmental
restoration and municipal infrastructure in one of California’s
most climate-vulnerable regions. … The lion’s share of
the local funding—more than $4 million—is designated for the
Bombay Beach Wetlands Project. For decades,
the shrinking Salton Sea has exposed thousands
of acres of playa, sending clouds of pesticide-laced dust into
the air of a region that already suffers from some of the
highest childhood asthma rates in the country. The federal
infusion aims to stabilize and expand emerging wetlands, using
water to “cap” the dust while restoring vital habitats for
migratory birds.
William Briggs, deputy administrator of the U.S. Small Business
Administration, traveled to Imperial Beach on Tuesday to hear
directly from small business owners about the economic impact
of the ongoing Tijuana River pollution crisis, framing the
visit as a fact-finding mission ahead of potential federal
action. … Following the roundtable, Briggs joined the
delegation for a visit to pollution sites along the Tijuana
River corridor, including the Saturn Boulevard hotspot — a
stretch of the river on the U.S. side where sewage and
industrial waste is aerosolized into harmful gases, including
hydrogen sulfide, and carried by the wind into surrounding
communities.
