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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Arizona’s largest and most senior water rights holder says it
was left out of final discussions about the federal
government’s proposed plan to deal with ongoing water shortages
in the Colorado River. The plan, issued by the Bureau of
Reclamation on July 31, outlines several alternative paths to
preserving water levels in the Colorado’s two major reservoirs,
lakes Mead and Powell. … The Colorado River
Indian Tribes submitted a letter to the
bureau Aug. 2 outlining its concerns. CRIT holds
themost senior tribal water rights on the
lower river and 23% of Arizona’s entire allocation of the
Colorado. The tribe said Reclamation had shared
documents regarding the process to publish the final
environmental impact statement with the seven basin states but
did not extend that same courtesy to the tribe.
A federal judge on Monday opted to impose no restrictions on
operations for a massive California water conveyance system,
determining environmental groups failed to meet their burden.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston wrote that the Center for
Biological Diversity and other plaintiffs must make a
heightened showing before she will issue a preliminary
injunction over the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s operation of
Shasta Dam and Reservoir this summer and fall. … The
groups argued the bureau’s operation of the Central Valley
Project, including Shasta Dam, and California’s State Water
Project failed to comply with a 2024 biological opinion
issued under the Endangered Species Act. They asked
the Joe Biden appointeeto reduce water releases from Shasta and
require the government to adopt a new operating plan.
The Trump administration has ordered construction crews on a
border wall to stop drilling wells in drought-stricken New
Mexico after ranchers saidpumping
groundwater needed to make concrete could threaten their
livestock. The order comes as crews across the
southern border race to complete one of President Donald
Trump’s highest domestic priorities — barriers that span four
states and received over $46 billion in federal funding.
Controversies have sprouted up in Texas and
California, with border-town residents and
environmentalists reporting a wide variety of issues with
construction. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which
oversees border wall construction, has said water is
needed to make concrete for roads, wall construction and dust
suppression. Cattle ranchers in the area say
the drought has already forced them to reduce their
herd size.
California’s once exponentially growing population of invasive
mute swans has fallen by half, less than a year after a new law
took effect allowing hunters and landowners to kill
them. Over the objections of animal welfare groups, Gov.
Gavin Newsom last year signed legislation allowing property
owners and those with hunting licenses to shoot the nonnative,
destructive swans. The mute swan population had ballooned to
about 15,000, most around the Suisun Marsh on the outskirts of
the Bay Area. … Wetland ecologists and waterfowl biologists
say they represent a profound threat to the struggling
wetlands of the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta. … As their numbers grow, they can
quickly eat through a marsh’s submerged native vegetation on
which other species rely.
Late last week, federal authorities issued a stern warning
saying “malicious cyber actors” were targeting water and
wastewater facilities in at least seven states across the US.
Minnesota appeared to be the hardest hit with 30 of its water
systems hit by cyber-attacks, leading to disruptions in the
state’s water supply. … The [US Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security] agency highlighted the fact that
critical infrastructure systems can be especially vulnerable to
cyber-attacks in the digital age. Much of the problem stemmed
from water facilities’ connection to the internet, which made
it possible for hackers to infiltrate, change passwords and
lock out operators. To mitigate continued disturbances,
the agency advised utilities to take their systems offline and
switch to manual mode.
A restoration project underway in California’s High Sierra is
aiming to strengthen the state’s water supply by bringing a
damaged mountain meadow system back to life. Crews are
restoring nearly three miles of the West Walker River and
surrounding floodplains at Pickel Meadow, located north
of Yosemite. The project focuses on restoring the
natural flow of water through the meadow, allowing it
to better absorb snowmelt and gradually release water into
rivers and streams. … Matt Freitas, California
headwaters program director for American Rivers, said
these mountain ecosystems play a critical role in the
state’s water future. “Maybe only 2% to 3% of the
Sierra is mountain meadows, but they store a lot of water,”
Freitas said. “They help clean that water and help release that
water downstream during periods of low flow and
drought.”
Aurora Water doesn’t much care which two days in a week you
water your lawn, amid this historic drought. But if your
irrigation system starts up on a third day in the same week,
the water world equivalent of a Flock camera is watching. The
“smart” meters on every Aurora property automatically sense a
spike in water use, and alert Aurora Water to confirm the
violation and send out a warning or fine. With updates at
15-minute intervals, the meters also detect irrigation watering
during hot daytime hours when that’s against the
rules. The water surveillance, which Aurora Water
officials acknowledge many of their customers might not realize
exists, is one key to Colorado’s third-largest city so
far achieving its water-saving goals in a year with record-low
snowpack and abysmal streamflows into mountain
reservoirs.
Modesto officials have received initial contact from NorthPoint
Development, a leading developer of data centers in the nation.
NorthPoint’s name is associated with the former FMC plant site
in Modesto and the company has inquired about putting a data
center at that location. … According to Facebook posts
last week by Modesto Councilman Chris Ricci, NorthPoint, based
in Kansas City, proposed talks with council members about a
small data center here. … Ricci said in a text he has
serious concerns about the impacts of data centers on the
community, ranging from high-volume water use for
cooling operations and energy consumption, which could
lead to higher electric rates for residents. According MOST
Policy Institute, citing an EPA study, data centers
used 17.4 billion gallons of water in 2023.
A burst pipe in Beverly Grove sent water flowing down the
street on Sunday morning, threatening parked vehicles and
forcing some water services in the area to be shut off. Crews
from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power responded to
a broken pipe around 6 a.m. near the intersection of San
Vicente Boulevard and Lindenhurst Avenue. … The flooding
follows several other burst pipes in the Los Angeles area in
recent weeks. On July 16, a major water main break in West
Hollywood forced the closure of a section of Sunset Boulevard
and displaced some residents. … In 2019, LADWP said
roughly 29% of the city’s pipes were over 80 years old, nearing
their typical 100-year lifespan.
California’s water touches nearly every part of daily life, but
most people never stop to think about where it comes from. From
mountain snowpack to vast reservoirs and underground aquifers,
the state’s water travels an extraordinary journey before
reaching homes, businesses, and farms. In this explainer, we’ll
break down the complex system that delivers water across
California, including the rivers, aqueducts, and infrastructure
that move billions of gallons each year. Along the way, you’ll
learn why geography, climate, and careful management all play a
role in keeping water flowing.
The Trump administration has released its long-awaited 10-year
plan for dealing with worsening water shortages along the
Colorado River. Instead of ordering the most drastic water
cutbacks it could have imposed, the administration chose to
take more of a wait-and-see approach. The plan allows for steep
water cuts if they’re deemed necessary, requiring California,
Arizona and Nevada to cut up to 3 million acre-feet per year —
as much as 40% of the combined allotments. But as The
Times reported last week, state and local officials
say for the first two years, the Trump administration is
accepting an offer the three states made to reduce what they
take from the river by about half that amount.
… While the three lower basin states shoulder
the burden for now, “the only sustainable path is with
the seven states and Mexico all participating,” said Bill
Hasencamp, MWD’s manager of Colorado River resources.
“We can’t do it alone.”
After the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released its Final
Environmental Impact Statement for Post-2026 Colorado River
Operations, Governor Katie Hobbs issued the following
statement: “Today, the federal government released a broad
range of alternatives for how the Colorado River will be
managed over the next ten years. Within that range is the
opportunity for the federal government to adopt the
commonsense, compromise proposal put forward by Lower Basin
States for 2027 and 2028. Our proposal is one of the largest
conservation programs in Colorado River history and builds on
Arizona’s decades-long commitment to responsible water
stewardship. While this FEIS still contains unacceptable
options that include the federal government forcing Arizona to
take the majority of draconian water cutbacks, implementing the
Lower Basin agreement would protect Arizona from massive water
cuts.”
Other Colorado River statements and news releases:
The scope of cyberattacks on U.S. water systems has grown to
include at least seven states and may be far wider, officials
and experts warned, as the authorities raced to
safeguard the nation’s water supply against an assault that
increasingly appeared to be the work of Iran. While
there were no indications that any water supply had been
altered or made unsafe to drink, state and local officials
throughout the country were on high alert for potential
problems in vulnerable computers that are commonly used to
monitor and adjust water quality, including chemical-treatment
levels and water pressure. Minnesota first publicly reported
the attacks, and now Michigan says its systems have also been
targeted.
Mexican officials announced on Thursday that the contamination
of the Tijuana River could be fully resolved by 2027, pending
the completion of infrastructure projects outlined in
binational agreements with the United States. During the
president’s morning press conference, Environment Secretary
Alicia Bárcena provided an update on the country’s progress
under Minute 333 of the International Boundary and Water
Commission (IBWC), an agreement signed last year to tackle
cross-border pollution affecting both San Diego and
Tijuana. According to Bárcena, Mexico has already
fulfilled its commitments under the agreement, with 17
of the approximately 38 planned projects either finalized or
significantly advanced, as part of the federal
government’s strategy to improve water quality and reduce
pollution.
… El Niño, the weather phenomena that produces warmer sea
surface waters and weakened trade winds, has typically also
brought wet winters to Southern California. … But the
connection between ocean conditions and rainfall has weakened
this century. That forces scientists to adjust forecasts, and
public officials to plan for a wider range of scenarios. Adding
to that uncertainty are San Diego’s aging stormwater systems
and century-old dams. That’s why the city of San Diego
convened an El Niño working group with members of every
city department to prepare for weather related
emergencies.
Trout need cool water to survive, but record heat this summer
has driven water temperatures to lethal levels for fish.
Wildlife officials are banning fishing during certain hours on
rivers and streams across the U.S. West, following an
exceptionally dry winter and amid widespread drought. Lower
water levels mean rivers can heat more rapidly. … A
study last year found “river heat waves” are increasingly
happening in snow-dominated areas such as the northern U.S. and
the Rockies, said Li Li, a professor in civil and environmental
engineering at Pennsylvania State University and co-author of
the study. Climate change, she said, is changing the
size and timing of the mountain snowpack, and that’s
contributing to river heat waves. The researchers also
found more days when rivers were warm enough to stress
cold-water species like bull trout.
Congressman James Gallagher introduced new federal legislation
Friday that aims to improve water reliability across Northern
California while investing in river restoration and long-term
ecosystem health. The Doug LaMalfa Sacramento River Basin Water
Security and Reliability Act would support water storage
projects, strengthen water infrastructure and provide funding
for habitat restoration throughout the Sacramento River Basin.
According to Gallagher’s office, the Sacramento River Basin
supplies water to millions of Californians and supports one of
the nation’s most productive agricultural regions. The
legislation is designed to improve water reliability while
balancing environmental stewardship and fish habitat
restoration.
A new study shows heavy groundwater pumping during California’s
2020 to 2022 drought caused the ground in the Sacramento Valley
to sink faster than expected, reducing the aquifer’s ability to
hold water. Published last week in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, the study found the
damage to the aquifer is irreversible. One of the
study’s authors, Kristel Chanard, estimated the lost
groundwater storage capacity is roughly equivalent to San
Francisco’s annual water consumption. … The
resulting lost groundwater storage capacity is significant,
Chanard said, because groundwater provides a buffer during dry
periods. Groundwater provides nearly 30% of the region’s water
supply, and more during dry years, according to the NCWA.
Following a resolution by the California State Water Resources
Board, the Quartz Valley Indian Reservation is poised to
acquire nearly 40,000 acres of ancestral land in the Klamath
River Basin. State officials said the transaction would be the
second-largest tribal land-back deal in California history and
the largest completed in a single transaction in the United
States. According to a State Water Resources Control Board news
release, the action provides the Quartz Valley Indian
Reservation with the means to acquire nearly 40,000 acres of
ancestral territory in the Klamath River Basin and restore
salmon habitat and water quality across the Scott River
watershed. …The board said it will provide a zero‑interest
$25 million loan through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
to support the purchase and help Quartz Valley establish a
salmon sanctuary, protect water quality and restore cultural
practices.
… The Eel River Pikeminnow Fishing Derby is back for its
third year, offering $5,000 in total cash and prizes to anyone
willing to help thin out one of the watershed’s most
destructive invaders. … The target is the Sacramento
pikeminnow, a fish that doesn’t belong in the Eel River. The
species was introduced through Pillsbury Reservoir in the late
1970s and has since spread into every fork of the river.
Prolific and wide-ranging, pikeminnow prey on native salmonids
and lamprey while competing with them for resources, adding
another obstacle to recovery in a watershed already battered by
historic overfishing, damaging logging practices, and habitat
loss.
