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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… U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Tuesday
announced a long-expected repeal of that rule [the Roadless
Rule], setting off waves of protest — and likely future
litigation — from environmental groups. The rule protects
swaths of the Sierra surrounding Lake Tahoe, including
watersheds of the American, Rubicon and Yuba rivers. Around 4
million acres of federal land in California are protected by
the act. Many of those areas still hold routes cut in before
the roadless rule existed, allowing for wildfire mitigation
work and recreational access. … [T]he roadless rule
is critical in protecting water quality and habitat
for species like salmon, trout and deer, conservation group
Trout Unlimited said in a statement.
Across the Southwest and West Coast, tens of millions of people
are dealing with unprecedented drought and water restrictions -
and perhaps no one is feeling the brunt of that more than
farmers. Agriculture in Arizona has an estimated
economic value of about $31 billion, according to the
Arizona Farm Bureau, but the job of farming is getting tougher
and tougher with external obstacles like the ongoing drought
and inflation ever-present. … According to a state
tracker, there is at least some level of extreme
long-term drought now in all 15 counties across
Arizona. … Nancy [Caywood, farmer] says at times,
it’s easy to feel “hopeless.” “You have your water assessment,
rising costs, and no water – How do you keep going?” Nancy
asks.
Hackers targeting US critical infrastructure, including energy
and water providers, are using AI to help them break into
vulnerable industrial IT systems, according to the FBI. On
Wednesday, the FBI joined with several federal agencies,
including the NSA, to warn the public about the “active
threat,” which has been targeting Siemens-developed industrial
systems connected to the internet. The FBI is raising alarm
bells, noting the hackers have been using AI to create
“exploitation scripts.” … The warning seems related to a
string of recent hacks that’ve been targeting water utility
providers in at least 12 US states. Last month, the FBI warned
the water utility hacks involved internet-exposed PLCs under
the MicroLogix 1100 and 1400 series from Rockwell
Automation/Allen-Bradley.
Members of the United States Section of the International
Boundary and Water Commission, Environmental Protection Agency
and state officials gathered during a New River roundtable on
Tuesday, Aug. 18. Updates were provided on the status of New
River improvements on both sides of the border, including
agency collaboration and a water sampling study. The New River
is located 20 miles south of Mexicali and flows north. After
crossing the border, it travels 65 river miles northward
through Calexico and the Imperial Valley before emptying into
the Salton Sea. … According to the presentation, the EPA
has invested roughly $44 million across seven Mexicali
infrastructure projects.
It could be the biggest transformation of Mission Bay since it
was created in the late 1940’s. After more than a decade of
planning and designing, the California Coastal Commission has
given the thumbs up for an aggressive restoration project they
call De Anza Natural. … Some of the existing ‘land’
around the bay will disappear, only to be replaced by
marshland, like it was in the beginning. … Along with the
city of San Diego, environmental groups have been pushing for
more than a decade to get this done. Not only is marshland
Mother Nature’s water filter, but it’s also the breeding ground
and home to all kinds of endangered species. … This
project in a small section of the bay is expected to take 20
years to complete.
Groundwater Sustainability Agencies across California are
conducting five-year evaluations of their required Groundwater
Sustainability Plans. These evaluations must be submitted to
the California Department of Water Resources by January. …
There are currently nearly 160 monitoring wells across Butte
County. Some of the wells collect data tracking daily water
levels, and others collect water level data just four times per
year. Christina Buck with the Butte County Department of Water
and Conservation told Action News Now having that data helps
agencies better understand how much groundwater is being used.
… Buck said the Vina subbasin is really dependent on
groundwater, and that while that area saw historical lows in
the last drought period in 2022, water levels have stabilized.
Earlier this month, the California North Coast Regional Water
Quality Control Board adopted discharge requirements for
commercial lily bulb growers in the Smith River Plain. The
water board’s order is a first for a waterway where
environmentalists have been struggling for decades to secure
restrictions on pesticide use — which they say has degraded
what should be one of the state’s most pristine and
ecologically significant riparian areas. That struggle has
pitted people like Greg King, the founder, executive director
and president of the Siskiyou Land Conservancy, against some of
the area’s most powerful agribusiness interests, particularly
three companies located along the Smith River plain that are
responsible for roughly 90% of the nation’s Easter lily bulb
production.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. urges the public to take extra
safety precautions as water flows will be higher for whitewater
recreation through the weekend of Aug. 22 and 23 on a
stretch of the North Fork Feather River. During the
higher flows these parts of the river contain Class III, IV and
V rapids, which are only appropriate for skilled paddlers, and
not appropriate for tubing. The higher flows will occur in the
Rock Creek Reach, an 8.3-mile portion of the North Fork Feather
River in the Plumas National Forest, between PG&E’s Rock
Creek Dam and the Rock Creek Powerhouse near Storrie. By 9 a.m.
on Saturday, Aug. 22, flows in the Rock Creek Reach will be
increased to a minimum 1,100 cubic feet per second until 3
p.m.
… Strong El Niños, despite oftentimes offering more
precipitation for California, also carry with them warmer
temperatures thanks to a warmer Pacific Ocean to the west. The
increased warmth of the sea will mean the difference between
rain and snow in many locations, especially in Northern
California where the warmth looks to be more pronounced.
Increased temperatures will push the rain-snow line
higher in the mountains than normal. That could be
felt in a few months time as less snow sticking the foothills.
That being accounted for, a strong signal for more snow
still emerges in the models at altitude. … This is
especially true for the Sierra and North Coast ranges, where
extra snowfall could come in the form of significantly
higher-than-normal totals in the high peaks.
The news of Lake Powell hitting a record low is triggering some
alarm bells on Utah’s Capitol Hill. On Saturday, Lake Powell
recorded its lowest elevation — 3,519.91 ft. That is currently
about 30 feet above the minimum power pool level. Any lower and
Glen Canyon Dam ceases to generate power. … During a
hearing on Tuesday before the Utah State Legislature’s Interim
Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee, [Colorado River
Authority of Utah Executive Director Amy] Haas outlined where
things are. … To prop up Lake Powell, the Bureau
of Reclamation has ordered up to a million acre-feet of water
to be released from Flaming Gorge upstream. … Asked
if it has been effective, Haas told FOX 13 News it is possible
the U.S. Department of the Interior orders more releases from
Flaming Gorge.
After years of planning and deliberation, water authorities in
the Salinas Valley voted to move forward with a more
than $1 billion portfolio of projects to address seawater
intrusion last week. The main component of the plan
involves pumping salt water out from where it has
seeped into coastal aquifers, running it through a
reverse osmosis plant and then reinjecting it to push the salt
water back coastwards. With a 9-2 approval vote by the Board of
Directors for the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater
Sustainability Agency meeting on Aug. 13, the region took a
decisive step toward its state mandated requirement to bring
Salinas Valley groundwater into sustainability by 2040.
… As mandated by the 2014Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the
extent of seawater intrusion must be pushed back to where it
was in 2017.
As the climate warms, some mountain trees are moving higher up,
while others are spreading downhill. Scientists say something
inside the trees may explain why. And that split could
reshape watersheds and wildfire risk. For years,
scientists have expected mountain trees to move upslope in
search of cooler conditions. But a new global study
found nearly one-third of tree species are moving
downhill instead. That matters because where
trees grow can affect how forests burn and how much water they
soak up before it flows downstream to rural
communities, cities and farms. So why are some trees moving in
one direction while others head the other way? The answer may
lie in how trees move water.
Beleaguered Front Range residents weary of crackling-dry lawns
and long-term drought anxiety were hoping the past week of
heavy clouds and thunderous cloudbursts would fill reservoirs
and turn precipitation maps from red to green. So the question
from many minds was, did it help? The answer is:
Not really. … Denver Water remains so concerned
about its water storage that it is preparing the public
for an official end to lawn watering season on Oct. 1.
“We received some welcome rainstorms, but drought conditions
remain firmly in place,” said Greg Fisher, Denver Water’s
manager of demand planning. … Spot rains can temporarily
place the drain plugs back in reservoirs, water officials say,
but Colorado will need above-average snowstorms throughout the
winter of 2026-27 to truly refill storage and avoid continuing
restrictions.
Other drought impact and response news around the West:
… For decades, the [White Mesa uranium] mill has sparked
debate over whether radioactive contamination threatens human
health by getting into the water and the air. Concerns run
especially deep in the White Mesa Ute Community. … State
regulators and the company that owns the mill contend that any
pollution associated with it is contained. That’s little
consolation to nearby tribal members, who — aware of uranium’s
deadly legacy across the Colorado Plateau — have raised
questions about the potential spread of toxic waste.
Many won’t drink the local water, relying on
bottled water instead. Now the tribe’s concerns have taken on
new urgency as the U.S. pushes to revive domestic uranium
production. … The White Mesa Mill, built in 1980 near
what is now Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah,
is a focal point of this latest uranium boom.
Federal, state, and local leaders gathered in Calexico to
inspect the ongoing environmental and public health crisis
plaguing the New River, signaling a renewed, coordinated
push for a permanent solution to decades of
transboundary pollution. … For decades, toxic waste
has flowed north across the U.S.-Mexico border through the New
River. The pollution causes significant ecological and health
damage to Calexico residents and local communities stretching
all the way to the Salton Sea. Now, the City of Calexico’s “New
River Project” functions as a temporary defense system
by screening heavy trash out of the water as it crosses the
international border.
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors adopted Tuesday morning
an interim ordinance to establish a 45-day moratorium
on data center development in any unincorporated part of the
county, with the possibility of extension up to a
year. The county’s proposal aims to evaluate the
impact of data centers on public health, safety and
infrastructure before permanent regulations are established.
Concerns raised include water consumption, electrical
demand, noise pollution and potential negative impacts
on agriculture and air quality. … On Monday, the Visalia
City Council discussed a proposal to set up a moratorium on
data centers due to concerns over water and electricity
usage. At the meeting, Councilmember Brian Poochigian
emphasized the city’s struggle with
groundwater and electricity.
Yuba Water Agency and the University of California are testing
new technology to monitor levee health in Yuba County and catch
potential problems early. Using a $360,000 grant from Yuba
Water awarded in 2024, researchers with the Center for
Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and
the Banatao Institute spent 2 years deploying sensors across 18
monitoring sites along the Feather and Bear rivers and Dry
Creek in southern Yuba County. Officials say the sites are
located within reclamation districts 784 and 2103, which help
reduce flooding risk for the communities of Linda, Olivehurst,
Plumas Lake and Wheatland, as well as surrounding commercial
and agricultural areas.
Steelhead are among California’s most remarkable fish. Born in
freshwater streams, these ocean-going rainbow trout can migrate
hundreds of miles to the Pacific Ocean before returning to the
very streams where they hatched to spawn. Understanding where
steelhead live, how they use habitat, and how many adults
return each year is critical to conserving these iconic fish.
“The best way to understand and support this unique species is
to monitor steelhead throughout the year using a variety of
scientific techniques tailored to each season,” according to
Deena Hansen, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
(CDFW) senior environmental scientist supervisor who oversees
steelhead monitoring across the South Coast Region for the
Department in southern California.
The Trump administration’s plan for dealing with worsening
water shortages along the Colorado River is encountering strong
opposition from Arizona’s leaders, who are warning they could
sue to challenge mandatory water cutbacks that they say would
harm their state. A legal fight could end up before the
U.S. Supreme Court and further complicate efforts by
seven Western states to agree on how to share water from the
shrinking river and its reservoirs, which have fallen to record
low levels. Arizona laid out its objections in a sharply worded
letter to the federal government last week. It said the Trump
administration’s 10-year plan doesn’t adhere to the
Colorado River Compact, the 1922 agreement that originally
divided the water among the states.
A Ninth Circuit panel granted a win to the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation Monday, confirming a lower court’s finding the
conversion of water service contracts from the
California Central Valley Project doesn’t require a new
environmental review. A three-judge panel unanimously
held the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act
required the bureau to change a contract if requested by a
water user, and does not necessitate the agency undertake
environmental review under the National Environmental Policy
Act or Endangered Species Act before converting each water
service contract. … In a statement to Courthouse
News, John Buse of the Center for Biological Diversity,
representing the plaintiffs, called the ruling “unfortunate.”
