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 Interim Director Doug Beeman.
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A bank is suing large San Joaquin Valley grower John Vidovich
for more than $105 million in allegedly defaulted loans and is
demanding the foreclosure and sale of large swaths of farmland,
solar sites, a nut-hulling facility and the SunnyGem almond
processing plant in Wasco. Affected lands could span
Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties, according to three
volumes of exhibits in the lawsuit, which was filed March 12 in
Kern. … Vidovich has been a controversial figure in the
valley since 2009 when he permanently sold State Water
Project contract rights to 14,000 acre feet from the
Dudley Ridge Water District in Kings County to a southern
California district for $73 million.
In an effort to support its new brackish desalination
plant and other improvements, water rates in Antioch
are set to rise after the city council on Tuesday approved a
new five-year plan. Starting May 1, the cost of water will
increase as much as 7% annually for a single-family home and
then potentially rise further over a five-year period. The
Antioch City Council approved the rate jump in a 4-1 vote.
Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker was the lone no
vote. … According to a staff report, the new brackish
desalination plant that is expected to start operating within
the next few months requires increased personnel and
maintenance costs.
About 80 people gathered Monday in the historic Aromas
Community Grange after the California Department of Water
Resources (DWR) selected the Pajaro River Watershed as one of
five watersheds to pilot the Watershed Resilience Program. The
initiative, which is supported by a $2 million grant from DWR
and administered by Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, will
help the watershed prepare for the ongoing effects of climate
change.
San Diego Coastkeeper’s first annual report on Mission Bay’s
water quality shows persistently high levels of bacteria,
copper, and phosphorus in both dry and wet weather, often at
levels exceeding safe state water quality standards for public
recreation and a healthy aquatic ecosystem. … The environmental
watchdog’s initial 2024 Mission Bay Water Quality Monitoring
Report summarizes a year of monthly water monitoring data at
locations around Mission Bay. … Following their November
2024 notice of intent to sue (NOI), San Diego Coastkeeper and
the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation (CERF), represented
by Coast Law Group, have filed a citizen suit enforcement case
against SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc. and SeaWorld LLC
for Clean Water Act violations.
Real estate in San Mateo County is among the most valuable in
the United States. Even small parcels can fetch millions. Yet,
in East Palo Alto’s Ravenswood Business District, acres of land
sit empty, their potential unrealized. At first glance,
these vacant lots appear to be prime real estate — offering
stunning views of the Diablo Range to the east and the Santa
Cruz Mountains to the west, with the San Francisco Bay Trail
hugging the area’s eastern edge. But beneath the surface,
remnants of the area’s industrial past linger. Arsenic,
lead, cadmium, volatile organic compounds, and oil contaminate
the soil and groundwater, rendering much of the
district uninhabitable until extensive remediation is complete.
The recent Fresnoland article on the proposed CEMEX mining
project in Fresno County raises several important issues but
misrepresents the San Joaquin River Conservancy, its role, and
its capabilities. … I want to clarify that the Conservancy is a
state agency with a clear mission: to develop the San Joaquin
River Parkway, to create public access to the river corridor,
and conserve lands either owned by the Conservancy or through
willing partnerships. Importantly, the Conservancy is neither a
political organization nor a regulatory body. It does not
govern land use decisions outside of its jurisdiction, nor is
it empowered to block private development projects, such as the
CEMEX mine. –Written by Bobby Macaulay, District 5 Supervisor for
Madera County and chair of the San Joaquin River
Conservancy.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has signaled it could
narrow which set of waters receive protections under the Clean
Water Act — and will narrow protections for wetlands in
the meantime. The law requires the EPA to protect
so-called “waters of the United States,” but there has been
significant political back-and-forth as to which bodies of
water that should include. In a press release on Wednesday, EPA
Administrator Lee Zeldin criticized the Biden administration’s
definition, saying it “placed unfair burdens on the American
people and drove up the cost of doing business.”
Snow piled up in the Sierra Nevada this week, with 1 to 2 feet
falling at Tahoe ski resorts Wednesday. The cold storm system
notably differed from earlier storms this season. …
California’s statewide snowpack is running below normal,
due to the low amount of water stored in
the snow that has fallen. Other parts of the western
United States are experiencing even larger deficits. Experts
say there aren’t immediate concerns for California reservoir
levels but add that there could be heightened wildfire
concerns come summer. As of Thursday, the statewide
snowpack is 86% of normal for this time of year, according to
the California Department of Water Resources. But the snow
hasn’t been evenly distributed across the state, with more in
the north than the south.
Other snowpack and atmospheric river news across the West:
Arizona lawmakers are taking another shot at a $5.1 billion
water rights settlement between the state and three tribal
nations after the measure failed to come up for a vote before
Congress adjourned at the end of 2024. The settlement act would
secure safe, reliable water for thousands of Navajo, Hopi and
San Juan Southern Paiute tribal members in northeastern
Arizona. It would give the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe a
reservation. It would resolve water rights disputes, and
potentially set up new funding streams for tribes. The bill was
reintroduced Tuesday. In the first go-round, state and tribal
leaders could not resolve concerns raised by officials in the
Upper Colorado River Basin — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and
Wyoming — before time ran out.
The California Department of Water Resources Thursday released
a report that shows a change to reservoir operations at both
Lake Oroville and New Bullards Bar Reservoir can further reduce
flood risks for communities along the Feather River and Yuba
River during extreme atmospheric storm events and potentially
benefit water supply during drier periods. The DWR says that
this approach, known as the Forecast-Informed Reservoir
Operations, or FIRO for short, uses improved monitoring,
weather, and runoff projections.
The U.S. has paused negotiations with Canada on a keystone
management plan that governs flood control, water supply and
hydropower in the shared Columbia River Basin as President
Donald Trump escalates his trade war and threats to Canada’s
sovereignty. British Columbia’s energy ministry said in a news
release this week that Trump administration officials notified
them they would pause and review their engagement with Canada
on final updates to the 61-year-old Columbia River Treaty. …
Under the terms of the treaty, Canada controls the flow of the
northwest’s largest river from its headwaters in British
Columbia, ensuring enough water is sent downstream to meet U.S.
hydropower needs.
Water managers in the Tulare Lake, Tule and the Kaweah
subbasins are discussing the possibility of creating a regional
subsidence plan that would cover the three
basins. Subsidence, or land sinking, has been a major
problem for all three regions, causing a 33-mile
long sag in the Friant-Kern Canal and repeatedly
sinking the Corcoran levee. Excessive groundwater pumping
has caused so much subsidence, it can be seen
from space and was nicknamed the “Corcoran
bowl.” … Mid-Kings River Groundwater Sustainability
Agency’s Manager Chuck Kinney informed the GSA board during a
March 11 meeting that he’s met with other water managers in the
region to work on a joint subsidence monitoring and action
plan.
The Trump Administration is keeping a tight lid on information
about cuts to North State programs, and even members of
Congress are being left in the dark about how Department of
Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts are affecting local
communities in their districts. While the Trump
Administration’s U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plans to close an
office in Weaverville, representatives of that agency would not
confirm which office it was, what would happen to employees
working in that office or if employees would be relocated to
another location. DOGE did list on its website that it canceled
a $566,304 contract to provide environmental consulting
services as part of an analysis for a modernization project at
the Trinity River Fish Hatchery near Lewiston Dam.
Completion of the world’s largest dam removal project — which
demolished four Klamath River hydroelectric dams on both sides
of the California-Oregon border — has been celebrated as a
monumental achievement, signaling the emerging political power
of Native American tribes and the river-protection movement.
True enough. It is fortunate that the project was approved in
2022 and completed last October, before the environmentally
hostile Trump administration could interfere, and it is a
reminder that committed, persistent campaigning for worthy
environmental goals can sometimes overcome even the most
formidable obstacles. -Written by Jacques Leslie, author of “Deep Water: The Epic
Struggle Over Dams, Displaced People, and the
Environment.”
On May 22, 2022, the California Coastal Commission voted
unanimously to deny final approval for a desalination plant in
Huntington Beach. It would have produced 56,000 acre feet of
fresh water per year, and would have been privately
financed. … It’s always surprising the vehemence with
which opponents of desalination make their arguments. Some of
these critics are concerned about securing adequate water to
continue farming, and correctly point out that desalination is
expensive. … Because most of the annual cost for water
projects, once they’re built, comes down to paying off the
construction bonds, a useful way to measure their return on
investment is to divide the capital cost by the projected
annual yield. The results may surprise critics of desalination.
… We tend to take the San Joaquin River for granted except for
when we take forays to fish and play in its waters or are
loading up the car with valuables to be ready to flee on a
moment’s notice should one of the levees inching toward failure
during high water flows break. The 1,760-square-mile San
Joaquin River Basin that the San Joaquin River and its web of
tributaries provides with snowmelt helps support what is
arguably the most productive agricultural region on earth. The
bulk of California’s nearly $59 billion farm production, more
than $20 billion of that of the nearest state, is produced in
the San Joaquin Valley. The valley grows more than 400
commodities as well as two-thirds of the nation’s fruits and
nuts. The ability to feed people has come at a great cost to
the San Joaquin River that is among the most heavily dammed and
diverted rivers in the West. -Written by Dennis Wyatt, editor of the Manteca
Bulletin.
The California Farm Bureau reports that farmers south of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are welcoming a 35% water
allocation from the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) but
say the timing limits its impact. Announced in late February,
the allocation comes after many farmers had already made
planting decisions, with some citing challenges in adjusting
plans so late. … In a statement, Reclamation, which
manages the CVP, noted the allocation is more than double the
initial allocation in 2024, a year with similar hydrology. In
addition, the bureau announced a 100% allocation for
north-of-delta agricultural water contractors.
For about 13,000 years, Santa Barbara County’s rivers teemed
with steelhead trout. They dwelled in its cool pools, journeyed
to and from the ocean, and built spawning nests, or redds, in
gravely bottoms. Until the 1950s, the area supported runs of
tens of thousands of fish journeying upstream to spawn. Today,
the Southern California steelhead is critically
endangered. On Sunday, folks spent the afternoon at the
Lobero Theatre learning about the southern steelhead. The
event, part of the Santa Barbara Flyfisher’s campaign to “Save
Santa Barbara Steelhead,” included a town hall with eight
panelists who discussed everything from the historic and
cultural significance of the fish to how to prevent its
extinction.
… Fire is why premiums have been skyrocketing for the Lukins
Brothers Water Company, a South Tahoe water utility that my
family has run for the past century. … We have never filed an
insurance claim. Despite this, our insurance rates skyrocketed
after the Caldor Fire, increasing from $56,000 in 2021 to
$299,000 in 2023 — a more than 200% increase. In 2021,
insurance accounted for approximately 6% of our expenses; by
2023, that figure had risen to 20%. This translates to an
increase of an additional $21 per month per customer for
catastrophic property insurance. –Written by Jennifer Lukins, the co-owner and general
manager of Lukins Brothers Water Company in South Lake
Tahoe.
As part of the state’s ongoing actions to support Los Angeles
County’s wildfire recovery, Governor Gavin Newsom announced
today that the state is expanding its collaboration with NASA’s
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to monitor air and water using
cutting-edge technologies. The collaboration will provide
the state with additional data on water and air quality –
helping California protect communities in and around the
Palisades and Eaton fire areas. … By harnessing advanced
data and imaging tools, California and JPL are taking proactive
steps to protect public health, strengthen resilience, and
accelerate recovery efforts for Altadena and the Palisades
communities.
