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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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.
… Rich in biodiversity, the [Tijuana River] estuary is home
to hundreds of migratory bird species and endangered plant and
animal life. It’s also the site of a worsening
environmental crisis marked by billions of gallons of
wastewater that have spilled annually over the international
border in recent years, the byproduct of Tijuana’s urban and
industrial growth fueled in part by U.S. trade
policies. When storms sweep the region, massive downpours
collide with poor or aging wastewater infrastructure, causing
sewage overflows and dragging the waste and urban runoff
through Tijuana communities to the
border. … inewsource spent months talking to more
than 100 people living and working near the Tijuana River. Many
say this place — their longtime home — is making them
sick.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has
introduced a new suite of weather forecasting models that are
driven by Artificial Intelligence and are expected to deliver
faster and more accurate predictions, the agency announced on
Wednesday. … The AI technology became operational and
available to forecasters early Wednesday morning. Erica Grow
Cei, a spokesperson for the National Weather Service, which is
the branch of NOAA responsible for forecasts, told CBS News
that the latest models do not intend to replace the traditional
ones that rely on complex mathematical equations, instead of
machine learning, in order to run.
The reservoir that was empty during the Palisades Fire, which
sparked major backlash, needs to be drained again. This time
backups are in place. As we near the one-year anniversary of
the wildfire, it’s reigniting fears in the community. It was
the center of controversy almost a year ago. The Santa Ynez
Reservoir in Pacific Palisades was offline when the fires
started. It is a critical reservoir for firefighting efforts.
… The reservoir has a capacity of 117 million gallons of
water, but it was closed for repairs during the Palisades Fire.
A report, however, found that even if the reservoir was full at
the time of the fires, the system would have been quickly
overwhelmed.
A study from Westlands Water District lays out the difference
on the local economy between when farmers have water and when
they don’t. The district’s third economic impact report, which
was released Wednesday, compares 2022, a year following scant
rainfall and a 0% water allocation — later marginally increased
— with 2019, a plentiful water year and a 75% allocation.
… The study pegs $2.28 billion in direct impact from ag
in Westlands in 2022. Adding the indirect impact, ag activity
created $3.55 billion in total effect, leading to 27,657 jobs.
That’s a 28% decline in direct economic activity and a 25%
decline in total activity from 2019, when farm activity created
35,114 jobs.
… Who decides the needs and uses of stored water? Who
owns it? It is a fascinating debate that has raged for years,
and the U.S. Supreme Court may be about to weigh in on it
again. A case originating in California has brought the issue
back to the forefront of western jurisprudence. … The case,
City of Fresno, et al. v. United States, et al., began with the
2014 drought, and the Bureau’s decision to withhold available
water from part of the Central Valley Project. Irrigation
districts and municipal suppliers on the east side of the San
Joaquin Valley received a “zero allocation,” while the Bureau
released water to other districts. … Is the Bureau
required to pay for those property losses when taking that
water for other uses it decided were more important? –Written by Greg Walcher, former director of the Colorado
Department of Natural Resources.
What does geospatial science look like at Audubon California in
2025? It starts at the Salton Sea, where our science is helping
move roughly 2,000 acres of wetland habitat
toward restoration planning. From there, it expands statewide:
research that informs California’s climate policy, modernized
data models that support smarter renewable energy siting, and
science-driven convenings that bring researchers and decision
makers to the same table. … At a California State Water
Resources Control Board meeting in the Coachella Valley, the
Salton Sea Management Program presented a new project to
protect and enhance emerging wetlands in the northern Salton
Sea, totaling roughly 2,000 acres.
San Diego State University broke ground Wednesday on the One
Water Laboratory in Mission Valley, a facility dedicated to
research on sustainable water management. The facility is
scheduled to be completed next summer, adjacent to the river
park at SDSU Mission Valley. Once it is up and running, SDSU
students will be able to gain experience and learn more about
watershed science and hydrological systems. … When
complete, the One Water Laboratory will include a
480-square-foot modular building and outdoor space using
bioretention basins located throughout the river park. … The
basins were designed to actively capture and filter stormwater
runoff from the surrounding landscape, cleaning it before it
flows into the San Diego River and makes its way to the Pacific
Ocean.
In the next few weeks, the public will get their first look at
a critical document two and a half years in the making that
will define how the Colorado River is managed for the next
decade. The Bureau of Reclamation – which manages water in the
West under the Interior Department – is on track to release a
draft environmental review by early January with a range of
options to replace the river’s operating rules, which are set
to expire at the end of 2026. Several elements of the draft
were shared during the annual Colorado River Water Users
Association’s conference in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace
Wednesday.
A powerful Pineapple Express storm could deliver a wet, white
and potentially wild Christmas to California, with the
possibility of snow in the Sierra Nevada and
plenty of rainfall across the Southland. … “This
atmospheric river pattern will bring significant amounts of
rain,” said the weather service office in Sacramento. Snow
levels could drop to 5,500 feet above sea level by Tuesday and
Wednesday, suggesting “potential major mountain holiday travel
impacts” for Christmas Eve. … In the Sierra, where resorts
have been pained by warm weather and a snow drought so far this
season, it was far from clear whether there would be enough
cold air to lower snow levels.
The two largest tribal water rights holders in Arizona and the
Central Arizona Water Conservation District accomplished
something that has eluded states so far. They have pledged
greater cooperation in managing and addressing Colorado River
issues, including shortages, river restoration and a long-term
drought that bodes a long-term change in the Southwest’s
climate. The Colorado River Indian Tribes, Gila River Indian
Community and CAWCD, which manages the Central Arizona Project,
put their promise in a proclamation demonstrating their
commitment to collaboration and conservation, signing it on
Dec. 17 during the Colorado River Water Users Association
annual meeting.
The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National
Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a
senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world’s
leading climate research labs. Trump officials have circled the
federally funded research institution, based in Boulder,
Colorado, as a hub for “federal climate alarmism” after it was
established decades earlier in 1960 for research in atmospheric
chemistry and physical meteorology. The administration
plans to identify and eliminate what it calls “green new scam
research activities” … while “vital functions” such
as weather modeling and supercomputing will be moved to another
entity or location.
Are you an emerging water leader in the Colorado River Basin?
Consider applying for our
2026 Colorado River Water Leaders cohort. The
biennial program, which will run from March to September next
year, selects about a dozen rising stars from the seven states
that rely on the river – California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado,
Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico – Mexico and tribal nations.
Listen to
a recording of our virtual Q&A session where
executive director Jenn Bowles and other Foundation staff
provided an overview on the program and tips on applying.
Two Central Valley Democrats brought a legislative package to
the U.S. House of Representatives that aims to address water
infrastructure issues — particularly storage — in the San
Joaquin Valley. Rep. Adam Gray of Merced introduced the
package, cosponsored by Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno, in the House
on Dec. 11. Titled the “End California Water Crisis Package,”
it includes three bills: the Water Agency and Transparency
Enhancement Review (WATER) Act, the Build Now Act and the
Central Valley Water Solution Act. … The WATER Act,
introduced as House Resolution 6639, codifies provisions of
Executive Order 14181, which was issued by President Donald
Trump in January and orders the Secretary of the Interior and
the Bureau of Reclamation to take emergency action to provide
water resources in California.
City leaders voted down a data center in Chandler last week,
but Arizonans can expect to see even more proposed. The state
offers tax breaks for data center projects – significant
incentives, Governor Katie Hobbs says, are “clearly working.”
On Wednesday, she suggested state lawmakers take another look
to find “the right balance.” … Arizona could see
big cuts to its allocation of water from the Colorado
River, which has been diminished by decades of drought
and overuse. Hobbs said she hears the concerns, saying her
administration’s Arizona Energy Promise Task Force is looking
at how to ensure costs don’t hit consumers. … Water is “part
of the conservation, Hobbs said, adding that there’s technology
to help data centers reduce their water consumption.
Directors of the Kern County Water Agency selected Tamara
Johnson, a long time California Water Services manager, to fill
a vacant board seat, despite an outpouring of support from
agricultural water districts for another candidate.
Representatives from several of the agency’s 13 member ag
districts spoke at Wednesday’s meeting in support of Mark
Mulkay, former Kern River Watermaster and retired General
Manager of the Kern Delta Water District. Managers agreed all
candidates were outstanding but said Mulkay brought needed
expertise with regard to the State Water Project as well as
local water rights.
A historic salmon run returned to Northern California this
fall, with a record 2,150 adult Chinook salmon counted spawning
in Putah Creek near Sacramento. Putah Creek, which forms part
of the border between Yolo and Solano counties, has long
supported a small but resilient salmon population. Previous
estimates put the run at about 1,700 fish in 2016, but this
year’s total reflects an individual count conducted by UC Davis
biologists. The surge is being credited to decades of
coordinated restoration work, improved habitat, and carefully
managed water flows. The milestone marks the culmination
of roughly 25 years of restoration efforts backed by nearly $20
million in grant funding.
… The prelude to Southern California’s most destructive fires
in recorded history was Earth’s hottest summer, and
California’s hottest July, in the record books. … All of that
heat has alarming implications for California’s wildfire risk —
namely, drawing out the moisture from vegetation, according to
a blog post by UCLA scientists on climate and weather factors
leading up to the recent wildfires. … Another expected impact
of climate change are increases in the dramatic dry-to-wet and
wet-to-dry weather whiplash California faces. A separate study
published in the journal Nature Reviews in January found that
more episodes of “hydroclimate whiplash” are anticipated
worldwide due to human-caused global warming.
A new project in the Central Valley is aiming to restore
hundreds of acres of grasslands to reconnect the San Joaquin
River. The initiative is part of a larger effort to preserve
the Great Valley Grasslands State Park, and involves removing
levees to reconnect the river with its historic floodplain.
Great Valley Grasslands in Merced County spans more than 2,800
acres of a broader 160,000-acre ecological zone. It’s one of
California’s largest continuous wetland areas. The nonprofits
American Rivers, River Partners, FlowWest and several local
tribes have supported the project dating back to 2009. The
project will reconnect the San Joaquin River with 220 acres of
historic floodplain by removing a defunct levee built in the
1950s.
… On [peach farmer Rob] Talbott’s farm, water pumps move
almost 200 gallons per minute to the thirsty crops on his 145
acres. This year, a new threat is approaching that water
system. And it’s microscopic. Invasive zebra
mussels have now infested at least 135 miles of the
Colorado River, from the Utah border to Dotsero in western
Colorado. That includes the stretch that meanders alongside
Talbott’s orchards in Palisade. And if these tiny pests flow
into his narrow irrigation pipes and tubes, they threaten to
mature and block his most precious farming ingredient. These
mussels rapidly multiply. A single female lays up to 30,000
eggs. And when they reach adulthood, their sharp shells can
wreak havoc on water infrastructure.
Less water heading to Central Valley farmers not only means
billions of dollars lost in economic activity, but also the
loss of thousands of jobs and more public health
risks. Westlands Water District delved into those findings
in its 2025 Economic Impact Report, which was released on
Wednesday, reviewing the latest available data up to 2022.
… While the conclusion may be an obvious one, the report
honed in on how when water flows, the Central Valley thrives.
When water allocations are light, the Valley struggles.
… Along with the direct economic losses, the report also
found that decreased water availability led to more bird
strikes at Naval Air Station Lemoore due to an increase in
fallowed farmland.
