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On the calendar today …
- WEBINAR: California Water…Beyond the Basics An overview of the state and federal water projects and select groundwater basins from 10am to 12pm. This livestream seminar is a presentation of the California Chapter, ASFMRA offering an overview of the state and federal water projects and select groundwater basins. The online experience will provide attendees with an understanding of the industry-specific terminology prevalent in California water discussions today. Attendees will be updated with the latest water-related information across various geographic regions of the state, with a particular focus on areas where agriculture is prominent. The impact on land valuation relative to water issues will be a point of discussion for all areas. Throughout the seminar, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions to personalize their learning and deepen their understanding of California water. Click here to register.
- WEBINAR: Flood-MAR: Introducing DWR’s Basin Characterization Program (co-hosted by the Basin Characterization Exchange) from 12:30 to 1:30pm. The Basin Characterization (BC) Program builds off of DWR’s historic role of characterizing groundwater basins and publishing California’s Groundwater. The BC Program will provide the latest data, tools, and information about California’s groundwater aquifers, a critical component to California’s natural infrastructure . Under the Basin Characterization Program, DWR will conduct a series of Local and Regional Groundwater Evaluations, develop data analysis tools and process documents, ensure data accessibility and visualization, and create state-stewarded maps and models. State-stewarded maps and models will include aquifer recharge potential maps, texture models, and hydrostratigraphic models. DWR’s presentation will provide an overview of the BC Program and will also serve as the launch of the Basin Characterization Exchange (BCX), the BC Program’s meeting series and networking space. To join the session, use this link.
- PUBLIC HEARING: Sites Reservoir Project water rights hearing beginning at 1pm. “The State Water Resources Control Board Administrative Hearings Office will hold a Public Hearing on the pending petition for Sites Reservoir Project water rights. Interested members of the public who would like to watch this hearing may do so through the Administrative Hearings Office YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@swrcbadministrativehearing728/featured. Click here for the hearing notice.
In California water news today …
Storms packing rain, mountain snow to roll into California, southwestern US
“Multiple storms will swing in from the Pacific, travel across California and through the interior southwestern United States into next week, AccuWeather meteorologists say. Each storm will bring mountain snow and soaking showers that may help to turn the corner on or slow down building drought in some areas. However, they may also lead to flooding and snow-clogged roads. “Starting Wednesday and lasting through next week, the weather pattern in the West [and especially the Southwest] will be more active with multiple storms coming through,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr said, “This means multiple opportunities to add to the snowpack and groundwater.” … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
Back-to-back storms to drench parts of California, bring mountain snow
“A dynamic set of storms hitting in quick succession will bring widespread rain, mountain snow and even the potential for thunderstorms to much of California on Wednesday and Thursday. The storm systems will take unusual trajectories, drawing in offshore moisture and directing it toward the Central Coast and Southern California rather than Northern California, where most of this season’s storms have delivered their heaviest precipitation. Light to moderate rain showers will develop early Wednesday morning south of Interstate 80, particularly across Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, as the first of two low-pressure systems moves parallel to the coast. By Wednesday evening and into Thursday morning, the axis of the heaviest rainfall will shift south to the Central Coast as a surge of moisture wraps around the southern side of the low-pressure system. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Supreme Court sides with San Francisco, requiring EPA to set specific targets in water pollution permits
Robin Kundis Craig, University of Kansas, writes, “The U.S. Supreme Court has limited how flexible the Environmental Protection Agency and states can be in regulating water pollution under the Clean Water Act in a ruling issued March 4, 2025. However, the justices kept the decision relatively narrow. The ruling only prohibits federal and state permitting agencies from issuing permits that are effectively broad orders not to violate water quality standards. In this case, the city and county of San Francisco argued successfully that the EPA’s requirements were not clear enough. My research focuses on water issues, including the Clean Water Act and the Supreme Court’s interpretations of it. In my view, regulators still will have multiple options for limiting the pollutants that factories, sewage treatment plants and other sources can release into protected water bodies. While this court has not been friendly to regulation in recent years, I believe the practical impact of this decision remains to be seen, and that it is not the major blow to clean water protection that some observers feared the court would inflict. … ” Read more from The Conversation.
Supreme Court orders EPA to retool water permits as Trump guts the agency
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down one of EPA’s long-standing tools for ensuring sewage treatment plants and industrial sites do not degrade water quality. The 5-4 ruling in San Francisco v. EPA blocks the agency from holding the West Coast city liable for sewage discharged from a treatment plant into the Pacific Ocean based on language in its current wastewater permit. Specifically, EPA cannot enforce provisions that “make a permittee responsible for the quality of the water in the body of water into which the permittee discharges pollutants,” according to the opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito. Instead, EPA must be specific about what permit holders can and cannot do, such as by imposing limits on each specific pollutant released by a facility, the court ruled. … ” Read more from E&E News.
SEE ALSO:
- Supreme Court sides with San Francisco in its fight over EPA clean water rules, from the San Francisco Chronicle | Read via MSN News
- Supreme Court Puts Another Limit on the EPA’s Ability to Protect Water, from Inside Climate News
- City and County of San Francisco vs. EPA: Implications for Clean Water Act Permittees, from Nossaman LLP
- Supreme Court sides with San Francisco in raw sewage case, limits EPA ability to enforce Clean Water Act, from the San Jose Mercury News
- Supreme Court rules for San Francisco, limits EPA’s power on stormwater discharges, from the LA Times
Tea Pot Dome agrees to pay share of cost to fix sinking canal and reveal pumping data to Friant Water Authority
“Tea Pot Dome Water District has agreed to pay Friant Water Authority $1.4 million in exchange for relief from its role in a contract designed to pay for damage to a 33-mile section of the Friant-Kern Canal. It also agreed to give Friant pumping data that’s at the heart of a much larger dispute. The deal is one small piece of the ongoing conflict between Friant and several of its own member contractors over who should pay – and how much – to fix the Friant-Kern Canal, which has been sinking due to excessive groundwater pumping. Friant has already spent $326 million from a mix of local and federal funds to rebuild the worst section of canal, which runs through the Eastern Tulare Groundwater Sustainability Agency in southern Tulare County. Four of Friant’s members, Tea Pot Dome and the Porverville, Saucelito and Terra Bella irrigation districts, once ran Eastern Tule. But Friant says Eastern Tule policies not only exacerbated subsidence beneath the canal, but also shorted Friant on funding it needs to repay the federal government for a portion of that $326 million. So, Friant went after the individual irrigation districts for that money. … ” Continue reading from SJV Water.
PPIC: Report: Implementing climate-smart conservation
“California has demonstrated a commitment to protecting its endangered freshwater species for decades. Yet despite this, most protected species have not recovered, and now a new threat multiplier is pushing many populations to the brink: climate change. The usual conservation tools cannot keep up with the pace of change; instead, as described in our first report, Climate-Smart Tools to Protect California’s Freshwater Biodiversity, the state needs to adopt a broad portfolio of climate-smart tools to conserve at-risk species. But is such change feasible? In this report, we show that laws such as the Endangered Species Act are not, for the most part, impediments to using the tools identified in our previous report. Rather, the problem lies with how society is applying them. To make real progress, the state must address the key issues that are hampering conservation work: permitting complexity, competition for funding, inadequate staffing, and a culture of risk aversion within agencies, water users, and environmental organizations. Although the federal government will continue to be a partner, the state should lead these efforts. … ” Read more from the PPIC.
Endangered California coho salmon experience record-breaking spawning season on Mendocino Coast
“Last winter, Central California Coast coho salmon returned to Mendocino Coast rivers in the highest numbers since monitoring began. The overall numbers remain low compared to the species’ past abundance, but NOAA scientists are excited by the results. Last winter, endangered Central California Coast coho salmon (CCC coho) returned to Mendocino Coast rivers and streams in the highest numbers since monitoring began 16 years ago. Monitoring led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to track their population status estimated more than 15,000 adult CCC coho returned to spawn during the 2023–24 season. The Ten Mile and Noyo rivers exceeded recovery targets set by NOAA for delisting CCC coho under the Endangered Species Act, and the Big and Garcia rivers experienced record returns. While the overall numbers remain low compared to the species’ past abundance, NOAA scientists are excited by the results. … ” Read more from NOAA Fisheries.
The groundwater system in the U.S. is more interconnected than scientists previously thought
“Researchers have gotten a good — and unique — look at the country’s groundwater system. And it shows that system is more interconnected than scientists previously thought. Laura Condon, an associate professor in the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Arizona, where she builds large models of hydrologic systems, worked on this research, along with scientists at Princeton. Condon joined The Show to talk more about things she found that were surprising. … ” Read transcript or listen at KJZZ.
‘Too damn hard to build’: A key California Democrat’s push for speedier construction
“A California legislator wants to solve the state’s housing crisis, juice its economy, fight climate change and save the Democratic Party with one “excruciatingly non-sexy” idea. Oakland Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks sees the slow, occasionally redundant, often litigious process of getting construction projects okayed by federal, state and local governments as a chief roadblock to fixing California’s most pressing problems, from housing to water to public transportation to climate change. Last year, Wicks helmed a select committee on “permitting reform” — a catch-all term for speeding up government review at all stages of a project’s development, not just its literal permits. The committee went on a state-hopping fact-finding mission, taking testimony from experts, builders and advocates on why it takes so long to build apartment buildings, wind farms, water storage and public transit, to name a few notoriously slow and desperately needed project types. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
NEPA and CEQA: The times they are a-changin’
“Come gather ‘round people, wherever you roam… The nation’s two oldest comprehensive environmental protection laws are being, or perhaps poised to be, dramatically redrawn. Right around the same time that the second Trump administration moved to dismantle longstanding NEPA regulations, California State Senator Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) proposed legislation that would significantly reform CEQA. Goodbye NEPA Regulations… Come writers and critics, who prophesize with your pen… Everyone from law firm bloggers to the Rolling Stone are reporting on the Trump Administration’s recent evisceration of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations and standards. On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” which, most notably: (i) revoked a 1977 Carter Administration executive order directing the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to adopt binding NEPA regulations; (ii) provided 30 days for CEQ to propose rescinding its NEPA regulations; and (iii) directed CEQ to issue guidance on NEPA implementation “to expedite and simplify the permitting process.” … ” Continue reading from Somach Simmons & Dunn.
NASA: FARMing with data: OpenET launches new tool for farmers and ranchers
“California has demonstrated a commitment to protecting its endangered freshwater species for decades. Yet despite this, most protected species have not recovered, and now a new threat multiplier is pushing many populations to the brink: climate change. The usual conservation tools cannot keep up with the pace of change; instead, as described in our first report, Climate-Smart Tools to Protect California’s Freshwater Biodiversity, the state needs to adopt a broad portfolio of climate-smart tools to conserve at-risk species. But is such change feasible? In this report, we show that laws such as the Endangered Species Act are not, for the most part, impediments to using the tools identified in our previous report. Rather, the problem lies with how society is applying them. To make real progress, the state must address the key issues that are hampering conservation work: permitting complexity, competition for funding, inadequate staffing, and a culture of risk aversion within agencies, water users, and environmental organizations. Although the federal government will continue to be a partner, the state should lead these efforts. … ” Continue reading from NASA.
Trump ups tariffs, promises more; farm groups fret
“President Trump raised tariffs on the top three foreign destinations for U.S. farm goods, telling farmers to get ready to make a lot of agricultural products to sell inside the U.S. Tariffs of 25% on Canadian and Mexican products went into effect early March 4. Additional 10% tariffs on Chinese products also took effect. Canada and China immediately slapped tariffs on some U.S. goods. Agriculture was a prime target as both countries retaliated. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country will respond on March 9. The American Farm Bureau and National Farmers Union issued statements warning that trade wars will hurt farmers. In a post on Social Truth, Trump reassured farmers he has their interests in mind. … ” Read more from the Capital Press.
In commentary today …
Eat nutria & place bounty on bass to save the Delta, protect levees, & free up water
Dennis Wyatt, editor of the Manteca Bulletin, writes, “Congressman Josh Harder might want to take his reputation of being the nutria’s No. 1 enemy in California to the next level. All he needs to do is take advice from the United States Fish & Wildlife Service and launch a grass roots campaign to eat nutria meat. … The USFWS plea to eat nutria — the meat is reportedly lean, is gassy, and tastes like rabbit — may be partially tongue in cheek. But it does underscore the fact turning a bunch of people hunting down food in the wild to target evasive species that are running rampant and making it difficult for native species to thrive or even survive would help. It is why if Harder wants to enlist the public’s help to turn the tide against invasive species with the potential to destroy the Delta, he might want to consider adding invasive bass to his list. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin.
In regional water news and commentary today …
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Next phase of road work on ‘Harvest Water’ project starting this week in Sacramento County
“The latest phase in a series of road construction projects across south Sacramento County and Elk Grove is getting underway this week. According to the city of Elk Grove, the northbound lanes of Franklin Boulevard between Laguna and Elk Grove Boulevards will be closed for several months starting the evening of Thursday, March 6. All traffic will be diverted to the southbound lanes on the west side of Franklin (similar to traffic patterns in place between Laguna Boulevard and Sims Road). … ” Read more from KCRA.
NAPA/SONOMA
Court order extends temporary window for Sonoma County to issue well permits
“Sonoma County has an extra few weeks to issue permits for nonemergency wells under a recent court order. A judge ordered the county stop issuing nonemergency permits in December after ruling that the county had failed to follow state environmental requirements. A second judge lifted the order temporarily, allowing permit applications through the end of February. He has now extended that window to March 27. Well permitting is critical in county rural areas, which depend on groundwater for agriculture, residential use and new development. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
BAY AREA
Regional water board investigating PFAS levels at LPFD training center
“A regional water quality control agency recently announced that it detected PFAS levels at the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department’s training center that warrants further investigation, according to the Tri-Valley fire department. The discovery is part of a larger investigation from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board where it is determining whether fire stations have discharged PFAS chemicals — also known as forever chemicals — into the surface or groundwater. According to a Monday press release from LPFD, the department is cooperating with the regional water board as it continues to investigate LPFD and other fire department facilities across the Bay Area. … ” Read more from Pleasanton Weekly.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
How abundant is wildlife at Dos Rios & other preserves near Modesto? DNA results will tell
“Refuge managers have low-tech ways to monitor their wildlife. They can follow an endangered mammal’s pawprints, for example, or listen for a certain bird’s call. High-tech is lending a hand in and near the new Dos Rios Ranch State Park southwest of Modesto. A team has been sampling the soil’s DNA and other traits to see just how diverse this former farmland has become. River Partners is doing the work with other nonprofit and government entities at 22 sites in the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by a $40 million grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board in 2022. It also will create new riverside preserves as far south as Kern County. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee.
Kings Watershed snowpack doubles, but remains below average
“Recent storms have doubled the snowpack in the Kings Watershed, but conditions are still below average as spring approaches. The Kings River Water Association conducted the season’s second snowpack measurement in the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern Fresno and Tulare Counties, finding drier conditions than last year. The survey found the snowpack water content to be 16.7 inches, which is 76% of average for the date and 68% of average for the typical April 1 conditions – the date at which California’s snowpack is generally at its greatest. … ” Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun.
Drilling along the San Joaquin River? Here are CEMEX’s plans
“A concrete company has plans to ramp up its production by drilling hundreds of feet into the San Joaquin River – while the new lease on the project would more than double the company’s current output, the potential move has sparked concerns from the river’s advocates. CEMEX’s Rockfield Project includes two sites: the Quarry, south of Lost Lake Park, and the Plant, just south of Ball Ranch. Although mining at the Quarry has existed since 1913, the company wants to change its technique from mechanical digging of sand and gravel to blasting hard rock and crushing it into gravel – this would involve drilling 600 feet into the Earth. … ” Read more from KMPH.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Rain moves into SoCal, with chance of thunderstorms and snow
“Get out those rain boots — it’s going to be a wet couple of days, with heavy snow over the mountains. We’re starting off with a mostly dry and cloudy morning, followed by light to moderate rain this afternoon. Temperatures Wednesday will range from the 50s at the coasts and in the valleys to 65 degrees in the Inland Empire. Between now and Thursday, coastal areas and valleys will see several inches of rain in the mountains and foothills. … ” Continue reading from the LAist.
Commentary: President Trump came through for Los Angeles
Scott Jennings, CNN senior political commentator and a former special assistant to President George W. Bush, writes, “As the Eaton and Palisades fires raged in Los Angeles, more than a few Democrats and at least one Times columnist claimed President Trump would punish California rather than help it recover from the devastation. If the record-breaking cleanup of properties — led by the administration’s Environmental Protection Agency — is any indication, those fears were drastically overblown. On Jan. 24, Trump signed Executive Order 14181 calling for the EPA to “expedite the bulk removal of contaminated and general debris” from the zones affected by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, in order to accelerate efforts to help the survivors recover and rebuild their lives. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Federal officials tour Salton Sea and Lithium Valley to discuss economic growth
“On Sunday, March 2, Imperial County welcomed newly elected U.S. Senator Adam Schiff and Congressman Raul Ruiz for a tour of the Salton Sea and Lithium Valley region to discuss ongoing economic diversification initiatives, workforce development programs, and Salton Sea conservation and management efforts. The visit provided key federal representatives with a firsthand look at the region’s progress in environmental conservation, clean energy innovation, and job creation strategies. The tour commenced at the Imperial County Administration Center with remarks from Senator Schiff and Congressman Ruiz, including introductions of the tour participants. As the group traveled to various sites, representatives from the County of Imperial, Imperial Irrigation District (IID), and California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) provided comprehensive briefings on Lithium Valley’s potential to transform the region’s economy and projects being implemented to address Salton Sea restoration, water conservation, and renewable energy generation. … ” Read more from the Desert Review.
SAN DIEGO
Restoring San Diego’s coastal wetlands
“San Diego’s coastal wetlands are home to rich biodiversity, critical migratory bird habitats, and culturally significant lands. Thanks to a generous two-year grant from the Dorrance Family Foundation, Audubon California and our partners, including the Buena Vista Audubon and the San Diego Bird Alliance, will continue making important progress in restoring key estuarine habitats in the region. For the fourth year in a row, the Dorrance Family Foundation has awarded significant funding to Audubon California and our partners to restore critical habitat along San Diego County’s Mission Bay and Buena Vista Lagoon. … ” Read more from Audubon.
Mayor Aguirre’s letter to EPA inspires hope for those impacted by sewage crisis
“New action taken by Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre on Monday has inspired hope for people who have long been impacted by the Tijuana Sewage Crisis, leaving some optimistic the move will finally make a difference. Aguirre sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency’s newly-appointed administrator, Lee Zeldin, asking him to reconsider a previous rejection by the EPA earlier this year to designate a Superfund status for the river valley. “The cost of inaction is much greater than the cost of getting it done,” said Imperial Beach resident Marvel Harrison. “My name is a superhero,” she added. “I’m not one, but I’m desperate to find one.” … ” Read more from Channel 10.
Veolia faces new lawsuit over sewage crisis. This time from Coronado Unified School District
“Veolia Water North America-West, the federal government’s contractor tasked with maintaining its wastewater treatment plant at the U.S.-Mexico border, is the subject of a new lawsuit alleging failure to contain crossborder sewage. On Monday, the Coronado Unified School District sued the plant operator and its former manager, Mark Wippler, marking the first time a school district joins local municipalities, environmental groups and homeowners that are suing and previously sued the international engineering company and federal government. San Diego-based Frantz Law Group, which opened a mass tort case late last year over similar claims, is representing the school district. It’s unclear whether other South County school districts may join or follow suit. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Along the Colorado River …
Lake Mead’s water levels face major change
“Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoir in the United States, is at the center of a major conservation effort involving federal funding and regional cooperation. A recent initiative in Tucson, Arizona, aims to reduce demand on the reservoir while securing future water supplies through advanced purification technology. Why It Matters: Lake Mead supplies water to millions of people across Arizona, Nevada, California, and Mexico. The management of its water levels is critical for municipal supplies, agriculture, and hydroelectric power. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
In national water news today …
D.C. Circuit Court stays PFAS regulations for drinking water and hazardous substance designations
“Earlier in February, the D.C. Circuit granted a 60-day stay in a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its April 2024 rule regulating six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Safe Drinking Water Act. (American Water Works Association and Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies v. Environmental Protection Agency et al., D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Case No. 24-1188). As we previously explained, this rule set maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFOA and PFOS at 4.0 nanograms per liter (ng/L) or parts per trillion (ppt), and PFHxS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA at 10 ng/L. It also maintained a controversial hazard index approach of 1 (unitless) as the MCL for any mixture containing two or more of these five PFAS chemicals, or PFBS. … ” Read more from Reuters News.
Unregulated flame retardants can break down into toxic byproducts, study shows
“New research shows that two unregulated and widely used flame retardants found in many electronic devices and touted by industry as non-toxic break down into harmful molecules that can pose a health risk to fish and potentially other creatures, including humans. The chemicals in question, large molecules called polymers, have largely escaped regulation as industry has argued that the materials are unlikely to degrade or make their way into living creatures. Many are even marketed as non-hazardous or environmentally friendly. But a study published Monday in the journal Nature Sustainability found evidence suggesting that is not true. Researchers reported finding dozens of smaller molecules caused by the breakdown of polymeric flame retardants in soil, dust, and air outside electronic waste recycling facilities in southern China. The scientists exposed zebrafish — commonly used in initial toxicity tests — to the chemicals and found that they caused metabolic dysfunction and showed the potential for development harm. … ” Read more from The New Lede.
USDA’s purge of climate data is illegal and reckless, doing immediate harm to farmers, lawsuit alleges
“The Trump administration has deleted thousands of climate-related web pages from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) website, stripping farmers of critical resources as droughts, floods and shifting growing conditions intensify. Now, a coalition of environmental and farming groups is suing to get that information back, arguing that the purge is not just reckless but illegal. The lawsuit, brought by Earthjustice and the Knight First Amendment Institute on Feb. 24, argues that this “unlawful purge” violates multiple federal laws and directly harms farmers. “The web pages that the USDA has taken down are depriving farmers and researchers of that central depository of information they need to adapt to climate change and implement climate-smart agricultural practices,” said Jeff Stein, associate attorney at Earthjustice, a nonprofit law firm that provides legal representation to public-interest clients. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
