A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
Court refuses to lift injunction on geotechnical investigations DWR says are essential to controversial Delta tunnel project
“A Sacramento Judge has rejected another attempt by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to lift an injunction that blocks DWR from conducting geotechnical investigations DWR claims are essential to planning for the proposed Delta Conveyance Project (DCP). The court issued the injunction in June 2024 based on DWR’s admission that it had not complied with the 2009 Delta Reform Act as required by law. DWR later sought an order modifying the injunction to allow it to proceed with a smaller subset of the planned geotechnical work. The court denied that request in 2024. DWR appealed, and that appeal is pending. DWR also attempted to demonstrate Delta Reform Act compliance by certifying a portion of the geotechnical work in a submission to the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC). That effort resulted in an opinion from the DSC to the effect that proceeding with the proposed work would not violate the Delta Reform Act. Armed with the DSC’s opinion, DWR returned to the Superior Court in March 2025 … ” Read more from Restore the Delta.
Newsom in fight to advance plans for $20-billion water tunnel in the Sacramento Delta
“The battle over whether California should build a $20-billion water tunnel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is escalating, with Gov. Gavin Newsom pushing to lay the groundwork for the project before his term expires and state water regulators considering whether to grant a key authorization. The State Water Resources Control Board has begun holding a series of hearings on a petition by the Newsom administration to amend water rights permits so that flows could be diverted from new points on the Sacramento River where the intakes of the 45-mile tunnel would be built. The process has grown tense in recent weeks, as the Newsom administration and water agencies have pushed back against how the board’s officials are handling parts of the process, and as opponents have urged the board not to bend to political pressure. Speaking at a virtual hearing Thursday, state Department of Water Resources general counsel Ann Carroll presented the Newsom administration’s case for the tunnel, calling it one of California’s “most important climate adaptation projects.” … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
Restore the Delta’s poll of CA voters reveals strong preference for investments in local water supplies over building the Delta tunnel; Californians for Water Security responds
“Today, Restore the Delta released new polling data on California voters’ attitudes on the Delta Conveyance Project — also known as the Delta Tunnel — a controversial and costly project with a price tag of $20 billion. The poll finds that California voters overwhelmingly favor investing in affordable and sustainable local water solutions over the Delta Tunnel. As a result of devastating climate change-fueled events over the past decade, Californians are particularly concerned about the risk of fires and droughts, and they see local water supplies as the best way to prepare for future disasters. “With fish populations declining and ceremonial practices being impacted by polluted waters, Tribes are already struggling to maintain their livelihoods and cultural identity,” said Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. “The Delta Tunnel Project would further devastate the environment and Tribal communities that have depended on the Delta since time immemorial.” … ” Continue reading this press release.
Changes to Delta operations start today: Balancing water needs for millions of Californians and the environment
“California’s water system is complex and requires real-time adjustments to balance the needs of our state’s cities and farms and the natural environment. Starting today, the State Water Project (SWP) is adjusting operations to meet those needs. The SWP’s pumping plant near Tracy diverts water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and lifts it into canals that flow to reservoirs and local water agencies. In March, the pumps moved approximately 125,000 acre-feet of water, enough to supply 375,000 households for a year. Today, San Luis Reservoir, an important parking spot for water that eventually flows to San Joaquin Valley farms and Southern California cities, is 90% full and holds 331,000 more acre-feet than it did last year at this time. As of today, SWP pumping rates in the Delta have been reduced from approximately 1,200 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 600 cfs. Operators likely will maintain that lower rate through the end of May unless San Joaquin or Sacramento River flows increase beyond certain high-flow thresholds. … ” Read more from DWR.
The La Niña that never truly was, is over. Here’s what comes next
“La Niña has fizzled out, data released Thursday shows. According to the Climate Prediction Center, temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific have returned to near-normal. And, according to a technical definition, La Niña never truly developed. The outlook for La Niña became progressively weaker over the past half year. In October 2024, experts predicted that La Niña would emerge during the fall. After months of delay, officials announced in January that La Niña conditions had finally arrived, with below-average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific. But those temperatures didn’t hold. The Climate Prediction Center update calls for neutral conditions — neither La Niña nor El Niño — for the coming months. That means different climate patterns, some of which are harder to anticipate than La Niña, could have outsize effects on California weather in the coming months. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle (gift article).
La Niña is over. Scientists now say it was stronger than it seemed.
“La Niña is over, scientists declared Thursday. And while the climate pattern was notably brief and had been waning, scientists said the episode was not as weak as it once seemed. When the planet-cooling climate pattern emerged this year, scientists said it developed later and in a weaker state than they had expected. But researchers say that is because unusual warmth that has dominated the Pacific and other global oceans for the past two years masked La Niña, which is defined by a patch of cooler-than-normal Pacific waters. La Niña’s end, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday, marks the beginning of an uncertain spell in global weather, with no strong driver of seasonal patterns and trends in temperature or precipitation. Forecasters instead will have to look toward factors that influence the climate on a weekly to monthly scale that can be harder to predict, even as some of even as some of La Niña’s characteristics, such as a drying influence in the Southwest United States, may increase the likelihood of an active fire season. … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
How to set up groundwater agencies for recharge success
“The 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is driving major changes for California’s vibrant agricultural industry. The state’s growers will need to pump less groundwater to comply with the law, which seeks to limit groundwater use in the face of depleted aquifers and the problems they cause. And while that shift will make agriculture more sustainable in the long-term, it will cause short-term challenges. One tool that can help lessen the economic pain and boost groundwater sustainability is groundwater recharge—putting water into underground aquifers. Groundwater recharge is key to implementing SGMA, because it can reduce the need to curtail groundwater pumping. Local agencies are working to scale up recharge by incentivizing it on private land. Our research has found that recharge on private land is growing fast, but it still accounts for less than 10% of total recharge volumes in the valley. … ” Read more from the PPIC.
Another water district annexes so-called “white lands,” the scourge of complying with California’s groundwater law
“A tiny water district in western Tulare County is poised to nearly triple in size by annexing 13,000 acres of land that has become “the stepchild nobody wants” for its lack of surface water. The Atwell Island Water District, at 7,300 acres, sought the annexation in order to help farmers in the area get access to surface water, said board member Deanna Jackson. Atwell has a small federal contract for water from the Central Valley Project and is a subcontractor for water from the Cross Valley Canal in Kern County as well. Jackson also runs the overarching Tri-County Water Authority Groundwater Sustainability Agency, tasked with bringing the region’s aquifers into balance per the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Atwell is a member agency of Tri-County, which also brought this acreage into its boundaries. Groundwater-only lands, also called white lands, have become pariahs under SGMA as they don’t have surface water to recharge what they pump. So, getting a water district to take them on is typically seen as a benefit. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Calif. farmland values are plummeting. Where’s the bottom?
“Farmland values across California are down significantly over this time last year and the bottom may not yet be in view. While this has erased billions of dollars in farm equity across the state, the fallout will be seen in communities and public services as county tax assessments are likely reduced on appeal. The trends are daunting, but not unforeseen. Professional agricultural land appraisers with the California Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) and others have been warning of this cliff for several years now. Implementation of the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and other factors including poor commodity prices for major crops have led to double-digit declines in farmland values year-over-year. … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
Reclamation announces additional funding for Sites Reservoir
“The Bureau of Reclamation today announced a $134 million award for the proposed Sites Reservoir Project. This new water storage project would be the second largest off-stream reservoir in the nation and would increase Northern California’s water storage capacity by up to 15 percent. The award, funded by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, previously received $389.65 million and was also authorized $256.5 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, for a total of $780.15 million in federal contributions to date. Located 81 miles northwest of Sacramento, Sites Reservoir would store water diverted from the Sacramento River via the existing Red Bluff Pumping Plant and Hamilton City Pump Station after all other water rights and regulatory requirements are met. Water would be released to beneficiaries throughout the state primarily during drier periods when it is needed. The majority of precipitation in California falls north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, making this project location strategic for capturing and storing stormwater. … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Miles of Delta levees are at risk of floods. Repairs could cost $3 billion
“As winter storms soaked California in early 2023, the Sacramento River swelled toward flood stage. Levees protecting large expanses of farmland and many towns sprung leaks. At one site, response crews drove metal sheets into the earthen berm and lined the levee face with heavy rock. The work cost almost $700,000, paid by local farmers who had to take out a loan. “It was way beyond our means, but we had to do it,” said Daniel Wilson, a farmer near the Delta town of Walnut Grove and trustee of the management agency responsible for the levee. Because the region was declared a disaster zone, funding help was available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But two years later, the money still hasn’t arrived. Other districts in the region also are waiting for reimbursements. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is facing a funding crisis that has bogged down efforts to repair and maintain an aging network of about 1,100 miles of levees that protect the region from floods. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Golden mussels and beyond: How ballast water fuels invasions
“The San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary is often regarded as one of the most heavily invaded estuaries in the world. The Delta has been colonized by at least 185 foreign species, from Asian clams and water hyacinth to nutria and others, with more new species always arriving. According to one estimate, non-native species account for 95% or more of the Delta’s total biomass. Recently, the golden mussel—a non-native freshwater and brackish water bivalve—was discovered in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, marking its first known presence in North America. Likely introduced through ballast water discharged by ships, this invasive species poses a serious threat to ecosystems, as it can clog water infrastructure, disrupt food webs, and outcompete native species. At the March meeting of the Delta Independent Science Board, Chris Scianni, environmental program manager at the California State Lands Commission, provided an overview of ballast water regulations, how they are enforced, the existing barriers and challenges in light of the recent golden mussel detection, and the likely role that ballast water played in their introduction. … ” Continue reading this article from Maven’s Notebook.
Monitoring water quality in the Delta: The role of the Delta Regional Monitoring Program
“The Delta is a vital water source, providing drinking water to over 27 million people and irrigating 3 million acres of farmland. The Delta is a rich mosaic of farms, wetlands, and diverse habitats that support a wide array of fish and wildlife and serves as a critical stopover for migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway. In addition to its ecological importance, the Delta is a recreational hub, attracting thousands of visitors each year for fishing, boating, birdwatching, and other outdoor activities. Preserving the Delta’s water quality is essential for human uses and sustaining its vibrant ecosystems and the wildlife that depend on them. Prior to 2013, water quality monitoring in the Delta was primarily conducted to meet regulatory requirements. The Delta Regional Monitoring Program (Delta RMP) was established to consolidate these fragmented efforts and assess the success of protection and restoration initiatives by providing a unified and effective approach to water quality monitoring. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
Thirsty for power and water, AI-crunching data centers sprout across the West
“Driving around the cities and small towns of the West, one of the most consequential changes to the landscape are hard to see. Data centers, the buildings of the future, are usually low-slung, their large bulk is best seen from above. A drone’s-eye view shows a spreading, warehouse-flat landscape born of the economic and electrical revolution that is reshaping places like Phoenix, the city of Santa Clara in Silicon Valley, or rural Oregon towns close to the Columbia River. Data centers are remaking local communities and economies around the country, most dramatically in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., but also around the West. These centers, the beating hearts of the internet, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, sprawl over tens or hundreds of thousands of square feet. At their core are halls filled with identical rows of hundreds of computer servers arranged in aisles – a “cold aisle” where the server draws in cool air, and a “hot aisle” where exhaust is vented. … ” Continue reading from & the West.
New court case reasserts reasonableness as a limitation on water use
“On April 2, 2025, the Court of Appeal for California’s Fifth Appellate District issued its decision in Bring Back the Kern v. City of Bakersfield, 2025 S.O.S. 909. That case held that courts must apply the reasonableness requirement for water use that is found in article X, section 2 of the California Constitution “whenever adjudicating a use of water.” This case is focused on the Kern River, which has a complex set of agreements governing use of water. It was brought by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) against the City of Bakersfield. Water agencies that could be impacted by any court order were joined as “necessary and indispensable parties.” The complaint alleged that Bakersfield’s operation of some of the weirs in the river violated the law, including Fish and Game Code § 5937. That provision requires dam owners to allow sufficient water to pass through/over/etc. the dam “to keep in good condition any fish that may be planted or exist below the dam.” … ” Read more from California Water Views.
Trump signs order to ‘make America’s showers great again’
“President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday lifting restrictions on how much water can be used by shower heads, saying his administration would “make America’s showers great again.” The order underscored how Trump remains fixated on one of his favorite targets — more-efficient shower heads that he has blamed for ruining his “perfect” hair — even in the midst of global upheaval caused by his turbulent tariff policies. “I like to take a nice shower to take care of my beautiful hair,” Trump said before signing the order at the White House. “I have to stand in the shower for 15 minutes until it gets wet. … It’s ridiculous.” In a fact sheet sent to reporters, the White House said the order “frees Americans from excessive regulations that turned a basic household item into a bureaucratic nightmare,” adding that Trump would “end the Obama-Biden war on water pressure and make America’s showers great again.” … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
Trump targets California climate laws in new executive order
“President Donald Trump has issued an order that takes aim at state and local climate change laws and policies, including California’s landmark market program for reducing greenhouse gases. Trump’s executive order directs U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to identify state and local acts that may be unconstitutional or preempted by federal law. Within 60 days, the attorney general must report back to the president with findings and recommendations for action. Trump’s order singles out California’s cap and trade program, a market-based system created in 2012 that is considered one of the state’s key policies for combating climate change. The program sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions and allows companies to buy and sell credits. Twelve other states have similar trade programs for cutting greenhouse gases. “California, for example, punishes carbon use by adopting impossible caps on the amount of carbon businesses may use, all but forcing businesses to pay large sums to ‘trade’ carbon credits to meet California’s radical requirements,” Trump’s order says. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
In commentary this week …
Farmers, not bureaucrats, deserve control of California’s water: a farmer’s call for stability
Rodney Cheyne, a fifth-generation farmer and president of the Klamath Irrigation District, writes, “Farmers are at the heart of California’s water wars, but you wouldn’t know it from reading The New York Times. A recent feature on the removal of dams from the Klamath River highlighted environmental and tribal perspectives—yet it failed to incorporate the perspective of farmers like me who are directly affected by these decisions. This omission is part of a broader trend in media coverage, where agriculture communities are sidelined in debates over conservation and land management, despite being on the front lines of these issues. The reality is, farmers aren’t just stakeholders—we are stewards of the land, providing food for the nation while navigating the shifting political and regulatory landscape that controls our water supply. Thankfully, President Donald Trump has made it clear: Business as usual is over when it comes to California’s water crisis. … ” Read more from The Daily Signal.
Harvard — hands off California’s water
Kayla Springer, contributing opinion writer at the Harvard Crimson, writes, “While fires burned in Los Angeles this winter, accelerated by drought and global heating, water continued to be extracted from Harvard-owned lands. Just 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles, in California’s Cuyama Valley, an exploratory oil drilling project is moving forward on Harvard’s 6,565-acre vineyard. This project is the latest in a series of Harvard’s grabs on natural resources in the region that have worsened a critical drought of groundwater and endangered the area’s many local farmers and ranchers. To repair these harms, the University must, to the extent that it is able, put an end to extractive groundwater pumping and oil drilling in the area and instead invest in building sustainable agricultural practices that prioritize — rather than threaten — a human right to water. … ” Read more from the Harvard Crimson.
Rebuilding requires reimagining environmentalism
Edward Ring, Director, Water and Energy Policy at the California Policy Center, writes, “Helping thousands of victims of the wildfires in Los Angeles rebuild is an urgent concern, prompting, among other things, efforts to streamline the building permit process and expedite insurance claims. But this disaster and its aftermath must also prompt us to question environmental policies we’ve accepted as beyond debate, policies that have effectively rationed the supply and inflated the cost of land, water, energy, and building materials. While motivated by environmentalist values, they disproportionately harm low and middle income Californians, and in many cases don’t help the environment. For decades, state and local laws and ordinances have promoted “infill” and discouraged suburban “sprawl.” But the construction cost per square foot for multistory, multifamily dwellings exceeds the cost to build single family detached homes, as is the cost per acre to build on urban land. And in a stark contradiction of the conventional wisdom, there is no shortage of land. … ” Continue reading this commentary.
Higher water rates vs. the right to water
The O.C. Register editorial board writes, “Did you know that in California, there’s a human right to affordable water? In 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 685, adding this language to the state Water Code: “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking and sanitary purposes.” The “affordable” part seems to be ignored. Today (April 8), the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District is expected to approve a Climate Adaptation Master Plan for Water, or CAMP4W, a framework for spending massive amounts of money and then raising rates and property taxes to pay for it. On its website, the Metropolitan Water District says it is “committed to offsetting the costs of our strategic climate adaptation investments through creative cost-sharing partnerships and the pursuit of additional state and federal funding.” Good luck. We note that the federal and state budget climate has changed. … ” Read more from the OC Register.
Wildfires in California: A preventable tragedy
“This year, we got a harsh reminder of how vulnerable our cities really are. The California wildfires have exposed the flaws in our environmental, prevention, and urban policies, showing how far we are from creating sustainable communities in the Golden State. The devastating effects of climate change, environmental mismanagement, and government neglect are still felt today. While the immediate threat may have passed, the aftermath persists. Communities are rebuilding, ecosystems are recovering, and we must rethink our approach to prevent future disasters. This is not something we can simply move past—it’s time for lasting change to protect both people and the environment. The fires in Southern California, though no longer trending on social media, have permanently impacted thousands, causing deaths and material loss and exposing policies that separate the environment from human life—socially, economically, and politically. … ” Read more from the LA Daily News.
LA has water partly thanks to something Trump wants to eliminate
Opinion writer Tom Philp writes, “Most Californians probably think little about the efficiency of any given plumbing fixture, but the modern-day showerhead is among an arsenal of water-saving devices that help explain how California cities have grown for more than a generation while using less water. Instead of being praised for supporting efficient water-saving devices like showerheads and quietly waging war on inefficient ones like toilets, Trump is trying to tell California how it should regulate water usage. This is dangerous given that bad water policy could leave communities short of water when, say, there is a devastating fire. And Washington telling California how to regulate water is also outright unconstitutional. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
DOGE and Trump quash a Klamath River basin comeback
Jacques Leslie writes, “The Trump administration ruined what should have been a good spring in the Klamath River basin. By abruptly laying off federal personnel and freezing payments for already authorized programs and projects, the administration replaced a budding sense of hopefulness in the basin with fear and uncertainty, and tore at fragile bonds years in the making among upper basin ranchers and farmers, federal, state and local governments, nonprofits and Native tribes. In a region where conflict over water has simmered for the last quarter-century, trust was already fragile. Now it is smashed to smithereens. Through the 21st century the Klamath has lurched from crisis to crisis, usually related to the extended drought that has hovered over the basin most of that time. What distinguishes the current debacle is that it has no relation to natural phenomena. It’s entirely man-made — and entirely unnecessary. Out of disregard for the needs of ordinary Americans and an apparent desire to eviscerate whatever was championed by his predecessor, Joe Biden, Trump has allowed Elon Musk to take a blunt hatchet to federal expenditures. The result in the Klamath — where voters overwhelmingly chose Trump in 2024 — is that many people feel fearful and betrayed. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
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. He could even offer bumper stickers reading, “Eat nutria & save the Delta.” Nutria are the Joey Chestnuts of the rodent world. Instead of eating 70 or so hot dogs in one setting, they consume 25 percent of their body weight daily by munching through vegetation critical to Delta ecosystems. In doing so, they damage the integrity of flood control levees and river embankments. … ” Read more from the Turlock Journal. … ” Read more from the Turlock Journal.
California has a golden opportunity to fund climate smart agriculture
Liz Carlisle, a public voices fellow of the OpEd Project and an associate professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Barbara, writes, “In the wake of January’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires, and as federal action on climate change has slowed to a standstill, Californians recognize that our state must lead on climate solutions. Indeed, one of the bright spots in the November 2024 election — which was otherwise not great for climate action — was California’s approval of a $10 billion climate bond. But we’re still missing important opportunities to simultaneously reduce emissions and improve climate resilience by investing more robustly in climate-smart agriculture practices on our state’s farms and ranches. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
In regional water news this week …
Irrigators likely to receive full water allocations, Reclamation says
“Klamath Basin water has always been about the numbers. And this year, those numbers are finally looking up. At the annual Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) meeting the evening of Tuesday, April 1, third-generation farmer and KWUA President Scott Seus shared the news local water users have been hoping for since 2019. “The Bureau of Reclamation sent us a letter that said we would have a supply adequate enough to satisfy all ‘A’ and ‘B’ contractors,” Seus said. “B” contractors in the Klamath Project have not been allocated any water since 2019, with most “A” contractors receiving reduced water allocations for farming during that same period. “As of this morning (April 1), we stood at 172% of normal snowpack,” Seus said Monday evening. … ” Read more from Herald & News.
Farm Bureaus in Russian River counties issue plea to President Trump to keep the Potter Valley dams in place
“About a month ago, the Lake County Board of Supervisors begged President Donald Trump to put a halt to the deal to remove the two antiquated hydropower dams way up near the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Eel. That deal was reached in mid-February, after years of negotiations. PG&E doesn’t want the dams anymore. It plans to petition the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to allow them to be removed, in a process that would mirror the historic undamming of the Klamath. But Lake County wanted to throw some sand in the gears, and now that body is joined by the local chapters of the Farm Bureau in Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties. Last week, they sent a letter to President Trump, who has made speeches about the folly of allowing the water in California rivers to return to the sea, and in that letter they petition the president to order FERC to keep the dams in place. … ” Read more from the Lost Coast Outpost.
Stanislaus County gated community could lose water access as supplier owes millions
“A gated community in Stanislaus County is at risk of losing its water supply as the local water district that supplies the community with water sourced from Kern County is behind on its bills. Roughly 1,300 people live inside Diablo Grande, a community in the hills right past Patterson’s city limits. All of them could lose their water supply by June 30. Western Hills Water District owes the Kern County Water Agency more than $13 million. Diablo Grande resident Tom Murphy moved into his house back in 2008. “The water has been a problem since 2008,” he said. “They got it resolved in 2010, I believe, and then since then, it’s been OK, but now we’re looking at the shortage from the supplier.” … ” Read more from CBS News.
CV-SALTS: Nitrate Control Program hits 5-year milestone and Drinking Water Program expands to new areas
“This year marks several significant five-year milestones for CV-SALTS and its efforts to address salt and nitrate challenges in the Valley. The program has expanded its geographical reach and local networks significantly in the first quarter of 2025. With the launch of the Priority 2 Management Zones (MZs), the Nitrate Control Program now covers all basins with high nitrate concentrations in the Central Valley. The Priority 1 MZs continue to conduct well testing, deliver safe drinking water, and work with local communities to explore long-term drinking water solutions. The Salt Control Program has selected a second case study location and is beginning to model salt management scenarios. … ” Continue reading from the CV-SALTS program.
New report: Farmers, communities still pumping too much water from Paso basin
“Pumping from the Paso Robles groundwater sub-basin continued at unsustainable levels last year — with agriculture extracting more water than domestic well owners and municipal water systems combined, according to a new report. The sub-basin, which pools underground from the area east of Highway 101 to north of Highway 58, was designated as “critically overdrafted” by the California Department of Water Resources. Basin users pumped 75,100 acre-feet of water in 2024, up from 63,600 acre-feet in 2023 — an 18% increase, according to the latest annual report for the basin. An acre-foot of water is roughly enough to cover a football field in a foot of water. That’s far from the estimated sustainable yield of 61,100 acre-feet per year. In fact, people pumped 25,500 acre-feet more than was returned to the basin in 2024, the report said. This is the eighth year in a row that pumping exceeded the sustainable yield. … ” Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune. | Read via Yahoo News.
City of Santa Barbara ramps up outreach in face of mounting opposition to proposed creek buffer ordinance
“Clean water and scenic beauty for Santa Barbara’s creeks may come at a cost to the city’s homeowners. At least, that’s how creekside residents see it. Many are not happy about the city’s proposed creek buffer ordinance, which would require any and all new developments to stay away from a creek’s edge. The city has 16 creeks. They zigzag through neighborhoods, showing off bare bottoms that host only a trickle of water for most of the year. Right now, the city is working on a draft ordinance that prohibits new development within 50 feet of any of these creeks. That includes buildings, patios, and non-native gardens (yes, even tomato plants would be prohibited). The only development that would be allowed in buffer zones without city approval would be the planting of native vegetation and debris removal for flood control purposes. Existing development would be allowed to stay where it is, as well as be repaired and remodeled without city approval. … ” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent.
Metropolitan Water District adopts groundbreaking framework to adapt to climate change
“To ensure Southern California has a reliable supply of water amid hotter temperatures, more extreme droughts, less snowpack and rising sea levels, Metropolitan Water District’s Board of Directors adopted today a groundbreaking strategy to adapt to climate change. The implementation strategy of the Climate Adaptation Master Plan for Water, developed over the past two years through an extensive process involving water leaders from across the region, provides a roadmap to guide future investments and decision-making on proposed water projects and programs. “This is an unprecedented approach to building climate resilience,” board Chair Adán Ortega, Jr. said. “Metropolitan has a long history of successfully planning for Southern California’s water future, but we’ve never done anything like this before; no one in the country has.” … ” Read more from the Metropolitan Water District.
City of Ontario says local taxpayer funding diverted to state-focused project
“The City of Ontario urges Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) to practice transparency as the Agency advances its extensive Chino Basin Program (CBP). IEUA, in concert with six cities and a local water utility, established a technical advisory and policy committee to advise the IEUA Board of Directors on projects such as these. IEUA, however, fails to respect this multi-jurisdictional approach by obscuring the funding process for the CBP. “Our efforts to create water security for our residents are undermined by the Chino Basin Program. IEUA has failed to act with the clarity required of a public agency throughout this process and threatens our ability to invest in much-needed local water recycling infrastructure,” said Ontario City Councilmember Debra Porada. “Ontario has long supported a local alternative project to keep recycled water in the communities that need it the most, in cooperation with every agency that agrees to participate.” … ” Read more from the City of Ontario.
Trump threatens sanctions, tariffs on Mexico in water dispute
“U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened Mexico with sanctions and tariffs in a dispute over water sharing between the two countries, accusing Mexico of breaking an 81-year-old treaty and “stealing the water from Texas Farmers.” Under the 1944 treaty, Mexico must send 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the U.S. from the Rio Grande through a network of interconnected dams and reservoirs every five years. An acre-foot of water is enough to fill about half an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The current five-year cycle is up in October, but Mexico has sent less than 30% of the required water, according to data from the International Boundary and Water Commission. “Mexico OWES Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty, but Mexico is unfortunately violating their Treaty obligation,” Trump posted on Truth Social. … ” Read more from Reuters.
