A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
‘Dangerous’ heat wave expected to break records across California this weekend
“A heat wave is set to inflict misery on nearly the entire length of California starting Friday. Triple-digit heat is expected up and down the state, pushing record-level temperatures for the first time this year. Heat advisories are in effect for large swaths of the region over the course of the two-day heat wave, with possible thunderstorms near the border with Nevada in the Reno area. Look for advisories across Northern and Southern California, including the Bay Area, Central Valley and Central Coast. On Friday, temperatures in Southern California are expected to range from eight to 16 degrees above normal, with highs in the 90s to just above 100 degrees across the valleys, lower mountains and deserts, according to the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
LAO Report: May revision trailer bill proposals on the Delta Conveyance Project and Water Quality Control Plans
“LAO Bottom Line: We recommend deferring action on both proposals, without prejudice. These policy issues do not have budget implications. Deferring action would allow the Legislature more time and capacity for sufficient consideration of the potential benefits, implications, and trade-offs. [In this report], we describe the proposals and note some key issues for the Legislature to keep in mind when it considers these proposals.” Read the report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Broad coalition of labor, business, environmental and community leaders urge legislature to advance Delta Conveyance Project
“A diverse and powerful coalition of more than 90 labor unions, business leaders, water agencies, local chambers of commerce, and community organizations today announced their strong support for a budget trailer bill that would streamline processes to move the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) forward — a critical climate-resilience initiative to modernize California’s aging water infrastructure. In a letter sent to Governor Newsom, legislative leadership, and members of the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees, the coalition urged lawmakers to back the proposal as a common-sense step to break through years of bureaucratic gridlock and costly delays, allowing informed decisions to be made about future construction investment. … ” Continue reading from Californians for Water Security.
SEE ALSO: SCV Water supports Newsom’s proposal on Delta project, from the Santa Clarita Signal
Governor Newsom attempts to fast-track Delta Conveyance Project water tunnel; Zone 7 Supports Proposal
“Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest budget revision, released May 14, includes a proposal to fast-track the Delta Conveyance Project — the 45-mile-long, 36-foot-wide tunnel that would carry water up to 6,000 cubic feet per second from the Sacramento River to the Bethany Reservoir near Mountain House. Previous project reports estimated its completion in 2045. … The SWP operates 20 reservoirs and some 700 miles of canals to supply water to the majority of California. Included is the Zone 7 Water Agency, which manages the Tri-Valley water supply. Zone 7 supports the tunnel project. “What the Delta Conveyance would do for us is basically make (the supply) more reliable,” Zone 7 Director Sarah Palmer said. “We won’t have any more water rights. Nobody would have more water rights from that.” Palmer added that Zone 7 receives up to 90% of its water from the SWP, tying the Tri-Valley’s water reliability to the SWP’s. … ” Read more from the Livermore Independent.
Thompson, Matsui, Garamendi, Desaulnier and Harder respond to Governor’s push to fast-track Delta Tunnel Project
“On May 20, 2025, Representatives Mike Thompson (CA-04), Doris Matsui (CA-07), John Garamendi (CA-08), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), and Josh Harder (CA-09) issued a formal letter to Governor Newsom and California state legislature leadership reaffirming their strong opposition to the Delta Conveyance Project, also known as the Delta Tunnel. This letter comes in response to recent efforts by the Governor to fast-track approval and construction of the controversial project. “The Delta Tunnel poses a grave threat to the environmental, economic, and cultural well-being of communities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region,” the Representatives said. “From exacerbating water quality issues for our local agriculture and wildlife to creating water scarcity, this project’s unintended consequences will be a calamity in our communities.” In the letter, the lawmakers also pointed to alternative, less expensive and more sustainable water management strategies to the Delta Tunnel, which is estimated to cost more than $20 billion. … ” Read more from Congressman Mike Thompson.
Reclamation announces another increase in 2025 Central Valley Project water supply allocations; Westlands calls it ‘disappointing’
“Continuing to focus on maximizing California’s water supplies, the Bureau of Reclamation is increasing the water supply allocations for Central Valley Project contractors south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta. While all north-of-Delta Central Valley Project contractors are currently at 100% of their supplies, south-of-Delta irrigation water service and repayment contractors are increased to 55% from 50%, and municipal and industrial water service and repayment contractors are increased to 80% from 75% of their historical use, or public health and safety needs, whichever is greater. “As California’s primary precipitation season concludes, we now have greater certainty about water availability for the remainder of the water year, said Acting Regional Director Adam Nickels. “This allows us to responsibly adjust Central Valley Project allocations to better meet the needs of our water users while continuing to support environmental requirements.” … ” Continue reading this press release and response.
NOAA’s atmospheric river research: Serving up data rain or shine
“As the western United States heads into its traditional dry season, water managers are assessing how winter rains have helped replenish the region’s reservoirs. The vast majority of precipitation that falls during the wet season results from atmospheric rivers (ARs) that rain down life-sustaining water but can also cause costly destruction. These fast-moving “rivers” of water vapor in the sky supply up to half of the region’s annual precipitation, with stronger ARs responsible for the majority of flood damages along the West Coast. To aid in predicting and monitoring these extreme weather events, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL) operates nine atmospheric river observatories at sites distributed along the coast from Washington to Southern California. These unmanned weather stations send round-the-clock observations back to the laboratory, which analyzes and displays the data publicly on its Atmospheric River Portal. The National Weather Service utilizes this data portal to produce forecasts and weather warnings. State and local agencies also use the portal for creating water management strategies and emergency response planning. … ” Read more from NOAA Research.
California’s second-largest reservoir fills for third straight year
“California’s second-largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, reached capacity Friday, hitting the high water mark for the third straight year — a first for the 57-year-old reservoir. The milestone comes after a moderately wet winter in California, with enough snow in the mountains, particularly in the north, to melt and flush substantial water into state reservoirs. This week, water storage in California’s major reservoirs stood at a comfortable 116% of average for the time of year, ensuring decent supplies for the rest of 2025. At Lake Oroville, about 70 miles north of Sacramento in Butte County, water levels rose Friday morning to within inches of the 900-foot elevation mark that state water managers deem full pool, prompting notice that the reservoir had hit capacity. At capacity, the lake holds 3.4 million acre-feet of water, enough to supply more than 7 million households for a year. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Scaling floodplain conservation: How the fish food program is revolutionizing fish recovery in California’s Central Valley
“The Fish Food program is CalTrout’s model for taking floodplain connectivity to scale in the Central Valley. We still believe the Nigiri Project concept is the best way to get juvenile salmonids rearing onto active floodplains. However, there are at least 500,000 acres of floodplain habitat in the Central Valley outside of areas where Nigiri is possible, and that is where we implement the Fish Food program. Because fish cannot, on their own volition, get out to these floodplains, the Fish Food program’s goal is to bring some benefits of the floodplain back to fish within the leveed river system. The Fish Food practice is focused on flooding parcels of land (~85% rice agriculture, ~15% wetland habitat), producing zooplankton and aquatic invertebrates (fish food), draining the floodplain water with the food back to a fish bearing channel (e.g., Sacramento River, Feather River, Butte Creek, etc.), and repeating that cycle as many times as water supply and other constraints will allow. … ” Read more from Cal Trout.
The blobby little sea squirt that stowed away across the Pacific to California
“In 2023, biologists Lauren Stefaniak and Marie Nydam had time to kill before their university workshop on marine invertebrates began, so they drove to a marina not far from Los Angeles to gather organisms for their students to study. They strolled along floating docks, pausing periodically to sit down or to lie on their stomachs and pluck an assortment of small creatures from the water. Stefaniak, a marine scientist at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina, and Nydam, a marine evolutionary geneticist at Soka University of America, in California, are experts at identifying the myriad animals — shelled or squishy, scurrying or stuck in place — that festoon docks, buoys, pilings and ropes at the water’s edge. But that day, one finding surprised them: reddish blobs about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) long that they didn’t recognize. As it turned out, they had collected the first specimens of the ascidian Corella japonica from North America. Scientists don’t yet know whether this new member of California’s marine fauna will have ecological impacts, but its arrival highlights the massive, largely uncontrolled movement of marine species via ships that travel the world. … ” Read more from Mongabay.
Pebble Beach Golf Links to pursue first-in-nation Clean Water Act permit
“Pebble Beach Company, California Coastkeeper Alliance, The Otter Project, and Monterey Waterkeeper announce a historic alliance to enhance the protection of water quality in the Carmel Bay, which is designated as an Area of Special Biological Significance (ASBS). As part of its longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability and stewardship, Pebble Beach Company will, in coordination with its not-for-profit organization colleagues, pursue a first-in-nation Clean Water Act permit for discharges from Pebble Beach Golf Links into the Carmel Bay ASBS. This effort includes increasing water quality monitoring and developing updated best management practices related to dry-weather and stormwater discharges into the Carmel Bay ASBS, building upon the Company’s longstanding discharge management plan. Pebble Beach Company will also donate $50,000 to the Big Sur Land Trust to support environmental projects related to water quality in the Carmel Bay ASBS and for programs to facilitate access to Carmel Bay for all who live in and visit Monterey County. This groundbreaking initiative underscores a shared commitment to preserving the unique and sensitive ecosystems of Carmel Bay. … ” Continue reading this press release.
Managed aquifer recharge on agriculture lands: Infiltration basins, flood-MAR and regional variability
“Groundwater has long been the unseen lifeblood of irrigators across the state, and some are now taking an active role in replenishing it. When and where surface water has been insufficient, Californians have drilled down, steadily depleting the aquifer. … Aquifers naturally recharge when water percolates into the soil. Intentionally replenishing the aquifer to keep pace with pumping, through a practice called Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR), is an important strategy, and the state’s agricultural lands have emerged as a field of opportunity for implementation (Harter, 2015). California’s aquifers can store at least three times as much as surface reservoirs (Dahlke et al, 2018). As such, not only does recharging the aquifer stabilize the supply available for current groundwater pumping, but it could play a compelling role in California’s climatically altered future where storing water is of utmost importance, due to diminished snowpack and increased rainfall as models suggest. … ” Read more from the California Water Blog.
Land rich, cash poor: A deep dive into California’s farming crisis
“Farming in California has never been easy—but today’s farmers face a crisis of sustainability that goes far beyond the soil. In a recent conversation with Brian Reisinger, author of the book Land Rich, Cash Poor, we dug into what’s causing the decline of American family farms—especially in California—and what might help. Brian, a fourth-generation farm kid turned journalist, shared a personal journey that started on his family’s land and led him into the heart of public policy. His new book explores the invisible pressures that have pushed tens of thousands of farms out of business, year after year. … ” Read more from Ag Net West.
In commentary this week …
Reality check – lots of fresh water still being sent to the ocean
Geoff Vanden Heuvel, Director of Regulatory and Economic Affairs for the Milk Producers Council, writes, “Despite executive orders from President Trump and Governor Newsom directing state and federal agencies to do all they can to provide fresh water supply to California’s people and farms, more than 300,000 acre-feet of fresh water became salt water over the last 60 days as pumps sat idle in the Delta due to outdated and highly dubious environmental regulations. The loss in water was split almost equally between the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. Both systems, despite having a third good water year, are only committed to delivering 55 and 50 percent respectively of the contracted water to users in the central and southern parts of the state. This reduction is substantially due to the waste of water required by these out of date regulations. … ” Read more from the Milk Producers Council.
California’s water security demands action, not more delays
Jennifer Pierre, General Manager of the State Water Contractors, writes, “California’s water infrastructure is buckling under the weight of inaction. The State Water Project — the backbone of water delivery for 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland — is being pushed to the brink by climate change, extreme weather swings and seismic vulnerabilities. Without action, we’re facing a future of increased water shortages, higher costs and diminished reliability for communities and farms alike. The Delta Conveyance Project is the critical upgrade we need. It’s a well-studied, extensively vetted and urgently needed modernization of the very infrastructure that underpins the health, safety and prosperity of much of California. … ” Read more from Capitol Weekly.
Why is the CVP South-of Delta allocation still so low?
Mike Wade, Executive Director of the California Farm Water Coalition, writes, “This week, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced an increase in the Central Valley Project (CVP) water allocation for south-of-Delta agricultural contractors, raising it from 50% to 55% for the 2025 water year. While this modest increase offers some relief to farmers, farm workers, and rural communities in the San Joaquin Valley, it underscores the ongoing challenges of California’s unreliable water supply system. Insufficient water allocations have far-reaching consequences, not only for agriculture but also for the nation’s food supply. California has favorable water supply conditions this year, the case for higher allocations is strong, yet systemic issues continue to hinder progress. It’s time for California and the federal government to prioritize a resilient water system for all Californians. … ” Read more from the California Farm Water Coalition.
Functional rivers, landscapes and communities depend upon a modern regulatory framework
David Guy, president of the Northern California Water Association, writes, “As part of Northern California Water’s priorities for the next five years, we offer a new riverscape vision for the Sacramento River Basin that blends the wisdom of leading scientists and local knowledge to better understand and take various actions to integrate our wonderful rivers and creeks with our landscapes and communities in a way that will bring the entire region to life through our precious water resources. Three themes capture our priorities and the actions to vitalize this region through the riverscape vision. These actions together will help us all ensure water supply reliability and bring the region to life: Help ensure the human right to clean water for local communities; Implement holistic, nature-based solutions that restore ecological functions and support multi-benefit water management; and Prepare for and adapt to extreme weather and climate change, which requires saving excess water wherever possible. … ” Read more from the Northern California Water Association.
Editorial: Trump’s designs for Shasta Dam are long overdue
“President Donald Trump’s California-related water policy hasn’t always been thoughtfully executed, as the fracas over his ordered water releases early this year to help with the Los Angeles wildfires made clear. The decision was hastily made, didn’t help firefighting efforts and squandered water that Central Valley farms will need as the dry season takes hold. Nevertheless, the president’s instincts are correct. California faces repeated droughts, with state water policy prioritizing environmental concerns over the needs of farmers and consumers. This approach hasn’t done much to improve the environment or boost fish populations. So Trump is right to shift priorities on federally managed projects. The latest news is heartening, as it points toward building a project that has been discussed for decades: raising Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet. … ” Read more from the OC Register.
After years of undrinkable water, our community finally has hope
Mary Benson, a Lake County real estate broker, writes, “We all know of mom-and-pop shops run by couples who share the workload and, if lucky, become integral to the communities they serve. Until recently my husband, Norm Benson, and I were mom-and-pop operators of a water treatment and distribution system at Clear Lake, an idyllic, nutrient-rich version of a green Lake Tahoe, about 110 miles north of San Francisco. We love our community and didn’t mind pitching in. Over the years our mutual water system, the Crescent Bay Improvement Co., has become unsustainable. Our treated lake water could not meet state or federal drinking standards. We could boil it for cooking and use it in bathrooms and for laundry. But the 24 households and businesses hooked up to our system had to rely on bottled water for drinking. The state and a much larger water company in recent years threw us a lifeline, for which we are grateful. By the time we got help, our water hadn’t been drinkable for years. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Disruptive desalination technology comes to California
Edward Ring, Director of Water and Energy Policy at the California Policy Center, writes, “The concept of deep water desalination has been around for decades, but only in recent years has the enabling technology been available. Innovations pioneered by the oil and gas industry to better service offshore drilling platforms have matured. These include better ways to protect against corrosion of underwater equipment, and replacing hydraulic with electrical systems. Rapid advances in underwater robotic vehicles also promise to reduce construction and maintenance costs. By using technology that is no longer ahead of its time, a California-based company, OceanWell, aims to bring deep water desalination to California and the world. Their product has the potential to dramatically reduce the energy cost, the environmental impact, and the financial cost of large-scale desalination. … ” Read more from Edward Ring.
Environmental Rollbacks: Will the Trump Administration overplay its hand?
Dan Farber with Legal Planet writes, “It’s no secret that Trump is likely to roll back as many environmental regulations as he possibly can, starting with the Biden Administration’s climate rules. In pursuit of that goal, he has pushed agencies to adopt high-risk legal arguments for rollbacks rather than more reliable strategies. But he may run into a serious roadblock, given that in May the Administration lost in 26 out of 27 district court rulings. Before May, Trump was losing about two-thirds to three-quarters of district court rulings. He’ll win some of those cases on appeal, but that’s still an unprecedented loss rate for the federal government. The Administration’s “go for broke” strategy is partly due to an ambition to permanently dismantle regulation and partly for practical reasons. And also partly due to an emphasis on drama – “shock and awe” – rather than the more mundane but more substantive actions. … ” Read more from Legal Planet.
Does a river have legal rights?
a poet, a nonfiction writer and the author of “Is a River Alive?,” writes, “In early May, an orange floral fire burned across Northern California river banks in celebration: an explosion of poppies, goldenrod and other native plants, marking the first spring after the biggest de-damming project in U.S. history liberated the Klamath River from its confinements. The recovery of the wider Klamath watershed began last year with the demolition of four dams, and the free-flowing river now provides roughly 400 miles of restored habitat for salmon and steelhead trout. It’s also creating wetlands, helping the regrowth of forests and brush and leading to major improvements in water quality. The Klamath’s revival is a beacon of hope at a time of deep ecological gloom for the United States. President Trump and his administration have made clear their intention to drastically de-prioritize the natural world in favor of economic interests. Rivers and other freshwater bodies are among the ecosystems most vulnerable to this rapid reorientation. … ” Read more from the New York Times.
In regional water news this week …
Undammed: Runners celebrate first salmon return after largest dam removal in US History
“From May 22-25, 2025, the 22nd annual Salmon Run took place with historical significance under the 2025 theme, “Undammed.” This year’s run honored the first return of salmon following the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, which restored hundreds of miles of habitat along the Klamath River. Four dams were removed on the Klamath River in 2024. “This is the first year, after over two decades of work, that we are running past an Undammed Klamath River,” added Karuk Tribal Member Crispen McAllister. “I remember several years ago when just a small handful of runners made the journey to the upper basin for the first time. Every year since then, the run has grown, and we have had the opportunity to experience the change we were hoping for, to see a dam-free Klamath River that the Salmon could come home to.” … ” Read more from the Redheaded Blackbelt.
PG&E customers face $532M bill for dam removal some don’t want
“Six years after first announcing plans to walk away from the Potter Valley Project, Pacific Gas and Electric Company has finally revealed the staggering price tag for dismantling the century-old hydroelectric facility: $532 million. That’s the estimated cost PG&E submitted to state regulators on May 15, a half-billion-dollar teardown that will be funded by PG&E customers, many of whom also risk losing the year-round water supply the system delivers to 600,000 people across Northern California. Tony Gigliotti, PG&E’s senior licensing project manager, told SFGATE the half-billion-dollar figure is still a “very high-level estimate,” but it’s meant to reflect the full scope of the task ahead. “We did the best we could with the information we have today,” he said. “We don’t have engineering completed at this point, but that estimate is meant to be all-inclusive.” … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Commentary: How many ways can the Potter Valley Project fail?
The Friends of the Eel River write, “Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) Potter Valley Project has failed, forever, at the primary purpose for which Cape Horn and Scott Dams and the diversion to the East Branch Russian River were built. After the transformer at the Potter Valley powerhouse failed in 2021, PG&E declined to buy a new one. So the dams will never produce another watt of power. Fortunately, this benefits PG&E’s embattled ratepayers. Between 2005 – 2016, the PVP generated less than ¼ of a percent of all PG&E’s hydroelectric production, yet the PVP cost PG&E (or rather, ratepayers) more than twenty dollars for every dollar’s worth of electricity it made. PG&E cites the significant economic losses of the project as a primary factor in their 2019 decision to withdraw their relicensing application, which led directly to current plans for dam removal. But, while the economic losses started PG&E on the path toward decommissioning, it’s clear that dam safety issues at this century-old, high-hazard facility are what is really motivating PG&E to act quickly to remove this massive liability. … ” Read more from the Friends of the Eel River.
After seeing land sinking in Red Bluff and Corning areas, Tehama County calls meeting
“Parts of Tehama County, including around Red Bluff, Corning and Antelope, are sinking, officials have discovered, prompting an emergency meeting to decide next steps to intervene. In a statement announcing the June 3 meeting, county officials said they found the mid- to southwestern part of Tehama had “observable land subsidence on a scale that has never been recorded.” Land subsidence is a drop in the Earth’s crust — sudden or gradual — into empty underground space, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In Tehama County, some of the area’s groundwater dried up during years of heavy drought, according to the announcement. The soil is now collapsing into the cavity left by the absent water, making the ground above it sink. … ” Read more from the Redding Record-Searchlight.
SEE ALSO: County may declare groundwater emergency, from the Red Bluff Daily News
Does a proposed effort to aid Yuba River fish clear a way for predators, too?
“People who know the lower Yuba River see its waters differently. A conservationist may look for the salmon redds, noting the prevalence of eggs or lack thereof. Engineers see how the weather, snowpack and dam releases affect the river’s depth and flow. Farmers who irrigate from its diversion canals want water when they need it. For anglers who fish the river, the relationship to the water is intimate in a different way. That’s not to say they care or know more than wildlife and water workers. But they know the water, and the fish within it, differently. Changes to the intricate variables dictating the river’s flow and ecosystem cause ripple effects throughout the broader system and watershed. To that point, a new project opening access for fish to swim freely to a dammed section of the river protected from predators for decades has caused debate among those who know the river best. “This is a valuable resource that we don’t want to lose,” said Frank Rinella, a Yuba River angler with the conservation arm of Gold Country Fly Fishers. “We want to protect it.” … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
After two decades of restoration work, a crucial Bay Area habitat returns to its original natural beauty
“It took $25 million and 22 years to restore the 122 acres of Pacheco Marsh, the historic saltwater marshland just northeast of downtown Martinez, where Walnut Creek flows into the Carquinez Strait. Now, kayakers paddle through tidal currents past native wildflowers and coyote brush, while young families and seniors plod along nearly 2.5 miles of flat, paved trails and pedestrian bridges while migratory birds fly overhead – a peculiar juxtaposition of concrete, steam and steel on the horizon from the first Bay Delta project stewarded by the John Muir Land Trust. But the property, located at 2501 Waterfront Road off Interstate 680, once served as dumping ground for sand mined near Alcatraz Island and offloaded by boat, where it would be dried in basins not dissimilar to the salt ponds further south before being shipped to a cement factory. While not as hazardous as the many refineries and chemical plants that dot the Suisun Bay’s industrial shoreline, the land weathered decades of dysfunction. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
Friant Water Authority agrees to replacement pump stations for district that’s suing it. But adds strings
“Fallout from the ongoing who-owes-what dispute over the still sinking Friant-Kern Canal led to some awkward and very carefully worded moments during a meeting to discuss replacement pump stations. At its May 22 meeting, the Friant Water Authority ultimately voted to restart the bidding process to build four replacement pump stations to deliver water from the canal to the Saucelito Irrigation District. But the board added some strings. It will only start construction if: Litigation filed by Saucelito and its sister districts, Porterville and Terra Bella, regarding the “Cost Recovery Methodology” was resolved through a settlement or verdict; and Friant had sufficient cash on hand and certainty of funding sources necessary to cover future payments for the parallel canal and pump stations. The vote elicited a mixed reaction. Saucelito general manager Sean Geivet said the vote “at least confirms both (the federal Bureau of) Reclamation and Friant’s prior contractual commitments to build the pump stations.” … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Meeting notes: The cost of wells and hot button bills discussed
“The Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District board voted to pay $50,000 toward the cost of a new drinking water well that had been dewatered since 2016. That’s about half the cost of the estimated $90,000 needed to replace the well. The rest, $45,000, is expected to come through Self-Help Enterprises, a nonprofit organization that helps provide valley residents with clean water when their wells go dry. … In a legislative update discussion, board member Chuck Griffin, the Indian Wells Valley Water District representative on the authority, reiterated his opposition to Assembly bills 1413 and 1466. A lengthy discussion was held on these bills during a special meeting of the Kern County Board of Supervisors May 5. Supervisors declined to support the bills, which had been brought to that board by Supervisor Phillip Peters who also serves on the board of the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority. Both bills involve how courts handle adjudications, which are lawsuits to establish how much groundwater is available to pump in a region, who has rights to it and how much those rights holders can pump. AB 1413 would require courts to use the sustainable yield figure (how much groundwater is available to pump) established by a region’s groundwater agency. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Ventura: NOAA Cuts Raise Alarms: Local experts warn of ecological impacts caused by reduced federal funding
“Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) officials are not yet sure exactly how expected federal budget cuts to the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) will impact local programs, but it’s already clear anything related to climate change or diversity programs may be on the chopping block. On May 2, a budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 was sent to the U.S. Congress by the Executive Office of the President Office of Management and Budget, known as a “skinny budget,” providing a high-level overview of administration priorities set by President Donald Trump. Steep cutbacks to NOAA operations, research and grants were recommended, especially regarding climate change and programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The document said NOAA “scammed” taxpayers by funding a Columbia University project regarding gender-responsive agricultural adaptation in Guatemala and Mexico. Also targeted for elimination are contracts for satellites “designed primarily for unnecessary climate measurements rather than weather observations.” … ” Read more from the Ventura County Reporter.
Smaller water districts were hit hardest by L.A. firestorms, UCLA report finds
“The January firestorms that swept through Altadena and Pacific Palisades destroyed not only thousands of homes but also portions of the water and sewer systems that served them. Smaller water systems were hit the hardest, according to a study by UCLA researchers released Thursday. In Altadena, for example, the burned areas covered 79% of Rubio Cañon Land & Water Assn.’s service area and 88% of Las Flores Water Co.’s territory. By comparison, less than 5% of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s service area suffered damage. The DWP serves about 4 million people; Las Flores supplies fewer than 5,000. “These fires tested the physical and financial limits of our water infrastructure,” said Gregory Pierce, co-director of UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation. “We need to think not just about fixing pipes, but about redesigning systems and supporting populations that are more integrated, more equitable, and resilient to the next crisis.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SEE ALSO:
After the LA fires, scientists study the toxins left behind
“Nicole Bryne watched anxiously from across the small kitchen in her home as Parham Azimi, a Harvard University researcher, lined up sample bottles next to the running tap. As his phone timer chimed, indicating the water pipes had been flushed for the required five minutes, Azimi began filling collection bottles and packing them to be mailed to a lab in San Diego later that day. Bryne knew it would take weeks to get results back for most of the samples, but she was finally one step closer to answers. Although her home is nearly two miles from Altadena, one of two communities devastated by the wildfires that broke out in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, the rented bungalow on Loma Vista Street in Pasadena was located downwind of the burn zone. Bryne, a therapist and mother of two preschoolers, and her husband, Johnathan Holt, a Ph.D. chemist, knew “too much for comfort” about toxic environmental exposure, said Bryne, “but without a good way to get answers.” … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
California turns on water to create new wetlands on the shore of the shrinking Salton Sea
“Water began flowing from a pipe onto hundreds of acres of dry, sunbaked lake bed as California officials filled a complex of shallow ponds near the south shore of the Salton Sea in an effort to create wetlands that will provide habitat for fish and birds, and help control lung-damaging dust around the shrinking lake. The project represents the state’s largest effort to date to address the environmental problems plaguing the Salton Sea, which has been steadily retreating and leaving growing stretches of dusty lake bottom exposed to the desert winds. California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot celebrated what he called a major milestone as water cascaded into a newly constructed basin and spread across cracked soil Thursday, launching one of the first portions of a long-promised project that was delayed for years because of challenges such as insufficient staff and the need to negotiate land-use agreements. “This project, this water will suppress harmful dust as the Salton Sea recedes. It will also provide thousands of acres of habitat for wildlife, for birds that use this as a rest stop on the Pacific Flyway,” Crowfoot said. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
From crisis to collaboration: The past and future of Colorado River management
“The Colorado River’s water future was a major topic on the agenda at the inaugural meeting of the Metropolitan’s Subcommittee on Imported Water, where Bill Hasencamp, Manager of Colorado River Resources, delivered an update on the ongoing post-2026 guidelines negotiations. These discussions will set the course for managing the Colorado River’s dwindling resources at a time when water reliability is more critical than ever. Reflecting on past challenges like the 2003 loss of 700,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water, Hasencamp highlighted how decades of collaboration, adaptation, and strategic storage helped Metropolitan rebuild resilience. Now, with the current guidelines nearing expiration, finding solutions amid shifting conditions and tough negotiations is paramount. Here’s what he had to say. … ” Continue reading this article from Maven’s Notebook.
The Colorado River is running low. The picture looks even worse underground, study says.
“The dwindling flow of the Colorado River has alarmed the American West for years, but the water losses happening underground are even worse, according to a new study that uses satellite data to measure groundwater supplies across the Colorado River Basin.The research found that the region lost 27.8 million acre-feet of groundwater since 2003, roughly the same volume as the total capacity of Lake Mead — the nation’s largest reservoir — and that the decline accelerated rapidly over the past decade. These groundwater losses accounted for more than twice the amount taken out of reservoirs in the region during that time.“The picture of what’s happening is pretty dire,” said Jay Famiglietti, a professor at Arizona State University and the senior author on the study, published Tuesday in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
Meager snowpack adds to Colorado River’s woes, straining flows to Southern California
“Many of California’s reservoirs have filled nearly to capacity this year with runoff from the ample snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. But the situation is very different along the Colorado River, another vital water source for Southern California, where a very dry spring has shrunk the amount of runoff streaming into reservoirs. The latest forecast from the federal Colorado Basin River Forecast Center shows that the river’s flows into Lake Powell will probably be about 46% of average over the next three months. “We are noticing that runoff is low. There is no doubt about it,” said Luke Gingerich, a farmer who grows peaches near the river in Palisade, Colo. The snowpack in the upper Colorado River Basin reached 89% of the median level on April 1, but the outlook worsened over the last two months because of persistent dryness, warm temperatures and dry soils in the mountains that have absorbed a portion of the runoff. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
NOTICE: New Water Rights Reporting System is Coming Soon!
DELTA SCIENCE PROGRAM: Call for 2025 Delta Synthesis Working Group Ideas and Participants
YOUR INPUT WANTED: CDFW Seeks Public Comment on Draft Guidelines for Recovery Planning
ENV DOCS: USACE releases environmental document for proposed Napa River/Napa Creek floodwalls
