A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
California achieved significant groundwater recharge last year, state report says
“A year of average precipitation gave California’s groundwater supplies a significant boost, according to a state analysis released Tuesday. California’s aquifers gained an estimated 2.2 million acre-feet of groundwater in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30, the state’s 2024 water year. That’s about half the storage capacity of Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir. State officials said local agencies reported that about 1.9 million acre-feet of water went underground as a result of managed aquifer recharge projects designed to capture stormwater and replenish groundwater. The boost to underground supplies occurred while the state is implementing water-saving programs and regulations intended to help curb chronic overpumping in farming areas in the Central Valley. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Report: How much water is available for groundwater recharge in the Central Valley?
“Groundwater recharge is a powerful tool for increasing water supplies and building resilience for dry years. The wet winter of 2023 created ample opportunity for refining and improving recharge practices, and good progress was made—about a 17 percent increase in recharge volumes over 2017, another wet year. But many groundwater basins remain far from their recharge goals, and since 2023, discussion has intensified on how to augment recharge without harming other water users or the environment. Our high-level look at conditions in 2023 in the Central Valley—California’s largest watershed—illustrates how much water would be needed to comply with environmental regulations in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta and how much might have been made available for other purposes, including groundwater recharge. Rechargers lack the capacity to capture all of this potentially available water, and some recharge would entail tradeoffs with downstream uses—particularly exports from the south Delta by the state and federal water projects. Still, the abundance of wet years could be better managed by understanding when additional diversions for recharge could take place without harming other users, and when partnerships and policy tools could facilitate more recharge. This analysis also provides a starting point for understanding opportunities and constraints in drier years, when the tradeoffs would loom larger.” Read the full report from the PPIC.
How is SGMA affecting growers’ planting and drilling decisions?
“California is now ten years into a revolution in groundwater management. In 2014, the state passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) which requires newly formed local groundwater sustainability agencies to develop long-term plans to reduce overdraft by 2040. To date, more than 250 local agencies have written and begun implementing groundwater sustainability plans, with more than 100 plans in action. This has taken enormous effort and represents a significant departure from the prior status quo for groundwater management in California. Many wonder, however, if SGMA is affecting behavior around the use of the groundwater resource yet. Are farmers making decisions around planting or drilling new groundwater wells with future SGMA reductions in mind? If so, are they switching away from permanent crops that may not have available water through 2040? We set out to answer those questions with publicly available data. … ” Read more from UCANR.
DWR highlights successful partnership with California’s farming community to protect groundwater supplies
“Thanks to a collaborative and forward-thinking partnership with groundwater sustainability agencies and California farmers, the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) LandFlex Program has protected thousands of community wells, furthered California’s groundwater recharge efforts, and protected critical water infrastructure from subsidence, all while keeping farms operational and sustainable. LandFlex first launched in 2022 when California was in its third year of a severe drought and hundreds of drinking water wells were going dry in the Central Valley, impacting frontline communities. To address these impacts, DWR awarded $23.3 million in grant funding to six groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) in the Central Valley. These GSAs distributed funds to small and mid-sized farms to help transition to more sustainable practices while eliminating groundwater overdraft and protecting drinking water supplies. In total, 52 farms participated in the program and enrolled 4,474 acres of farmland. As a result, the program helped save over 100,000 acre-feet (AF) of groundwater, protected 16,500 drinking water wells, and reduced the over-pumping of groundwater on Central Valley farms. … ” Read more from DWR.
Delta leaders applaud exclusion of Delta tunnel from budget; tunnel proponents say streamlining efforts will continue
“Governor Newsom and state lawmakers have reached a budget agreement for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, though additional budget items are expected over the summer. Newsom’s approval of the spending plan hinges on lawmakers passing a bill to streamline new housing development by reforming the California Environmental Quality Act, a priority he has advocated for since May. While the governor’s proposed budget included plans to fast-track the Delta Conveyance Project, budget documents reveal this initiative will not move forward. Here are reactions from the Delta Caucus, Californians for Water Security, State Water Contractors, and the Southern California Water Coalition. … ” Read more at Maven’s Notebook.
Trump cuts to Delta levee repair projects could put Stockton in jeopardy
“The Trump administration is proposing to cut the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ construction budget next fiscal year by more than half, a move that could devastate levee restoration projects in the Delta. The proposed cuts, which would reduce the construction budget by 53% compared to the amount previously allocated, could include work on the San Joaquin Basin Project in Stockton, said U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy. The basin project is directed at protecting 300,000 residents from flooding. Harder is one of 12 members of Congress who sent a letter urging that funding be restored. The congressional members sent the letter to the chairperson and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Energy and Water Subcommittee. … ” Read more from Stocktonia.
Harder demands restoration of flood-control funding
“Today, Rep. Josh Harder (CA-09) demanded a reversal of proposed cuts to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) flood protection projects, including the San Joaquin River Basin Project in Stockton. The Administration’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) is 53% lower than previously enacted levels, and excludes funding for vital flood prevention projects in the Valley and across California. Proposed cuts come at a crisis moment in Valley flood mitigation: The Delta region faces a greater flood risk than New Orleans did before Hurricane Katrina. In Stockton alone, over 90% of properties are at risk during a major flood event. More than 1,100 miles of Delta levees need repairs. “Yanking flood protection funding at the last-minute makes no sense and puts our Valley communities at risk,” said Rep. Harder. “We face flood threats every year because of aging infrastructure and we worked across the aisle to finally get the flood protection we need. Now, Washington is trying to steal back funding for our levees, and I refuse to let them get away with it.” … ” Read more from Congressman Josh Harder.
The Water Blueprint and Trump’s Executive Order 14181
“The Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley met in person at Fresno State University’s Jordan Agricultural Research Center and on Zoom on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. We’re beginning to hear more and more about the “Water Blueprint” here in the San Joaquin Valley. It’s a volunteer organization working to identify and prioritize plans and projects that will help secure better water supplies for all the people of the San Joaquin Valley. It’s a fairly inclusive bunch. Ag interests are of course represented and those interests include rural Disadvantaged Communities, DACs, environmental concerns. The big take away for this meeting was the Blueprint adopting a proposal on how to implement Executive Orders and both Trump and Newsom Administrations’ concern for a more equitable distribution of water throughout the state. … ” Read more from Water Wrights.
Every drop counts: Urban water retailers and the future of California water conservation
“Beginning January 1, 2025, the “Making Conservation a California Way of Life” regulatory framework requires urban retail water suppliers — not individual households or businesses — to adopt a series of “urban water use objectives.” And beginning January 1, 2027, the regulations require urban retail water suppliers to annually demonstrate compliance with those objectives. The objectives are calculated based on indoor residential water use; outdoor residential water use; commercial, industrial and institutional irrigation use; and potable reuse. Implementation of the objectives includes setting and meeting specific targets for reducing water use per capita, improving system efficiency, and reporting progress to state regulators. Urban retail water suppliers are also required to implement water conservation programs, support the development of drought–resilient infrastructure, and encourage customers to adopt water-saving practices such as using “climate ready” landscapes. … ” Read more from Allen Matkins.
For the future of water conservation, look to … Los Angeles?
” … there is one indisputable fact that keeps surfacing in the conversations I have about California water that feels like something of a beacon. The first time I heard it, it came as quite a surprise. Over the last half century or so, millions more people have moved to greater Los Angeles, settling in increasingly far-flung reaches of the desert and in the mountains, requiring more faucets, toilets and shower heads, producing more garbage and more gridlock on the 405 freeway, reinforcing all the clichés about excess and sprawl. And during this same time, Angelenos have been consuming less water. I don’t just mean per person, though that figure, according to state authorities, is down by a whopping 43 percent since 1990. I mean, residents and businesses in the Los Angeles area now consume less water in total. The population has grown, yet the city consumes less water. … ” Read more from the New York Times.
Regional climate plan sets course for a resilient Delta
“At its June 26, 2025, meeting, the Delta Stewardship Council adopted the first-ever comprehensive regional climate adaptation plan for California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Part of the Council’s Delta Adapts climate initiative, the Adaptation Plan details strategies and actions to improve regional resilience to climate change across four focus areas: flood risk reduction, ecosystems, agriculture, and water supply reliability. It also identifies equity considerations of adaptation, costs, and governance challenges. The Council will work with its partners and other interested parties to implement the Adaptation Plan’s strategies, which will benefit current and future generations. … ” Click here to read the Delta Adapts Plan.
How changing ocean colors could impact California
“Earth’s oceans have been getting greener at the poles and becoming bluer closer to the equator, according to a study published Thursday in Science. The shift reflects changes in marine ecosystems, which experts say could affect fish populations and create problems for fisheries, including in California. “It has lots of potential implications for the way we use the ocean,” said Raphael Kudela, a professor of ocean sciences at UC Santa Cruz, who wasn’t part of the new study. The scientists analyzed satellite data from 2003 to 2022 to track ocean concentrations of chlorophyll, a green pigment that phytoplankton use to absorb sunlight and produce sugars. While phytoplankton are often associated with harmful algal blooms, they are also the base of the marine food web, serving as food for fish and other sea creatures. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
These 4 million acres of California forests could lose protection. Here’s what Trump’s ‘roadless rule’ repeal could do
“The Trump administration’s plan to repeal a rule prohibiting logging and road construction in undeveloped parts of national forests would strip protection from more than 4 million acres within California’s borders. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced on Monday that she will act to rescind the “roadless rule,” developed during the Clinton administration, to allow “for fire prevention and responsible timber production” on more than 58 million acres of national forests. But experts are divided about whether allowing road development and timber harvest in national forests will help prevent wildfires. Though roads can aid in firefighting and fuel reduction and serve as fire breaks, roads can also mean more people — and people mean more sparks that can ignite wildfires. And some experts say timber harvests may not reduce fire severity because they can promote growth of more flammable fuels in forests. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Pollution from wildfires can contaminate our water for up to 8 years, study finds
“When wildfires devastated a wide swath of Los Angeles last winter, officials warned residents of several ZIP codes not to drink the water, or boil it first if they must. They worried that soot, ash, and other debris from the blazes might have infiltrated the groundwater, or that damaged pipes might allow toxins into the supply. The last of these “do not drink” orders was lifted last month. But the first large-scale study of post-wildfire water quality has found that pollution created by such a blaze can threaten water supplies for eight years — far longer than previous studies indicated. Researchers at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, or CIRES, at the University of Colorado Boulder analyzed 100,000 samples from 500 watersheds across the western United States. They found “contaminants like organic carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment” throughout those that had burned. At their peak, those pollutants can be found at levels up to 103 times higher than before the fire. There also can be 9 to 286 times as much sediment in water after a fire. … ” Read more from Grist.
Firefighting foams contain toxic PFAS. Could soybeans be the answer?
“Jeff King has served on the volunteer fire department in Corydon, Kentucky, for over 30 years. He is well aware of the dangers of the job — including one that may be hiding in the supplies he and his crew use to keep others safe. Many of the foams firefighters spray to extinguish blazes contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are a class of human-made chemicals that repel water and oil; it’s this quality that makes them effective at battling tough-to-put-out fires, like those started with diesel fuel. The chemicals are also tied to a host of human health problems, from reproductive issues to high cholesterol to certain types of cancer. King admits that some of the foams he’s used over his career “may or may not be good for us.” That’s why he visited Dalton, Georgia, last year to meet with representatives from Cross Plains Solutions, a company that developed a PFAS-free firefighting foam made from soybeans. After seeing the foam in action, he was impressed. “The product performs just fantastic,” said King. And because it has been certified as PFAS-free, he figured, “there’s nothing in it that could potentially make me or any other firefighter in this country that uses it sick. I just thought, ‘Wait a minute, this is almost a no-brainer.’” … ” Read more from Grist.
In commentary this week …
Edward Ring: The Grand Water Bargain
“For the last few decades in California, the conventional wisdom has been that farmers and urban water consumers have to improve efficiency and reduce consumption. To the fullest extent possible, rain and snow falling on watersheds must proceed unimpaired from the mountains to the ocean, and if water is reserved in reservoirs, releases of the stored water must prioritize maintaining flow in the rivers over diversions for agriculture or urban consumption. This conventional wisdom is reflected in most water policies and water infrastructure investments. It is reflected in a new slogan adopted by the California Department of Water Resources, “Making Conservation a Way of Life.” That slogan is the rhetorical centerpiece of recent legislation that will restrict indoor water use by urban consumers to 42 gallons per person per day, and set budgets for outdoor water use. As for California’s farmers, it is estimated that approximately one million acres is expected to be taken out of production in order to maximize the unimpaired flow of water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and out to the Pacific ocean. … ” Read more from Edward Ring.
Heat domes, wildfires, floods and drought. Where’s the outrage?
Eugene Linden, author of “Fire & Flood: A People’s History of Climate Change From 1979 to the Present, writes, “As I write this, the temperature is climbing past 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the mid-Atlantic states, and 170 million Americans are under warnings about a dangerous combination of intense heat and humidity. Is this latest weather extreme linked to global warming? Of course it is, as has been the case with record-setting floods, extreme hurricanes, droughts and wildfires that go back decades and afflict every corner of the globe. Amid these extremes, we have the Trump administration seemingly trying to roll back or reverse every environmental initiative of the past 55 years. Yet nobody seems to care. In the early 1990s, I gave a lot of talks about how environmental awareness had become an American value. The early 1970s saw the passage of the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Within 20 years, Time magazine was making planet Earth its “Man of the Year,” and the first Earth Summit met. But now I think I spoke too soon. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
In regional water news this week …
Six things to know about the Potter Valley Project and Eel River restoration
“Since CalTrout’s inception 50 years ago, we have worked tirelessly to protect and restore the Eel River. This remarkable river, the third largest in California, holds immense potential to recover a harvestable population of wild salmon. These salmon have long served as an economic driver on the North Coast and have been vital to the communities that have lived near the river for thousands of years. As PG&E moves forward with its plans to remove Scott and Cape Horn dams as part of its decommissioning of the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project, here are six things to know about how and why this is happening. … ” Read more from Cal Trout.
Tahoe’s fatal June snowstorm was rare — but not unheard of. What summer Sierra visitors should know
“Eight people died last weekend on Lake Tahoe in a boat accident during a rare June storm, three of them from the Bay Area. The powerful storm flipped their boat near the southern reaches of the lake, in a sudden weather shift that took aback beachgoers on the shore, who were expecting a warm summer day out on the lake, and also dusted nearby mountaintops with fresh snow. This storm, known as a microburst, blew through the region quickly, bringing wind gusts up to 35 mph and creating waves up to 10 feet high, witnessed at the lake, according to the National Weather Service. … ” Read more from KQED.
Los Osos fears seawater push inland contaminating groundwater
“Famously the unincorporated town of Los Osos on the California Central Coast, was the subject of a 35-year building moratorium that was only lifted earlier this year. The community of 15,000 is overseen by the county Board of Supervisors who has now allowed a few residential projects that would hook up to the local groundwater supply to move forward. Currently Los Osos water supply is 100% sourced by groundwater.The supervisors use a formula that is dependent on the health of the groundwater aquifer as measured each year. For years, there has been a debate within the community over whether we are pumping too much of that groundwater allowing seawater to intrude into the community’s aquifers.But now a new “more accurate” groundwater model released this month appears to show the town may not have the water to sustain growth without significant new initiatives. Without new hook ups – seawater is already moving in, says the model. What to do? … ” Read more from Sierra 2 the Sea.
Deal that relied on Kern County water for housing 200 miles away sours, potentially leaving residents high and dry
“The Kern County Water Agency is poised to cut off the only water source for a 600-home development in Stanislaus County as of June 30 unless residents there agree to a 200% increase in water rates, jacking up their bills to $600 a month. Even then, the increase will only buy a bare minimum of water through Dec. 31, according to a letter from KCWA to the Western Hills Water District. The Western Hills board president Mark Korvich declined to comment, directing SJV Water to documents on the district’s website. Western Hills serves the Diablo Grande development, once planned as a sprawling 5,000-home luxury golf community in the foothills west of Patterson. Even so, KCWA put Western Hills on notice April 2 this year that it intends to terminate the 24-year-contract under which it has been delivering water to the community. KCWA’s stance is that Western Hills stopped paying the water delivery costs five years ago, racking up $13 million in debt, and KCWA can no longer carry that load. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Kern County Water Agency extends deadline for Western Hills Water District to September 30
“At its meeting on June 26, 2025, the Kern County Water Agency’s Board of Directors took action to unconditionally extend the deadline relating to water supplied by the Agency to Western Hills Water District from June 30, 2025 to September 30, 2025. The Agency had previously granted a conditional extension through December 31, 2025 pending the outcome of the Proposition 218 rate hearing but
determined the shorter unconditional extension was warranted in light of the short time between the June 28 rate hearing and the June 30 deadline. If Western Hills’ proposed rate increases are approved without a majority protest at the June 28 rate hearing, then the December 31 deadline will remain in effect. … ” Read more from the Kern County Water Agency.
Kern River plaintiff alleges region’s groundwater plan ignores harm to river flows
“In a comment letter to the state Water Resources Control Board, one of the plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit over Kern River flows alleges information has been withheld from the region’s groundwater plan to the detriment of the river. Water Audit California states a number of entities, including the City of Bakersfield and its main drinking water purveyor California Water Services, “…failed to disclose the adverse impacts that their groundwater extraction is having on interconnected surface waters, thereby causing injury to the public trust and its biological components,” according to the June 20 letter. Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), regions that have over pumped aquifers must bring them into balance by 2040 to avoid specific harms. One of those harms is sucking out so much groundwater that it damages existing, natural interconnections that exist between the water table and streams, wetlands, springs or rivers. Water Audit contends that diverting Kern River water into groundwater recharge basins that are then pumped for drinking water, creates an interconnectivity that may affect stream flows. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Can Santa Barbara’s water supply keep up with housing?
“The question is inevitable: Does Santa Barbara County have enough water to support the new housing it desperately needs? A Grand Jury report released this month says yes. It’s an unusual twist. The watchdog group’s investigations usually highlight failures in local governance. However, the Water Management report found that Santa Barbara County, and all its individual water agencies, are operating “magnificently” and are adequately planning to meet the needs of new developments, according to foreperson Dale Kunkel. Kunkel, a current communications professor and former Congressional Science Fellow, spoke with notable verve about the Grand Jury’s work. A separate report from the Grand Jury this month was a reminder that the South Coast’s housing shortage is “reaching crisis levels,” especially for low- and moderate-income residents. … ” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent.
ANALYSIS: LA Waterkeeper samples from LA River show shocking levels of PFAS contamination
“Today, Waterkeeper Alliance released a new analysis of American waterways that sounds the alarm on a PFAS pollution emergency. In a test of waterways from across the country, 98% were found to be contaminated with one or more types of PFAS chemicals, with concentrations frequently exceeding health-based criteria. Here in Los Angeles, LA Waterkeeper (a member of Waterkeeper Alliance) took samples in the LA River upstream and downstream of the LA-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant outfall into the river. The sampling showed that water both upstream and downstream of the outfall contained multiple types of PFAS, in line with the national report that demonstrates these “forever chemicals” are nearly ubiquitous in waterways around the country. Developed in partnership with the Hispanic Access Foundation and local Waterkeeper groups in 19 states, including LA Waterkeeper, samples were collected from U.S. surface waters upstream and downstream of 22 wastewater treatment plants and 10 permitted biosolids land application sites. The results were striking: 95% of sites downstream from wastewater treatment plants and 80% of sites downstream from biosolids fields showed elevated PFAS levels. … ” Read more from the LA Waterkeeper.
Colorado River states see possible breakthrough as deadline looms
“State negotiators grappling with how to share the drought-ravaged Colorado River say they could be close to breaking free from gridlock just as the Trump administration warns that missing a November deadline could force the federal government to take control. Members of the Upper Colorado River Commission — which represents Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — announced Thursday that the states are weighing a new method of sharing the waterway based on the actual flow of the river, as opposed to projected flows and historical agreements. “The basin states have been exploring an explicit supply-driven operational framework based on the natural flow of the river,” said Becky Mitchell, who serves as both Colorado’s Colorado River commissioner and acting chair of the Upper Colorado River Commission. The plan — at the heart of which is a formula for declaring how much water can be shared among the seven states each year, based on actual flows from the preceding three years — was proposed by the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada, Mitchell said. … ” Read more from E&E News.
Colorado River managers present plan to share water based on supply, not demand
“The seven states that share the Colorado River are floating a new concept for how water could be shared in the future, marking forward progress after a long standoff between the Upper Basin and Lower Basin states. Officials from Colorado laid out the proposal, which they are calling a supply-driven approach, at a meeting of the Interbasin Compact Committee (IBCC) in Grand Junction on Wednesday. The amount of water released from Lake Powell would be based on a percentage of a three-year rolling average of the “natural flow” at Lee Ferry, the dividing line between the Upper Basin (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) and the Lower Basin (Arizona, California and Nevada). The natural flow is what would flow past Lee Ferry if there weren’t any Upper Basin dams or diversions. A supply-driven approach adds a measure of annual variability, meaning that in dry years there would be less water released from Lake Powell and therefore less available for Lower Basin use. Exactly how much of the natural flow would be released to the Lower Basin is one of the big unanswered questions of the concept, still to be fleshed out. … ” Read more from Aspen Journalism.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
NOTICE: Draft Environmental Assessment Released for Seasonal Pump-back Facilities
NOTICE: Reclamation’s final Shasta Temperature Management Plan now available
