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On the calendar today …
- LEG HEARING: Senate Committee on Environmental Quality beginning at 9am. Click here for more information.
- LUNCH-MAR: Regenerative Agriculture, Water and Nitrogen in the California Central Valley from 12:30 – 1:30pm. Presenter: Daniel Rath, Natural Resources Defense Council What does California’s new definition of regenerative agriculture mean for water quality and recharge efforts? This session explores how the state’s landmark move to define regenerative agriculture could influence groundwater programs—especially efforts to manage nitrate contamination. Learn how Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) may support both soil health and cleaner water when paired with smart nitrogen strategies. To join a Lunch-MAR Session, please use this link.
In California water news today …
California Aqueduct repairs: Billions needed to fix subsidence
Land subsidence along the California Aqueduct is threatening the ability of the State Water Project to deliver water, an important piece of infrastructure for millions of Californians. The recently released addendum to the 2023 SWP Delivery Capability Report from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) reveal significant reductions in flow capacity as sinking land constricts the aqueduct’s channels, particularly in subsidence-prone areas of the San Joaquin Valley. With repairs estimated to cost billions, officials are exploring engineering fixes, collaboration with local agencies, and funding solutions to safeguard one of California’s most vital water delivery systems. At June’s Metropolitan Imported Water Subcommittee meeting, Sarah Bartlett, interim manager for the State Water Project Supply and Programs Team, explained the challenges and outlined DWR’s efforts to address them. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
Cabaldon says it is time to ‘move on’ from Delta tunnel
“The budget package signed by Newsom this week does not include his proposals to waive regulations to “fast-track” the Delta Conveyance Project, nor does it authorize the issuance of bonds despite a court ruling that the bond plan exceeded the governor’s authority. Sen. Christopher Cabaldon says it is time to move on from the decades-old effort to build a water tunnel from Northern California to the south. The Yolo Democrat’s comments come after the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta representatives successfully rebuffed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to use the 2025-26 budget to fast-track the project. “Thankfully our advocacy worked, and this budget does not include any language that would brush aside legal requirements to advance the tunnel and destroy the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,” Cabaldon said in a statement. “We’ve told the governor, ‘If you want to propose this, you’re going to have to come through the Legislature’s policy committees in the full light of day.’” … ” Read more from the Daily Republic.
Time to hear from the protestants: Delta Conveyance Project update for July 2025
“Last month, the California Department of Water Rights (DWR) concluded the presentation of its case-in-chief for the hearing on the water rights petition for the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP). The next portion of the hearing involves the submittal and presentation of testimony by entities protesting the DCP, or protestants. They will offer testimony about how the project will cause harm to fish, people, and the natural environment. Written testimony from the protestants is due July 11. The protestants will present their testimony and stand for cross examination in hearings from early August through mid-October. CSPA plans to offer testimony as a protestant in the DCP hearing this summer. It will be joined by other environmental, fishing, and environmental justice organizations, as well as by tribal representatives. … ” Read more from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
Healthy Rivers and Landscapes funding restored
“Gov. Gavin Newsom on June 27 signed a budget bill that restores more than $351 million in funding for the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (HRL) Program. The bill replaces an earlier budget proposal from the Legislature that would have eliminated the funding that was appropriated in the 2022-’23 and 2023-’24 budgets for the HRL program. The restoration of this funding represents progress toward restoring the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta (Bay-Delta). ACWA is a long-standing supporter of the HRL Program, previously referred to as Voluntary Agreements, as the best approach to protecting, restoring and enhancing the Bay-Delta. ACWA staff, in coordination with other associations and individual ACWA members, urged legislators to preserve the funding. ACWA also issued an Outreach Alert encouraging members to contact their legislators, which had a significant impact toward restoring this funding. … ” Read more from ACWA’s Water News.
California is full of hidden reservoirs. These mystics find them.
“On a recent sunny Monday morning, 85-year-old Doug Brown pulled up to a breakfast joint in Willits in his white pickup. Bold white letters on the tinted camper shell window spelled out “Water Witcher,” with Brown’s phone number written just below. Inside the truck was a quiver of wire rods, each tipped with different metals or materials, to be used for Brown’s practice of an archaic tradition: water dowsing. In an age defined by dry spells and dwindling resources, an unlikely group continues to quietly deploy their centuries-old practice in search of water. Called dowsers, water witchers or diviners, members of this eclectic guild claim they can locate the Earth’s hidden reservoirs using primitive technology and intuition, all for a price. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
How people in homeless encampments affect fish populations
“Across California, encampments of people who experience homelessness negatively affect fish populations in multiple ways. The long list of concerns includes poaching fish, cutting down trees above rivers, and polluting waterways. The best way to help fish is to assist unhoused populations get housing and remain housed. Communities also need to address the economic and social issues that lead to housing insecurity. This prevents the establishment of new encampments and a return to previously used spots. Strategies to prevent homelessness and housing insecurity involve many steps and take time. As communities work on economic and social issues, they can explore how different actors like water agencies and law enforcement offices should collaborate to protect fish and fish habitats. … ” Read more from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
Beneath layers of waste, landfills around the US have been reaching scorching temperatures, and neighbors have been getting sick.
“Last year, Brandi Howse’s annual mammogram returned a grim diagnosis: Stage 3 breast cancer. To save her life, she had her breasts removed, then her ovaries. She’s free of the disease now and continues to take medication. It was all a particular shock, says Howse, who is 50, because her mammogram the year before had been clean. Several of her neighbors on Lincoln Avenue in Val Verde, California, have similar stories of cancers, autoimmune disorders or heart problems that seemed to come out of nowhere. She and her neighbors say they can’t be sure of the cause, but given the number of people who are sick in their community of about 3,000, they have a guess. Hidden behind a foothill about 500 yards from Howse’s front door, on the northwest edge of Los Angeles County, sits Chiquita Canyon Landfill, one of America’s largest repositories of municipal waste. While the landfill has often seemed on the verge of closure, it’s grown by more than 200% over the quarter-century Howse has lived nearby. … ” Read more from Bloomberg (gift article).
Governor Newsom challenges President Trump to adopt model executive order to help ‘Make America Rake Again’
“Governor Gavin Newsom today urged President Trump to follow California’s lead and step up the federal government’s management of its forestlands in California to help protect communities from catastrophic wildfire. Over half of the forests in California – 57% – are owned by the federal government, compared to the state’s 3%. The Governor sent a model executive order to the White House for the President to issue to help the federal government match California’s efforts and better manage its forestlands. The order – if signed by the President – would direct the federal government to increase its forest management capabilities and investments to match the most advanced state and local government efforts, like California’s historic investments. … ” Read more from Governor Newsom.
Newsom calls on Trump to boost wildfire preparedness and ‘make America rake again’
“As California’s fire season heats up, Gov. Gavin Newsom sharply criticized the Trump administration Tuesday for failing to devote adequate resources to wildfire preparation and response efforts on federal lands. Newsom said his office sent the White House a proposed executive order that, if signed, would direct the federal government to match California’s forest management investments and capabilities in the state. “We made it easy,” Newsom said at a news conference at Cal Fire’s Mt. Howell Lookout tower in Placer County. “The president could sign this afternoon.” As of Tuesday, California was actively fighting nine wildfires and much of inland Northern California was under red flag fire warnings due to the threat of lightning strikes. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SEE ALSO: Newsom to Trump: I wrote the executive order on fighting wildfires, from the San Francisco Chronicle
Wildfires erupt in California as drought conditions expand
“Fire season is in full swing across California, with more than a dozen wildfires igniting since Saturday. Most of the blazes are burning in the southern half of the state, where dry conditions are more extensive, allowing fires to quickly get out of hand. Hundreds of firefighters are working to contain wildfires in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, which have even forced evacuations. In Riverside County, the Wolf Fire has exploded in size after first being spotted over the weekend outside of Banning, California. As of Tuesday, according to CAL FIRE, more than 2,400 acres had burned, with containment only around 35%. … ” Read more from Fox Weather.
Environmental groups are outraged after Newsom overhauls CEQA
“The Golden State’s tug-of-war between environmental advocacy and a worsening housing crisis came to a head Monday evening when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills that will overhaul the landmark California Environmental Quality Act in an effort to ease new construction in the state. The two pieces of legislation, Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131, were linchpins in the approval of a proposed $320-billion annual state budget deal; the governor’s signature was conditional on their passage. … Newsom said the bills will break down long-standing barriers to development, speeding up production, cutting costs and allowing the state to address its housing scarcity. “Today’s bill is a game changer, which will be felt for generations to come,” the governor said in a statement. Development experts agreed, saying it is among the most significant reforms to CEQA in its 55-year history. But its passage sparked fierce backlash from environmental groups who say it marks a sweeping reversal of essential protections for the state’s most vulnerable landscapes, wildlife and communities. … ” Continue reading from the LA Times. | Read via AOL News.
DAN WALTERS: California lawmakers finally achieve ‘holy grail’ reform of state’s key environmental law
“Jerry Brown once described reform of the California Environmental Quality Act as “the lord’s work” but he, like other recent governors, was not willing to invest enough political capital to change it. Simply put, significantly altering CEQA, which then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signed more than a half-century ago, would require confronting two powerful interest groups: environmental organizations and labor unions, which have weaponized the law to achieve their goals. Brown made one stab at compelling the Legislature to alter CEQA in 2016, but otherwise left it to his successor, Gavin Newsom. For six years, Newsom echoed the attitudes of his predecessors, critical of CEQA’s misuse to block housing and other much-needed projects, or compel developers to hire unionized labor or jump through other hoops, but unwilling to confront it head-on. … ” Read more from Dan Walters at Cal Matters.
SEE ALSO: California Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law, from the New York Times
And lastly … The secret to solving climate change could be hiding in your toilet
“Scientists at Colorado State University think that solutions to climate change could be hiding in your shower head, water heater or toilet. Microbiologist James Henriksen is researching whether microscopic organisms that have adapted to live in these environments possess traits that people could one day use to sequester carbon dioxide — which contributes to global warming — or scrub harmful pollutants from the environment. Henriksen is no stranger to such discoveries. In 2023, he and fellow researchers discovered a new type of bacteria that metabolizes carbon dioxide released from underwater volcanic vents. They called their finding, “Chonkus.” Like plants, Chonkus uses photosynthesis to turn carbon dioxide into energy and oxygen. … ” Read more from Rocky Mountain PBS.
In commentary today …
How deep-pocketed groundwater users are stalling California’s sustainability plans
Scott Hayman, chair of the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority, writes, “California is at a groundwater management crossroads as legal loopholes threaten to undo the state’s progress toward responsible groundwater sustainability. At the core of this legal conflict are two legal processes. The first is the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the landmark law passed in 2014 to bring order to overdrafting of basins and ensure long-term sustainability of the state’s groundwater resources. The second is groundwater adjudications, a legal tool to determine water rights of who can pump water and how much they can use. Increasingly, these two legal processes are clashing. As a result, it is causing confusion, delaying implementation of groundwater sustainability plans and further putting California’s water future at risk. In fact, nearly a quarter of state-approved groundwater sustainability plans are being challenged in a groundwater adjudication. … ” Continue reading this commentary.
The boot on our necks
Carolee Krieger, C-WIN, writes, “Year in and year out, decade after decade, through gubernatorial administrations of both parties, Californians have endured a great inequity: our water has been stolen from us. Even worse, we’ve had to subsidize the handful of corporate power brokers who’ve committed this crime. California’s water is a public resource held hostage. Its storage, distribution and use involve its transfer from the rivers of the North State and the Sierra Nevada to corporate farms in the Central Valley and Southern California cities. Two behemoth public works initiatives – the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project – have made this possible. The twin projects were completed in the mid-20th Century and heralded as the definitive solution to California’s water woes. Both draw water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, once the most productive estuary in the western continental United States. Through the CVP and the SWP, it was declared, water insecurity was a thing of the past. Yes, the Delta’s water quality, fisheries and wildlife might suffer, but the price, urban ratepayers were assured, was worth it: they would always have enough water. … ” Read more from C-WIN.
Walk a mile in their boots
Jason Giannelli writes, “It is a beautiful May morning on one of our farms. As we wrap up the wheat harvest, we are running tillage equipment behind it to prepare for planting corn silage. It’s remarkable how far we’ve come as farmers and as an industry, achieving more with less and increasing yields. The same applies to water conservation—everyone is committed to being more efficient with irrigation. We are often told that drip irrigation is the best method and that flood irrigation is inefficient. In fact, flood irrigation was instrumental in helping replenish overdrafted aquifers following construction of the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. But if flooding is so inefficient, then why, during flood years, do agencies beg us to flood our fields, claiming it’s beneficial for water recharge or building water banks? … Blaming agriculture as the sole cause for over pumping is absurd. We are already losing more farms and farmers, and more land is going idle. While I strongly support private property rights and believe farmers should be free to grow what makes economic sense, the real issue is government overreach. … ” Read more from the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley.
In regional water news and commentary today …
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Third TUD water rate increase takes effect
“The Tuolumne Utilities District Board of Directors approved a five-year water and wastewater tiered rate increase in mid-2023. The biggest jump was in year one. For example, a residential water customer with a 1-inch or smaller meter saw an $18 increase effective August 1 of 2023. It went up another $2.14 on July 1st of 2024, and it goes up an additional $2.05 today. There is also an 11-cent increase in the quantity charge. In addition, a residential wastewater customer will see a 46-cent increase in the monthly base rate, starting today. The district heard strong opposition from many customers in 2023 but argued that the rate hikes were needed to ensure long-term water reliability and safety. … ” Read more from My Mother Lode.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Sacramento Valley floodplain enhancement for salmon and shorebirds
“In 2025, NFWF launched the first Sacramento Valley Floodplain Enhancement for Salmon and Shorebirds funding opportunity. A partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this funding supports multi-benefit floodplain restoration projects that enhance habitat for anadromous fish and migratory shorebirds while also advancing the long-term health of the Sacramento River Basin and the communities who live and work there.Nearly the entire Sacramento River Basin is part of a floodplain complex that historically provided abundant habitat for fish and wildlife. The wetlands of the Sacramento Valley once helped support the largest Chinook salmon populations in California and provided crucial feeding and stopover habitat for tens of millions of shorebirds during their annual migration. In addition to providing benefits for a wide array of species, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is also an area of enormous agricultural value, with about 500,000 acres of land in rice production that is estimated to contribute $1 billion to California’s economy. … ” Read more from the NFWF.
Progress on Battle Creek is officially underway
“In May 2025, the final iteration of the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project launched. The launch follows years of delay and changing priorities in the wake of Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s (PG&E) 2018 decision not to seek a new license to operate the Battle Creek Hydroelectric Project. In a parallel process, May 2025 also marked the start of the clock for PG&E to formally divest itself of the Battle Creek Hydroelectric Project. Battle Creek is a waterway in Shasta and Tehama counties in northeast California. It is fed by snowmelt and springs on the west side of Mount Lassen. Its cold water runs constantly throughout the summer. This makes it excellent habitat for salmon and steelhead. But access for these fish to the habitat was largely blocked in the past by dams that are part of PG&E’s Battle Creek Hydroelectric Project. … ” Read more from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
BAY AREA
Chinook salmon in the Lower Mokelumne River
“During the 2024-2025 fall run, 35,450 adult Chinook salmon returned to the Lower Mokelumne River to spawn. This broke the previous 2023-24 season’s record of 28,698. The combination of successful and innovative hatchery operations, habitat enhancement, and the management of cold-water flows from Camanche and Pardee reservoirs account for the consecutive record-breaking returns. East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) funds the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery and runs it in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Mokelumne River hatchery personnel produce and release millions of fall-run salmon smolts each year. CDFW personnel release the majority of the smolts in the Delta or coastal harbors, where survival rates are up to ten times higher than they are for smolts released in the lower Mokelumne River near the hatchery. … ” Read more from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
Rule change aims to steer golfers away from Palo Alto wetlands
“After fielding complaints about golfers damaging sensitive wetland habitat in the Palo Alto Baylands, the city has installed fences, added signage and instituted a new “local rule” in an effort to keep the area pristine. The issue of golfers trampling on Baylands plants surfaced in 2023, when a complaint from a local environmentalist prompted intervention from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. The course’s Water Quality Certification permit required the course to expand the wetlands habitat and remove invasive species, but for five years the city failed to monitor progress and file annual monitoring reports. Since then, the city has worked with the state water board to achieve compliance with permit conditions, Chief Communications Officer Meghan Horrigan-Taylor wrote in an email. … ” Read more from Palo Alto Online.
CENTRAL COAST
Strawberries value breaks $1B in Monterey County in historic first
“Monterey County’s gross production value of its agricultural commodities increased 14.7% to nearly $5 billion, roaring back from a decline the previous year, with one crop standing out with a historic achievement of its own. County of Monterey Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo released the 2024 Crop and Livestock Report on Tuesday, and noted that strawberries were the top crop again this year, valued at $1,039,220,000, a 15% increase over the previous year, and making history as the first commodity to achieve that figure. “That is really incredible, quite an amazing historical achievement for our county,” said Hidalgo. “This is the first time in the county’s history where we have a single commodity reaching the $1 billion gross production value.” … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald.
Paso Robles landowners protest groundwater fees in petition
“A group of property owners who rely on the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin has launched a petition seeking to suspend the ongoing Proposition 218 vote organized by the Paso Robles Area Groundwater Authority. The petition, which was made public June 30, alleges the process violates constitutional rights, does not meet legal notice requirements, and misleads rural landowners about financial impacts. Rural residential properties use about 2 percent of the groundwater from the basin, with most of that returned to the ground through recharge. According to the petition, which is available at https://sites.google.com/view/prop218petition, multiple violations of Proposition 218 are outlined. The measure guarantees property owners the right to protest or vote on new or increased fees attached to their properties. The petition states that rural domestic pumpers—the largest class of basin overliers—were not notified about their inclusion in the PRAGA budget or informed of their protest rights. This is despite language in the rate study stating, “Primary rates apply to rural domestic pumpers.” … ” Read more from the Paso Robles Daily News.
New water project boosts drought resilience for local growers
“United Water Conservation District (UWCD) recently completed the first phase of its Laguna Road Pipeline Project, bringing it one step closer to replacing groundwater as the primary source for agricultural irrigation. This new interconnection links Pleasant Valley County Water District’s (PVCWD) infrastructure with UWCD’s Pumping Trough Pipeline (PTP) System to deliver recycled water and help conserve local water resources. “Our local farmers are vital to this region,” said UWCD Board Member Keith Ford. “This new connection provides a high-quality water supply that’s not impacted by drought, helping ensure dependable yields for farming and fortify water basin management year after year.” … ” Read more from ACWA Water News.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Disappointing water allocations for the Central Valley
“California growers get the first news about how much water they will get for their operations that year in late February. In bad years, the news can start and end there. In over half of the past 24 years, however, allocation updates — usually slight increases, but not always — trickle in each month through the end of June. June came and went this year without an update to the 55% water allocation for Central Valley Project (CVP) South-of-Delta agricultural contractors received in late May. Of course, finding out you’re only getting half of your annual water allocation in May or June doesn’t work well for growers who have already planted crops. Knowing earlier rather than later is necessary to make fruitful plans. … ” Read more from The Packer.
Homeowners approve 200% water rate increase in hopes of keeping Kern County water flowing – at least for now
“Residents of a development hundreds of miles north of Kern County on Saturday approved a massive water rate hike in hopes of appeasing a local agency that has provided them water for the past 24 years under a convoluted exchange deal. They will go from paying about $200 a month for the base connection fee to $568 a month. The money will go to the Western Hills Water District so it can repay the Kern County Water Agency a debt of $13 million that KCWA says it owes in unpaid water charges. KCWA had said it would cut off supplies to Western Hills, which serves the Diablo Grande development in the foothills west of Patterson, by June 30 if residents didn’t agree to the rate hike. But on June 26, KCWA board members, apparently in closed session, extended that deadline to Sept. 30 to allow Western Hills to “develop an alternate supply,” according to a letter KCWA sent Western Hills on June 27. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
A new toxic metal has been found in the air after L.A. fires. No one knows where it’s coming from
“Krista Copelan’s home didn’t burn in the Eaton Fire. But for months afterward, it was filled with poisonous traces of things that did. … And on Copelan’s kitchen floor: beryllium. A little-known earth metal prized for being lighter than aluminum but more rigid than steel, beryllium is safely used commercially in numerous products, including electronics and cars. But when heated, objects containing beryllium can release the metal as microscopic particles that infiltrate the lungs. The substance is so dangerous that even a minuscule concentration in air over time — equivalent to a few grains of salt in an Olympic-size swimming pool — can spur development of cancer cells, or a lifelong and sometimes fatal respiratory disease.Beryllium has been found in dozens of homes in the Eaton and Palisades fire zones, test results obtained by the Chronicle show. … ” Read the full story from the San Francisco Chronicle.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Audubon California report reveals a 15% overall increase per year in shorebirds at the Salton Sea
“A recent science brief from Audubon California highlights a significant increase in wetland habitat at the Salton Sea and the positive impact this has had on shorebird populations. From 2016 to 2023, waterbird populations have seen an average growth rate of 15 percent per year, with a remarkable record of 250,000 shorebirds counted in a single day during an Audubon survey conducted in August 2023. This report presents findings from bird surveys and habitat assessments, demonstrating how avian populations are adapting to the environmental changes occurring in the area. It also outlines additional findings and provides recommendations aimed at fostering a healthier and more sustainable Salton Sea, which serves as a vital stopover for migratory birds. … ” Read more from the Imperial Valley Press.
SAN DIEGO
California lawmakers ask Trump to address sewage pollution from Mexico
“Several California state assembly memebers are asking President Trump to declare a state of emergency as a way to quickly mitigate sewage pollution that for decades has been tainting the Tijuana River Valley just north of the border. On Tuesday morning, legislation known as AJR 16, received unanimous support in the Assembly’s Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. In the coming weeks, the bill will go before the full state assembly for a vote. Assemblymember David Alvarez, one of the sponsors, says Trump needs to take action to address the “environmental injustice facing communities, which have endured beach closures, air and water contamination, and diminished economic activity.” … ” Read more from the Border Report.
Along the Colorado River …
‘We stand on the brink of system failure’: Feds up pressure for states to reach deal on the future of the Colorado River
“In a meeting at the Utah State Capitol June 26, the river’s four Upper Basin state commissioners further embraced the idea of a “divorce” with their Lower Basin neighbors — an idea also floated at a meeting in eastern Utah last week, as reported by Fox 13. “Today we stand on the brink of system failure,” said Becky Mitchell, the commissioner for Colorado. “We also stand on the precipice of a major decision point.” Despite a few wet winters, storage in Lake Powell and Lake Mead — the nation’s largest reservoirs — are teetering close to the dangerously low levels they hit in 2023. “We have to deal with reality,” said Gene Shawcroft, Utah’s commissioner. “We don’t have a choice.” … ” Read more from the Times Independent.
Map shows struggling water levels across major US lakes
“Water levels at some of the United States’ largest reservoirs are well below average for this time of year, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). Lake Mead was 31 percent full as of June 29, with just over eight million acre-feet of water in storage, according to the data. This equated to 52 percent of the average storage level for this date between October 1, 1990 and August 30, 2020. Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the U.S. by capacity — capable of storing more than 26 million acre-feet of water, according the USBR. It is followed by Lake Powell, which is capable of storing 24 million acre-feet. Declining water levels in these reservoirs could jeopardize city water systems, farm irrigation, and hydroelectric power output. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
Colorado water board grants hearing over Shoshone Power Plant water rights deal
“Colorado’s top water board unanimously agreed Tuesday to hear out Front Range water operators’ concerns about a Western Slope plan to purchase historic Colorado River water rights. The Colorado River Water Conservation District, which represents 15 Western Slope counties, negotiated a $99 million deal to purchase water rights tied to the century-old Shoshone Power Plant, owned by a subsidiary of Xcel Energy. The River District and the Front Range groups — Aurora Water, Denver Water, Colorado Springs Utilities and Northern Water — all want to maintain the historical flows past Shoshone to provide predictable water supplies long into the future. They mainly disagree about the amount of water involved. Front Range providers say, if the number is too high, it could hamper their ability to provide water to millions of people. … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
In national water news today …
US critical infrastructure exposed as feds warn of possible attacks from Iran
“Hackers working on behalf of the Iranian government are likely to target industrial control systems used at water treatment plants and other critical infrastructure to retaliate against recent military strikes by Israel and the US, federal government agencies are warning. One cybersecurity company says many US-based targets aren’t adequately protected against the threat. “Based on the current geopolitical environment, Iranian-affiliated cyber actors may target US devices and networks for near-term cyber operations,” an advisory jointly published by the The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FBI, Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, and the National Security Agency stated. “Defense Industrial Base (DIB) companies, particularly those possessing holdings or relationships with Israeli research and defense firms, are at increased risk.” … ” Read more from Ars Technica.
Devices that pull water out of thin air poised to take off
“More than 2 billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water, with global warming and competing demands from farms and industry expected to worsen shortages. But the skies may soon provide relief, not in the form of rain but humidity, sucked out of the air by “atmospheric water harvesters.” The devices have existed for decades but typically are too expensive, energy-hungry, or unproductive to be practical. Now, however, two classes of materials called hydrogels and metal-organic frameworks have touched off what Evelyn Wang, a mechanical engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), calls “an explosion of efforts related to atmospheric water harvesting.” So far, none of the devices can compete with established approaches to augment water supplies, such as desalinating seawater. But some applications—cooling data centers and slaking the thirst of soldiers on the move—could support higher costs until the technology scales up, says Samer Taha, CEO of Atoco, a California-based startup. “There are many applications where atmospheric water harvesting can help.” … ” Read more from Science.
Wastewater treatment plants channel ‘forever chemicals’ into waterways nationwide
“Harmful “forever chemicals” flow from wastewater treatment plants into surface water across the U.S., according to a new report by a clean-water advocacy group. Weekslong sampling by the Waterkeeper Alliance both upstream and downstream of 22 wastewater treatment facilities in 19 states saw total per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations increase in 95 percent of tested waterways after receiving discharge from the facilities. Some of the waterways supply drinking water to nearby communities. The study also found increased PFAS levels downstream of 80 percent of waterway-adjacent fields treated with “biosolids,” solid matter recovered from the sewage treatment process and spread on farmland as fertilizer. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
Trump’s first EPA promised to crack down on forever chemicals. His second EPA is pulling back.
“One summer day in 2017, a front-page story in the StarNews of Wilmington, North Carolina, shook up the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. The drinking water system, it said, was polluted with a contaminant commonly known as GenX, part of the family of “forever” PFAS chemicals. It came from a Chemours plant in Fayetteville, near the winding Cape Fear River. Few knew about the contaminated water until the article described the discoveries of scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency and a state university. Given that certain types of PFAS have been linked to cancer, there was widespread anxiety over its potential danger. In the onslaught of legal action and activism that followed, the EPA during President Donald Trump’s first term took an assertive stance, vowing to combat the spread of PFAS nationwide. In its big-picture PFAS action plan from 2019, the agency said it would attack this complex problem on multiple fronts. … But now, the second Trump administration is pulling back. The EPA said in May that it will delay enforcement on the drinking water limits for PFOA and PFOS until 2031, and it will rescind and reconsider the limits on the other four. … ” Read more from Pro Publica.
SEE ALSO: How plants could help us detect, and even destroy, dangerous ‘forever chemicals’, from Grist
US Supreme Court dealt blows to EPA and environmental protections
“The U.S. Supreme Court delivered setbacks to environmental interests in a series of recent rulings including by further restricting the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority and relaxing requirements for environmental impact studies for proposed projects. While cases involving President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration and other issues captured attention during its just-completed nine-month term, the court also continued its years-long trend of narrowing federal protections for the environment in several rulings that could be a boon for businesses. Wendy Park, a lawyer with the Center for Biological Diversity environmentalist group, said those rulings “dealt huge blows to the environment and public health and safety.” “We’ll all suffer from unhealthier air, less safe water and more climate warming,” Park added. … ” Read more from Reuters.
Fighting invasive plants: the ones we’ve got and those we think are coming
When it comes to invasive plants, achieving a state of mindfulness isn’t just about being fully in the present moment. The all-out focus on managing invasives that are here now may be standard procedure, but when that’s done at the expense of monitoring and prevention efforts, it can exact too high an environmental price, according to invasion ecologists. We must look ahead as well. This is particularly critical on the larger scale, in conservation. Even for gardeners whose far smaller decisions may impact beyond their backyards, though, scientists urge a shift from being exclusively reactive to taking proactive steps. Overlook the early warning signs, or disregard invasion risk factors, and pay the price. “If we’re not proactive, the number of invasions we’re going to be dealing with in the future is only going to be bigger,” said Evelyn M. Beaury, assistant curator at the New York Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Restoration Ecology. “It’s so much easier to do something about an invasion when it’s in an early stage. Your chances of success are much higher.” … ” Read more from the New York Times.
Trump administration wants to axe all of NOAA’s climate research
“The Trump administration wants to zero out climate research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), according to a newly released budget document. The document calls for no funding to go to the agency’s climate laboratories or regional climate data and information. It also wants to zero out research at NOAA’s weather research program and weather laboratories, as well as its tornado and severe storm research. The budget document also calls for a shutdown of weather and climate laboratories around the country, including a lab in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, that tracks greenhouse gas emissions and another in Miami whose research includes hurricane studies. … ” Read more from The Hill.
Trump uprooted a major climate effort. Scientists are fighting back.
“Scientists are exploring ways to keep alive the nation’s top climate report following the Trump administration’s decision Monday to remove archived versions of the National Climate Assessment from the internet — along with the entire website for the government body that produces them. The previous reports likely will live on in some digital form — at least eventually. What’s happens to the next installment is another question. A White House spokesperson told POLITICO’s E&E News that all five preexisting NCAs eventually would be housed on NASA’s website. NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said the agency is “currently pursuing a technical pathway” to host the reports, but it’s still a work in progress. That means it’s unclear whether digital elements from the previous reports — such as an interactive atlas presenting visual data from the last assessment in 2023 — would make it to the new webpages. Some scientists worry, too, that the reports may be reduced to pdfs linked on some hard-to-find corner of the web. … ” Read more from E&E News.
