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In California water news this weekend …
DWR Submits Delta Conveyance Project Certification of Consistency with the Delta Plan
“The Department of Water Resources (DWR) submitted a Certification of Consistency with the Delta Plan for the Delta Conveyance Project on October 17, 2025. According to Delta Stewardship Council regulations, materials relevant to this certification will be posted on their website (https://coveredactions.
EXPLAINER: What you need to know about the Delta Conveyance Project Certification of Consistency and the appeals process
“The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has submitted a Certification of Consistency with the Delta Plan to the Delta Stewardship Council for the Delta Conveyance Project, as required by the Delta Reform Act. This process ensures that any state or local agency proposing a “covered action” certifies that the action complies with the Delta Plan’s policies and regulations by submitting a formal Certification of Consistency to the Council. The Certification focuses on the Bethany Reservoir alignment for the Delta Conveyance Project. If implemented, this project would create a dual-conveyance system for the State Water Project (SWP). The system would primarily rely on the existing south Delta pumping facilities while incorporating new infrastructure to divert water during high flows in the Sacramento River. According to DWR, the project is designed to meet all applicable water quality standards and regulatory requirements for endangered and threatened species. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
California’s wet season starts strong. Here’s what that means for the winter ahead
“California’s wet season is off to a fast start. An early season storm delivered significant rainfall across the state this week and blanketed the Sierra with more than 20 inches of snow, a few weeks ahead of the average first snowfall date. This has many people asking the natural question: Is this a sign of a wet winter to come? The short answer is no. One storm, no matter how strong, can’t tell us much about what the next three months will bring. The reason comes down to the difference in time scales for weather and atmospheric phenomena. … While a single October storm may tap into a brief alignment of moisture and jet-stream energy to produce a big storm, how subsequent months play out depends on short- and long-term factors. The 2021-22 and 2022-23 wet seasons illustrate just how disconnected those scales can be. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. | Read via Yahoo News.
SEE ALSO: What Will Winter Bring? NOAA Outlook May Offer Some Clues, from the New York Times
Old school pack trip takes crews to enhance high tech snow sensors
“One of the core services provided by the Department of water Resources is to monitor the state’s snow pack to predict annual runoff. The department uses multiple methods including taking remote readings from sensors high in the Sierra Nevadas called “snow pillows.” A number of those sensors need to be repaired and enhanced but it’s not an easy task. Crews had to trek into the Emigrant Wilderness on horseback 18 miles for just one sensor. A black hawk helicopter brought in the ballast and new Hinge Fold Tilt-Pole, which will make sensor reading easier and more efficient. The trip took four days. And it made for epic photos, which DWR shared online. Here are just a few. … ” Read more from the SJV Water.
Hanford-area farmers again facing fees and “very difficult” pumping restrictions
“A Kings County groundwater agency that fell apart last year amid distrust largely over proposed pumping allocations and fees, is again setting pumping limits and fees – this time with farmer input. At its Oct. 14 meeting, the Mid-Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) board unanimously approved releasing a draft of its pumping allocation policy for public comment for 45 days beginning Oct. 15. The allocation policy determines sustainable yield. That’s the amount of groundwater that can be pumped out of the aquifer without causing negative effects, such as drying up domestic wells or causing land to sink. The policy also sets transitional pumping, a buffer amount above sustainable yield, which will decrease to 0 starting in 2040. The policy sets sustainable yield at 1.43 acre feet of groundwater per acre of land. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
AB 1319 creates “provisional candidate” protections for species facing reduced federal ESA safeguards
“On October 11, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1319 into law. AB 1319 creates a swift, state-level response mechanism if Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA) protections are decreased for species native to California that are not already protected under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). Rather than directing the California Fish and Game Commission (the Commission) to adopt emergency regulations, the law requires the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to: (1) monitor specified federal actions; (2) determine whether those actions decrease FESA protections and would substantially impact one or more eligible species in California and whether provisional candidacy could significantly reduce those impacts; and (3) upon such a determination, publish written findings in the California Regulatory Notice Register that add the species to the Commission’s list of “provisional candidate” species. Provisional candidates receive the same protections as CESA candidate species. … ” Read more from Allen Matkins.
White House says it will halt $11B in projects in Democratic-led cities — including S.F.
“A top Trump administration official said Friday the White House would be “immediately pausing” over $11 billion in projects in cities led by Democrats, including San Francisco. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought specifically called out San Francisco along with New York, Boston and Baltimore in a post on X. Vought blamed Democrats and said the shutdown — which started Oct. 1 — has “drained the Army Corps of Engineers’ ability to manage billions of dollars in projects.” He said “lower-priority projects” could also be canceled. … The Army Corps of Engineers did not say which San Francisco projects would be affected, but told the Chronicle it “may be unable to provide adequate oversight of all the projects currently in the portfolio” because of the shutdown. “Once the lapse and review are over, the Administration may consider taking further actions allowable under the law that limit, cancel, or reprioritize resources in a manner that is consistent with these reviews and with the Administration’s stated priorities,” the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works said in a statement. … ” Read the full article at the San Francisco Chronicle.
SEE ALSO: White House halts $11B for water projects in blue states, from the San Francisco Chronicle
California’s first carbon storage project moves ahead as it faces CEQA lawsuit
“California Resources Corp. on Thursday held a groundbreaking ceremony in Kern County for what’s set to be the state’s first commercial carbon capture and storage project at the Elk Hills oil field near Bakersfield, even as a coalition of environmental and community groups continues to press a CEQA lawsuit against Kern County over its approval. Michelle Ghafar, a senior lawyer at Earthjustice, said the county violated California Environmental Quality Act by failing to properly define the project’s scope, and by analyzing only a narrow portion of it rather than the full system that includes the CO2 sources and broader environmental impacts. “When you look at the (Environmental Impact Report) under CEQA, all you’re seeing is that there will be some capture equipment, there will be some pipelines, and there will be wells that will inject that carbon underground,” Ghafar said. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee. | Read via Yahoo News.
In commentary this weekend …
Failing the Cost-Benefit Test: 100 billion reasons to reject the Delta Conveyance Project
Dan Bacher writes, “The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) claims that the embattled Delta Conveyance Project, AKA Delta Tunnel, would cost $20.1 billion, but independent by expert testimony before the State Water Board this week reveals that the cost would actually amount to $60 to $100 billion. “The cost of the project is estimated to be $20.1B in real 2023 (undiscounted) dollars. A preliminary cost assessment conducted in 2020, early in the design process, showed the project would cost about $16B. Accounting for inflation to 2023 dollars shows that the two estimates are similar in cost. … However, this Wednesday, a partner at a leading environmental economics firm concluded “sobering testimony” at a State Water Board hearing on the Newsom administration’s proposed Delta Conveyance Project, observing it will “burden ratepayers already facing affordability challenges, crowd out critical investments in local water supply projects, and provide no water security to most Southern California communities,” according to a statement from the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN). … ” Read more from the Daily Kos.
Making every drop count: LA County’s Safe Clean Water Program shifts focus to greener, smarter neighborhood solutions
Bruce Reznik, executive director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper, writes, “LA County is experiencing a watershed moment, literally. The county is transitioning its Safe Clean Water Program into a more intentional phase where it is zeroing in on the specific needs and conditions in each of the county’s nine watersheds. It is also partnering with local non-profits to improve community involvement in the process. Now in its seventh year, the voter-approved, taxpayer-funded Safe Clean Water Program has made meaningful initial strides. The program brings in $280 million every year to make the most of every drop of rain that falls in LA County. These funds are intended to pay for projects that make LA’s water supplies more resilient, improve water quality, reduce flood risk and urban heat island impacts, and expand access to green space. … ” Read more from City Watch LA.
In people news this weekend …
Promotions, passings, profiles – submit people news items to maven@mavensnotebook.com.
Sustainable Conservation names Dr. Josette Lewis as next CEO
“Sustainable Conservation is pleased to announce that Dr. Josette Lewis has been selected as the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer, following a nationwide search led by the Board of Directors and executive search firm DSG|Koya. Lewis will assume leadership at the beginning of 2026 after current CEO Ashley Boren retires at the end of 2025 after more than 28 years at the organization. Lewis brings a specialized blend of leadership experience spanning government, academia, corporations, and nonprofits — the very sectors Sustainable Conservation unites to advance practical, collaborative solutions for California’s toughest natural resource challenges. She currently serves as Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at the Almond Board of California, where she oversaw its water stewardship programs and spearheaded the California Pollinator Coalition, a first-of-its-kind partnership among agriculture, conservation organizations, and government agencies to protect threatened pollinator species. … “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am thrilled to welcome Josette Lewis as Sustainable Conservation’s next CEO,” said Jeff Loomans, Sustainable Conservation’s CEO Search Committee Chair and incoming Board Chair. “With her proven ability to create lasting change across government, science, agriculture, and conservation, we are confident she will strengthen our legacy of practical, science-based collaboration while pursuing new solutions for California’s toughest resource challenges.” … ” Read more from Sustainable Conservation.
Nobel chemistry award boosts Irvine startup’s air-to-water technology for drought zones
“Professor Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for a scientific breakthrough that his startup is now on the verge of commercializing. Its technology harvests water from the atmosphere in an increasingly arid world, with the global recognition set to give it a boost. “He has always been highly regarded in the scientific community, but the Nobel Prize gives us additional validation in the business world and simplifies the communication of what we are doing,” said Samer Taha, chief executive officer of Atoco, the Irvine company Yaghi founded in 2020. Taha expects the Nobel to also spark interest among investors, though Atoco declined to comment on the company’s fundraising efforts. Atoco, which will start taking orders for its water harvester in the second half of 2026, is targeting data centers as the artificial intelligence boom stresses water supplies across the U.S. The company is also focusing on supplying water to green hydrogen plants and communities in drought-afflicted regions of the world. The harvesters don’t require electricity and can produce ultrapure water using just ambient sunlight or waste heat from data centers and other industrial facilities. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Honoring John Burton: A key architect of the South Yuba’s Wild & Scenic Future
“As we approach January 1, 2026, we mark a profound milestone: 25 years since the South Yuba River’s State Wild & Scenic designation took effect. This designation was not simply handed down; it was earned through decades of advocacy, political will, and grassroots action. Key to that effort was one powerful and often underestimated force: John Burton. John Lowell Burton (1932–2025) was a towering figure in California politics. He served in the State Assembly, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the California State Senate. From 1998 to 2004, he was President pro tempore of the California State Senate, giving him extraordinary influence over legislative priorities and negotiations. Long before his recent death in September 2025, Burton was celebrated as a fierce advocate for social justice, environmental protections, and giving voice to communities that too often go unheard. But for SYRCL and the South Yuba, his legacy is especially meaningful because of his role in passing SB 496 in 1999, the bill that formally extended the State Wild & Scenic designation to 39 miles of the South Fork of the Yuba River. … ” Read more from the South Yuba River Citizens League.
Podcasts …
Managing groundwater: from policy to practice
California’s 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) was designed to stabilize the state’s groundwater resources, but its implementation has posed significant challenges, particularly for small-scale farmers. Many of these producers across the state face barriers to accessing technical support and taking part in decision-making processes under SGMA. While large agricultural operations can invest in efficient irrigation systems or purchase extra water, small-scale farmers stand to be hit the hardest by water caps and overuse fees. On this episode of Terra Verde, host and producer Hannah Wilton is joined by Catherine Van Dyke, Deputy Director of Water Policy at the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), and Ngodoo Atume, SGMA Small Farms Technical Assistance Coordinator with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Small Farms Network. They discuss how SGMA is playing out on the ground and share their insights on how policy actors can work together to ensure the state’s most vulnerable farmers aren’t left behind.
WATER IS A MANY SPLENDOR’ED THING PODCAST: A Waning Delta
The plight of the Delta Smelt is currently dependent on mankind’s desire and ability to revive the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in California. Doing this requires an understanding of why the Delta has become an unhealthy place and what features and processes need to be corrected. Water is a Many Splendor ’ed Thing and Conversations brings you another water relationship that has a personally significant impact to your life. Produced by Stephen Baker, Bringing People Together to Solve Water Problems, water@operationunite.co 530-205-6388
WE GROW CALIFORNIA: Senator Caballero – Fighting for water reliability and winning with SB 72
Darcy & Darcy welcomed California State Senator Anna Caballero, representing District 14, which stretches across parts of Madera, Merced and Fresno counties. Last year, Senator Caballero joined us and shared with us her efforts on SB 366, a bill that was intended to modernize the California Water Plan and mandated that the Department of Water Resources to set long-term water supply targets.SB366 died in committee, leaving many in the water sector wondering if the water plan would ever have any accountability. The Senator’s back with the Darcys to talk about SB 72, which was just newly signed into law. SB 72 picked up where SB366 left off, setting statutory long-term targets, with an interim target of 9-million-acre-feet. The conversation goes far beyond the bill, and includes the challenges California cities, communities, and water districts face in managing flood waters, repurposing flood control dams for water storage as well, and more.
WATER TALK: Tribal and transboundary issue in the Colorado River Basin
A conversation with Cora Tso (Senior Research Fellow, Tribal Water Policy, Kyl Center for Water Policy, Arizona State University) and Prof. Sam Sandoval (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, UC Davis, Water Talk podcast co-host) about the complex system of water use agreements with Tribes and Mexico.
WATER RESOURCES: Soil health
Nima Shokri discusses the importance of global soil health and its impacts on water resources, food security and sustainable development.
In regional water news this weekend …
NORTH COAST
Salmon clear last Klamath dams, reaching Williamson and Sprague rivers
“For the first time in more than 100 years, Chinook salmon have been spotted at the confluence of the Sprague and Williamson rivers in Chiloquin, the government seat of the Klamath Tribes in Southern Oregon. It’s the latest milestone following the removal of four dams on the Klamath River last year, which was the largest river restoration project in U.S. history. “A hundred and fifteen years that they haven’t been here, and they still have that GPS unit inside of them,” said the visibly giddy Klamath Tribal Chair William Ray, Jr. “It’s truly an awesome feat if you think about the gauntlet they had to go through.” Ray said salmon traditionally comprised about a third of the diet of the Indigenous people in the Upper Klamath Basin. That food source vanished with the building of Copco 1 Dam in northern California in 1918. … ” Read more from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
SEE ALSO: After an over 100 year absence, Klamath River salmon are back in Oregon’s Williamson River!, from Dan Bacher at the Daily Kos
‘The river feels different’: Successes from Klamath dam removal celebrated
“This month marks the one-year anniversary of dam removal along the lower Klamath River, the culmination of what has been described as “the world’s biggest dam removal project.” During a virtual news conference on Oct. 9, environmental groups, tribal organizations and state and local agencies celebrated the milestone. Presenters described dramatic successes, as well as potential setbacks, in detail, outlining efforts along one of the most comprehensive environmental restoration efforts in history. “Just being out there in the community and talking to tribal fishermen, tribal members, sport fishermen … (and) the community at large, there’s this feeling that the river feels different,” Barry McCovey Jr., director of the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department, told attendees. … ” Read more from the Eureka Times-Herald.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Lake Tahoe sees 60% increase in vessel decontaminations to combat invasive species threats
“In 2025, inspectors with the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Program have conducted nearly 5,000 decontaminations, urging visitors to “clean, drain, and dry” their equipment. Jeff Cowen, public information officer with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), said, “The boat inspections have been going on with mandatory inspections since 2008. And there’s been 123,000 boat inspections since that time.” The lake, a popular destination and the oldest freshwater lake in North America, faces threats from aquatic invasive species. This year, mandatory vessel decontaminations have been implemented for both motorized and non-motorized watercraft. Since March, inspectors have decontaminated 4,700 motorized vessels and 10,000 non-motorized craft, marking a 60% increase since 2024. Cowen noted, “14 vessels total were found with mussels on board.” … ” Read more from Channel 4.
Sierra Nevada, California Tahoe Conservancies co-sponsor nature-based solutions tour for policymakers
“On Wednesday, Oct. 8, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) and California Tahoe Conservancy (Tahoe Conservancy) co-sponsored a tour through South Lake Tahoe and Markleeville to share how the conservancies are advancing Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) through post-fire reforestation, wildfire-risk-reduction and wetland restoration projects, with state and federal funds. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy and the Tahoe Conservancy offered this tour to policymakers and government officials to provide an on-the-ground experience with Nature-Based Solutions projects. Nature-Based Solutions are a suite of land-management activities that channel natural processes to remove and store carbon, prevent future emissions and help communities adapt to climate impacts. From forest thinning to wetland restoration, the tour featured projects that demonstrate how working with nature can address pressing environmental challenges, and the important role state conservancies play in advancing Nature-Based Solutions. … ” Read more from the Sierra Sun.
SEE ALSO: Tour showcases collaboration, elevates rural water agency challenges, from the Mountain Democrat
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
California Department of Water Resources says algal bloom on North Fork of Lake Oroville has cleared
“The California Department of Water Resources announced that an algal bloom in Lake Oroville’s North Fork arm has cleared after several weeks. Water testing found no toxins present in the area between Stony Creek and the train tunnel below French Creek. Algal blooms can be identified by small blue-green, green, white, or brown particles in the water, streaks resembling spilled paint, mats, scum, or foam on the surface or shoreline, and an odor similar to gasoline, septic, or fishy smells. Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, are naturally occurring in ecosystems. Under certain conditions like warmer temperatures and increased nutrients, these algae can rapidly grow and form blooms that may produce harmful toxins. … ” Read more from Action News Now.
CENTRAL COAST
Monterey Peninsula Water Management District set to ask state to allow new water meters on the Monterey Peninsula
“Freedom is the agenda when the directors of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District meet at 6pm Monday, Oct. 20, as the board is poised to consider finally taking the historic step of applying to the State Water Resources Control Board to modify its cease-and-desist order against Cal Am, which has precluded the private utility from setting new water meters since 2009. For 16 years now, that order has weighed down the Peninsula like an anchor, halting nearly all construction of new homes or businesses. But now, with the expansion of Pure Water Monterey complete and online as of Oct. 10, the Peninsula’s current supply of water is more than 11,000 acre-feet annually (as approved by the CPUC in August), while in the past water year that ended Sept. 30, the Peninsula’s demand was 9,092 acre-feet of water. That’s up slightly from 8,972 last year, but brings the 5-year average down to 9,245 acre feet of demand. … ” Read more from Monterey Now.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Supervisors to weigh $28.5m water infrastructure package for Crows Landing Business Park
“The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors is poised to evaluate a $28.5 million package for construction and project management that aims to advance water infrastructure for the Crows Landing Industrial Business Park. Located on the site of a former naval airfield, this long-term economic development effort seeks to unlock access to more than 14 million square feet of industrial space and create thousands of living-wage jobs as the park reaches full build-out. The proposed action would adopt plans and specifications for Phase 2022 and 2024 well improvements, Phase 1A water facility construction, and an offsite water project. If approved, the county would award a $23.59 million construction contract to Mozingo Construction, Inc., and enter into a $2.49 million professional services agreement with Brown and Caldwell to oversee construction management and project oversight. … ” Read more from Westside Connect.
$21.5 million for flood projects in the southern San Joaquin Valley a “great start”
“At least two residents of the tiny community of Pond were excited and hopeful by news that state money for flood control might go toward Poso Creek, which flooded several Pond homes in 2023. “I think it’s a great start,” Kevin and Diane White said in unison. The couple has lived in Pond for 38 years and said they only got about a 10 minute warning in 2023 that flood water was headed their way. The couple attended a press conference Friday in McFarland touting the appropriation of $21.5 million – half the amount originally sought – for flood safety projects in Kern, Kings and Tulare counties. Several homes and businesses in Pond were damaged by flooding, including the Pond Mutual Water Company’s well. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
EASTERN SIERRA
The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power prepares to fight
“The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) is preparing to fight at the future hearing before the California State Water Resources Control Board. While the date has yet to be announced, the hearing will be the State Water Board’s opportunity to evaluate and decide if a reduction in Mono Basin water exports is required to raise the level of Mono Lake. DWP asserts that everything is fine at Mono Lake, it’s healthy and doing well despite the fact that it remains only halfway to the mandated level 31 years after the decision to raise it. DWP’s current narrative is that the lake is at a “steady and encouraging level.” But Mono Lake is not healthy. The ecosystem is showing signs of stress and strain as decades of an artificially low lake have created accumulating impacts. Mono Lake remains nine feet below its mandated level, and 35 feet below its pre-diversion level. … ” Read more from the Mono Lake Committee.
SEE ALSO: LA City Council reaffirms support for Mono, from the Mono Lake Committee
The little-known groundwater Los Angeles pumps in the Owens Valley, and the tribes who want it back
“In a desert landscape dominated by sagebrush, a piece of Los Angeles’ immense water empire stands behind a chain-link fence: a hydrant-like piece of metal atop a well. The electric pump hums as it sends water gushing into a canal, forming a stream in the desert. This well is one of 105 that L.A. owns across the Owens Valley. They were drilled decades ago, many of them when the city opened a second giant pipeline, nearly doubling its famous aqueduct to send more water south. While many Californians know the story of how L.A. seized the valley’s river water in the early 1900s and drained Owens Lake, fewer know that the city also pulls up a significant amount of water from underground. The pumping has led to resentment among leaders of Native tribes, who say it is leaving their valley parched and harming the environment. “We’ve seen so many impacts from groundwater pumping,” said Teri Red Owl, an Indigenous leader. “There’s a lot of areas that are dewatered, that are dried up.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Long Beach leaders want cities along the LA River to improve debris mitigation efforts
“Long Beach will look at ways to hold towns along the Los Angeles River accountable for trash and other debris that flows down the channel and ends up on the city’s beaches and in its waterways, officials said this week. The City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 14, directed the city manager and staffers to look into such solutions, as well as to research how Long Beach can help other cities improve their watershed debris mitigation efforts to help reduce trash and debris that ends up in Long Beach. “Our goal is simple, a Los Angeles River that’s treated as a shared regional asset, not a shared regional dumping ground,” Councilmember Kristina Duggan said. “We know that to get there, we need buy-in from a broad coalition of people, and all voices are welcome.” … ” Read more from the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
Along the Colorado River …
Editorial: The Colorado River needs compromise not reckless threats and hyperbole
Views from the Nation’s Press writes, “Arizona and California’s chief water negotiators are coming for Colorado in a blistering public pressure campaign aimed at getting upper basin states to capitulate. In an interview with the L.A. Times, the negotiator for California accused the upper basin states of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico of clinging to “their most aggressive and rigid dreamland legal positions.” In an op-ed for The Denver Post, Arizona’s negotiator suggested failing to come to the table with cuts could “let slip the dogs of war.” This over-the-top hyperbole from both men illustrates just how poorly conversations to save the Colorado River are going behind closed doors. The federal government has given the seven states that rely on the Colorado River a deadline of Nov. 11 to commit to a general compromise on water use. Obviously, a consensus agreement would be far better than the Trump administration’s Department of Natural Resources implementing its own plan. … ” Read more from the Daily Camera.
Commentary: The water conundrum
George Caan, former executive director of the Colorado River Commission of Nevada from 1996-2011, writes, “When I returned from Washington state to Nevada after my wonderful retirement send-off, I was again reminded of my career on the Colorado River, working on water management issues as the executive director of the Colorado River Commission. I spent 15 years participating in the Western water world, watching as the system’s hydrology collapsed. I wondered if we were doing the right thing to improve the system’s efficiency to generate water, or if much more drastic steps needed to be taken to conserve water from an overallocated river system. In 2007, the states and the federal government negotiated operating guidelines that were a good compromise for allowing water to be used as needed and recognizing the system’s state. Banking water in Lake Mead and adopting strong efficiency measures (especially in Nevada) contributed to peace along the river. This peace was interrupted over the last few years as these guidelines will expire in 2026. The system’s hydrology is worse today than when the original guidelines were approved. … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Commentary: Is growing food in the desert a waste of water?
Julie Murphree, director of strategic communications at Arizona Farm Bureau, writes, “In an era of escalating water-shortage concerns and shrinking resources, a provocative question looms: Is growing food in the desert a waste of water? For some, the sight of sprawling farmland in arid regions like Arizona might seem an extravagant use of a precious resource. Yet, a closer look at American agriculture, particularly in states like Arizona, reveals a different story. Far from being a wasteful endeavor, farming is a cornerstone of local and national food security, and innovative water conservation methods practiced daily in Arizona agriculture are ensuring its sustainability. The real waste would be failing to recognize how these efforts bolster our resilience in an uncertain world. I even tell myself it’s hyperbole to ask the question. But it’s not when I consider how often my colleagues and I are asked why farmers grow cotton, alfalfa and other crops in the desert or generally why so much water is being used for agriculture. And, yes, we’ve had individuals suggest that using water for agriculture is wasteful. It’s puzzling to me, in light of the high level of public concern about food prices, that some would advocate for tying farmers’ hands or even forcing farms to close. … ” Read more from Arizona Farm Bureau.
The unseen water crisis beneath Nevadans’ feet: disappearing groundwater
“The water beneath our feet is vanishing, putting people, plants and animals at risk in the Nevada desert. An August study published in the academic journal Hydrological Processes uses publicly available data to paint a dismal picture of Nevada’s groundwater wells. About 40 percent of the more than 6,500 wells analyzed show sharp declines in water levels — a concerning fact as projections of elevated temperatures worsen drought throughout the state. “Groundwater is really tricky,” said Laurel Saito, The Nature Conservancy’s Nevada water strategy director and lead author of the study. “People don’t usually think about it or even know that it’s there. That also makes it tricky to manage, because it’s hard to tell sometimes if we’re using more of it than is being replenished.” … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Wyoming’s draft pilot conservation program ‘a good starting point’ but there’s room for improvement
“With the Nov. 11 deadline to finish the Colorado River negotiations fast approaching, Wyomingites got their first look at a draft of the state’s Green River pilot water conservation program during a meeting held Wednesday. Brandon Gebhart, the state engineer responsible for managing and regulating the water within Wyoming, and the state’s representative in the negotiations, provided a sparse update on the talks during a Colorado River Advisory Committee meeting, noting that discussions between the basin states “are continuing.” While a supply-driven solution in which the seven Colorado River Basin states would split the actual flow of the river rather than relying on the static allocations set by the 1922 Colorado River Compact is “still on the table,” according to Gebhart, the states are also discussing other frameworks for sharing the river. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
In national water news this weekend …
House rep demands answers about delayed EPA report on PFNA, a toxic forever chemical
“The ranking member of a key House subcommittee demanded answers this week from the Environmental Protection Agency about why it has yet to make public a report documenting the health risks posed by a forever chemical found in the water of millions of Americans. In a letter sent to the EPA on Thursday, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, cited a ProPublica story from last week that quoted government scientists saying the report had been ready for publishing in April but had yet to be released. Pingree — the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies — asked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for “clear answers” about why the report had not been made public, who directed its delay and when Zeldin would commit to releasing it. … ” Read more from Pro Publica.
Also on Maven’s Notebook this weekend …
PUBLIC NOTICE of Draft General Order for Waste Discharge Requirements for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material to Waters of the State and Partial Water Quality Certification and Partial Denial of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 2026 Nationwide Permits
