A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
Appellate court tanks injunction that had held off state groundwater intervention in Kings County
“Dual appellate court opinions issued Wednesday in a closely watched groundwater case out of Kings County will likely mean three things: Farmers there will have to start reporting extractions and paying fees; the state will reopen communications with local water managers; and the lawsuit will continue. The Kings County Farm Bureau sued the Water Resources Control Board in May 2024 after the Water Board placed the Tulare Lake subbasin, which covers most of Kings County, on probation for lacking an adequate groundwater plan. Under probation, farmers must meter and register their wells at $300 each, report extractions and pay the state a $20-per-acre-foot fee. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
SWRCB Authority & SGMA Enforcement: Appellate Court dissolves Tulare Lake injunction and guts Farm Bureau’s lawsuit
“On October 29, 2025, the Fifth Appellate District Court of Appeal issued two decisive, companion opinions that have significant implications for the legal landscape for SGMA enforcement in California. In a general victory for the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board), the appellate court reversed a preliminary injunction that had completely halted state intervention in the Tulare Lake Subbasin. Simultaneously, the court ordered the trial court to grant the State Board’s demurrer, gutting the Kings County Farm Bureau’s (Farm Bureau) core civil claims against the state. These rulings generally affirm the State Board’s authority under SGMA, clarify the path for challenging its decisions, and have immediate, significant implications for all Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs), landowners, and water users in basins facing a potential probationary determination and state intervention. … ” Read more from AALRR.
New research reveals California cannabis cultivation and regulatory process puts Tribal cultural resources at risk
“A comprehensive new report from researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Northeastern University reveals that cannabis cultivation in California threatens Tribal cultural resources. As in other arenas of development, however, protecting those resources faces systemic challenges. Based on findings from a two-year study that surveyed both Tribal and agency representatives across the state, the survey found that the state’s current consultation policies, while stronger than in many other states, remain inadequate and are inconsistently applied, leading to significant risks of irreparable harm to Tribal cultural heritage sites. “Our research shows a significant disconnect between state policy and the experience of California’s Native American Tribes. The current cannabis permitting system, while well-intentioned, fails to adequately protect ancestral lands and cultural resources,” said Jennifer Sowerwine, principal investigator on the project, and UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley. “It’s not just about historical preservation; it’s about respecting Tribal sovereignty and ensuring that this new industry does not perpetuate old harms. These findings provide a clear roadmap for the state to move beyond performative consultation toward a process that is truly meaningful and just.” … ” Read more from UC ANR.
Train spilled 1,400 tons of coal around California river. Did it violate state law?
“Union Pacific, a freight rail company, is accused of violating California law after train cars spilled tons of coal last year into the Sierra Nevada’s largest river. On Feb. 11, 2024, a train with at least 12 rail cars derailed in Plumas County, near Blairsden, because of a “track defect,” according to a preliminary report issued by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. About 1,400 tons of coal tumbled across a snow-covered embankment and splashed into and settled around the Middle Fork Feather River, authorities said. Discussions to settle a civil case between Union Pacific and local prosecutors have been ongoing for months after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife investigated the incident, according to the Placer County District Attorney’s Office. State law prohibits coal from contaminating the state’s waters and imposes a $25,000 civil fine for each penalty. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
Water or rail? KCWA push to redirect federal funding
“As California faces growing water challenges, some say it’s time to rethink where our infrastructure dollars are going. The Kern County Water Agency is pushing for more investment in water projects rather than the high-speed rail. The Water Agency says federal funding should be shifted away from California’s high-speed rail project and instead be used to modernize the State Water Project’s Delta Conveyance Project. This project provides water to 27 million people — including Kern County, Southern California, and other regions. It supports nearly 750,000 acres of farmland and plays a critical role in California’s economy, supporting millions of jobs and hundreds of thousands of businesses statewide. Water Agency leaders claim the Delta Conveyance Project would secure reliable water supplies for decades to come — while the high-speed rail continues to face cost overruns and delays. … ” Read more from Channel 23.
This collaboration between farmers, water officials and environmentalists is saving wildlife
“Water policy in California is defined by fighting. Water agencies, farmers, cities and environmentalists argue over every last drop available in the state’s overdrawn water system. Plans to fix the system languish for decades, and if they’re implemented, they end up in court for many more years. The Floodplain Forward Coalition has broken out of that paradigm. Floodplain Forward brings together conservation groups such as Audubon, California Trout and Ducks Unlimited, agricultural interests such as the California Rice Commission, water providers and other interest groups to work on some of the state’s biggest water problems. Members of Floodplain Forward say the stakes are high in the effort to address issues such as habitat loss for fish and waterbirds. To take one high-profile example, the endangered status of the Chinook salmon has led state officials to consider reducing agricultural and municipal water use on the Sacramento River watershed to provide more water for fish. … ” Read more from Comstock’s Magazine.
A lifeline for salmon: UCSC and NOAA join forces to secure a future for California’s most iconic fish
“Nearly every day for the past 20 years, scientists from UC Santa Cruz and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have waded into Scott Creek, a 12-mile-long burbling stream in Santa Cruz County just a few miles north of Davenport. Dressed in waders and toting bags and buckets, these scientists navigate the stream’s chilly waters and muddy banks in search of coho salmon. Along the coast of central California, coho salmon are endangered. But the young salmon in Scott Creek may hold the key to the species’ recovery. As the southernmost population of coho in the state, the salmon in Scott Creek are adapted to warmer and drier conditions than their more northern cousins. By studying the evolution, ecology, and genetics of this population, scientists at UCSC and NOAA hope to gain insights that could help them ensure the survival of the species throughout California. … ” Read more from UC Santa Cruz.
As California’s storm season begins, weather office short-staffing prompts fears
“National Weather Service offices in California are scaling back operations ahead of the critical winter storm season, as federal cuts and staffing shortages take a toll. The California-Nevada River Forecast Center, which is run by the weather service and provides water managers with critical data to prevent river flooding, is seeing cutbacks that could end up “limiting the state’s ability to track … dangerous shifts in weather,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said last week. Elsewhere, weather service scientists are stretched so thin that meteorologists in Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area are simultaneously forecasting waves at Pacific beaches and snow in the Sierra Nevada — far beyond their typical area of responsibility. The number of written forecasts issued by the Sacramento office, which watches for winter storms across the Northern Sierra, has plummeted since it announced cutbacks in April. The forecasts contain critical information that doesn’t exist elsewhere, and the decline has been noticeable, according to Daniel Swain, climate scientist at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
ILRP: 2nd agricultural expert panel considers targets, limits, and nutrient management
“At its October 22 Working Group Meeting, the Second Statewide Agricultural Expert Panel made progress in assigning each of their “charge questions” to a two-person team, clarified the timeline for completion of their final report, and continued in-depth discussion of questions 1 and 2, which, in sum, ask if there are enough data to set crop-specific nitrogen-related limits and what series of increasingly protective limits could be set now. Because of California’s strict public meetings law, known as the Bagley-Keene Act, all work of the Ag Expert Panel must be conducted at “open and noticed” meetings that have been announced to the public in advance. The one exception is for a committee of less than three persons, which may convene without public notice–thus the two-person teams. In addition, Bagley-Keene prohibits “serial meetings” of more than two panelists, therefore the teams cannot be “mixed and matched.” … ” Read more from Jane Sooby at Maven’s Notebook.
Gov. signs bill to beam more sunlight on groundwater agency board members
“A bill that will require groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) to publish the names of their directors and provide links to their financial interest statements was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this month. The new mandate wasn’t well received by some. “We’re having all of our laundry put on display for everybody and I don’t think that’s right,” Craig Hornung, vice chair of the East Kaweah GSA, said at the GSA’s Oct. 27 meeting. Form 700s, which require elected officials and agency executives to disclose their financial interests, including income, investments and property, are already required by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). … ” Read more from SJV Water.
California expands and strengthens long-term water strategic plan
“California law requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to create, promulgate, and update every five years the California Water Plan (Plan). The Plan is intended to provide a comprehensive strategy for the sustainable management and stewardship of California’s water resources. However, the Plan has not had significant revisions responsive to increasing climate unpredictability. On October 1, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 72 into law, significantly expanding the requirements of the Plan to provide a more forward-looking, actionable roadmap to secure water resources across the state. SB 72 primarily amends provisions of the Water Code that dictate the contents of the Plan and requires DWR to undertake additional studies to determine the state’s future water needs. Previously, the Plan had to include discussions related to “the development of new water storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, and water transfers that may be pursued in order to meet the future water needs of the state.” SB 72 added discussions of groundwater recharge programs, water conveyance projects, stormwater capture, and demand management activities. … ” Read more from the National Law Review.
SB 697 modernizes the surface water adjudication process, shifting the investigation burden to water users
“California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill (SB) 697 into law to modernize the process by which the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) investigates and conducts statutory adjudications of surface water rights on a stream system. Those who depend on water from unadjudicated surface water systems should become familiar with these amendments to the Water Code, which may affect their water rights and obligations. Existing law under Water Code section 2500 et seq., authorizes the State Board to oversee the adjudication and make determinations of the rights of all water users of a stream system — whether based on appropriative or riparian rights. These procedures are typically initiated when one or more water users of a river or stream file a petition for an adjudication with the State Board. Before granting or denying a petition, the State Board must investigate whether the public interest and necessity will be served by a determination of the water rights involved. This includes reviewing all existing water diversions and beneficial uses of the stream system at issue. … ” Read more from the National Law Review.
State Water Board tightens PFAS advisory levels based on latest data for health risks
“Based on new data for the human health risks posed by specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS), or constituents, the State Water Resources Control Board is lowering the notification level for PFOS and PFOA, lowering the response level for PFHxS, and is issuing a new notification level and response level for a fourth constituent, PFHxA, if detected in drinking water. … If drinking water reaches a response level, the Division of Drinking Water recommends that water systems take action to reduce exposure – most commonly, taking a well offline, adding treatment, or blending the water with another source to reach an acceptable level. A notification level is a health-based, non-regulatory concentration of a contaminant in drinking water that also warrants notification and further monitoring and assessment. … ” Read more from the State Water Board.
The West’s new gold rush is the data center boom
“A new kind of gold rush is sweeping the West, and this time the prize isn’t minerals but megawatts. From Phoenix to Colorado’s Front Range, data centers are arriving with outsize demands for power and water. In a new report, the regional environmental advocacy group Western Resource Advocates (WRA) warns that without stronger guardrails, the financial and environmental costs could fall on everyday households. Across Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, new data centers are expected to create a surge in resource use, raising consumers’ power bills while jeopardizing climate goals. By 2035, the surge in new data centers could send the Interior West’s electricity demand soaring by about 55 percent, WRA warns. The unprecedented extent of the industry’s energy requirements risks derailing decarbonization goals in several states. Energy experts say the astronomical power needs may keep fossil fuels like coal and gas in use longer. NV Energy, Nevada’s main utility, now expects its carbon emissions to rise 53 percent over 2022 estimates because of new data center growth. … ” Read more from Grist.
In commentary this week …
A thriving Tuolumne River starts now: More water. More habitat. More fish.
Brad Koehn, General Manager, Turlock Irrigation District; Jimi Netniss, General Manager, Modesto Irrigation District; and Dennis Herrera, General Manager, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, write, “California is at a crossroads in water management. The choices we make today will shape the future of our rivers, our communities, and our ability to thrive through drought, flood, and a changing climate. Fortunately, one of those choices is clear and ready to be implemented now: the Tuolumne River’s Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Agreement. The Tuolumne agreement delivers exactly what Californians expect from water policy in 2025 — real environmental benefits, grounded in site-specific best available science, funded by local partners, and ready to begin today. As General Managers of the Turlock Irrigation District, Modesto Irrigation District, and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, we’re proud to stand behind this plan — not just because it benefits the environment, but because it reflects years of science, stewardship, and collaboration in one of the state’s most important watersheds. … ” Continue reading this guest commentary.
Edward Ring: Large scale desalination could transform California
Edward Ring writes, “Why is it axiomatic among California’s water agencies and policymakers that large scale desalination is inconceivable in California? That certainly isn’t the case in other arid locales. In 2024, an estimated 30 million acre feet of fresh water was produced by desalination plants worldwide. On the coast of the Red Sea, about 60 miles south of the port city Jeddah, and only slightly further from the inland city of Mecca, the Shoaiba Desalination Complex produces nearly 900,000 acre feet of fresh water per year. Situated on approximately 1,200 acres, this one installation could, if it were located in California, supply more than 12 percent of ALL California’s urban water consumption. That’s not very much land, for an awful lot of water. The energy cost of desalination is often overstated. Modern desalination plants require about 3,500 kilowatt-hours per acre foot. That equates to 3,500 gigawatt-hours (GWH) per million acre feet. California’s total electricity consumption is currently not quite 300,000 GWH per year, with the state legislature determined to ramp that up to at least 500,000 GWH per year by 2045. And if they’re serious about electrifying the state’s economy, they could require as much as twice that. … ” Read more from Edward Ring.
Dan Walters: Erie Canal creation contrasts with the glacial pace of public works in California
Dan Walters writes, “This week one of the nation’s earliest and most important public works projects, the 363-mile Erie Canal linking the Hudson River with Lake Erie, marked its 200th anniversary. There was only negligible media and political notice. That’s regrettable, because the canal opening in 1825 utterly transformed the nation’s economy and ignited its expansion from a few sparsely populated former colonies on the Atlantic Coast some 3,000 miles westward to the Pacific Ocean. Rugged mountains had stymied westward expansion from the coastal plain into the Ohio River valley and the Great Lakes region. But New York Gov. DeWitt Clinton saw an opportunity for New York City to become the nation’s commercial capital, outfoxing rival Philadelphia. … ” Continue reading at Cal Matters.
Farmers are key partners in managing subsidence
Paul Gosselin, Deputy Director of Sustainable Water Management for the Department of Water Resources, writes, “Parts of California have experienced subsidence, or the sinking of land, for almost a century, with some areas sinking more than 25 feet. Subsidence is a known issue in California caused by various factors, including excessive groundwater pumping. This can lead to damaged homes, roads, bridges, levees, wells and irrigation canals, disrupting water delivery and most of all, costing Californians hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs annually. Further, subsidence severely jeopardizes the long-term water supply reliability for agriculture. Earlier this summer, the California Department of Water Resources released findings showing that subsidence has restricted State Water Project delivery capability by 3%. The SWP, one of California’s primary water storage and delivery systems, helps supply water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland and businesses throughout the state. By 2043, if no action is taken, the current trajectory of subsidence combined with climate change could reduce deliveries by up to 87%. … ” Read more from Valley Ag Voice.
In regional water news this week …
Celebration marks completion of tributary restoration at key Klamath River sites
“The end of construction activity on four priority tributaries to the Klamath River was marked with a “restoration celebration” hosted by Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) and attended last week by tribal leaders, contractors and others. As restoration contractor for the Klamath River Renewal project, RES led the effort to rehabilitate these key tributaries using a large playbook of stream restoration designs and practices. Collectively, these four tributaries historically had provided over 25 miles of high-quality habitat for salmon and steelhead. Each one was rendered inaccessible to these species by four dams constructed in the first half of the 1900s. The dams were removed in January 2024 as phase one of the largest dam removal and river restoration in the world. In the second phase, stream restoration designs were finalized as reservoir waters receded and historical stream channels became accessible. During the decades these sections of the tributaries were inundated, their natural structures were deeply impaired. Flow patterns, the deposition of sediment, and a healthy riparian zone were all altered, inhibiting key habitat features that returning salmon and steelhead require to spawn and thrive. … ” Continue reading this press release.
Judge rules against nonprofit, says Humboldt County has discretion in managing groundwater extraction in the Lower Eel River Valley
“We somehow missed this decision when it was handed down late last month, but Humboldt County Superior Court Presiding Judge Kelly Neel ruled against local nonprofit Friends of the Eel River (FOER) in its lawsuit concerning the county’s management of groundwater extraction in the Eel River Valley. The lawsuit, first filed in 2022, argued that Humboldt County was falling short of its responsibility to protect public trust resources in the Eel by failing to consider the adverse effects of groundwater pumping, particularly during the late summer and early fall. FOER’s suit pointed to instances of extremely low flows and the resulting inhospitable environmental conditions for migrating salmon, conditions such as anemic flow, warm temperatures, algal accretion and low dissolved oxygen. Citing the public trust doctrine, a common law principle that dates to ancient Rome, the suit asked the court to require Humboldt County to create a program to regulate groundwater pumping. … ” Read more from the Lost Coast Outpost.
Local leaders push for overdue Oroville Dam deal to benefit community
“The original 50-year license for facilities at the Oroville Dam expired in 2007, leaving operations running on a year-to-year basis. Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly expressed frustration over the situation. “It’s really patently unfair because they build a dam in our backyard, they provide water for over 27 million people, some of the richest corporate farms in America get water from this dam, yet they don’t make us whole,” Connelly said. Connelly criticized the Department of Water Resources for failing to fulfill promises made in the original deal. “They promised visitation to the dam and now you can’t hardly get in to see it, they make it a matter of security,” Connelly said. “They promised 1500 parking places in town, they promised hourly tours of the dam.” … ” Read more from Action News Now.
Oroville leaders propose wildlife refuge to protect Feather River and combat illegal dumping
“Oroville city leaders are actively working to combat illegal dumping along the Feather River by considering a new designation for the area. Councilmember Shawn Webber has proposed transforming the river stretch between Table Mountain Bridge and the Highway 70 Bridge into a city park. However, the proposal has evolved with growing support for establishing the area as a wildlife refuge, primarily to protect the sensitive salmon population that uses this section of the river for spawning after their journey from the Pacific Ocean. Designating the area as a wildlife refuge could unlock federal grant opportunities for enhanced beautification, removal of invasive plant species to improve visibility and reduce wildfire risks, and the addition of lighting for safety. The Oroville City Council recently reached out to Governor Gavin Newsom, requesting state support to preserve these vital salmon spawning grounds. … ” Read more from the Sierra Daily News.
CDFW: North Yuba River salmon reintroduction efforts enter second year with spawning, fertilization of 350,000 spring-run chinook salmon eggs
“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and its partners have initiated a second year of spring-run Chinook salmon reintroduction efforts into historic habitat in the North Yuba River. Roughly 350,000 spring-run Chinook salmon eggs were collected and fertilized recently at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville. The eggs will be hydraulically injected into the North Yuba River’s gravel substrate next month, as was done successfully last fall. The North Yuba River Spring-run Chinook Salmon Reintroduction Program is a multiagency, multifaceted effort to bring the state and federally listed threatened species back to its historic cold-water spawning and rearing habitat in the mountains of Sierra County. Access to this habitat has been blocked by two dams for almost a century. … ” Read more from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Sandhill cranes have arrived in Sacramento area. Where to see the winter visitors
“It’s that time of year in the Sacramento area — when everyone’s favorite winter visitors arrive by the thousands. A wildlife enthusiast who recently spotted sandhill cranes at the Llano Seco Unit Wildlife Viewing Area in Chico posted several photos of the birds to the Friends of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page on Oct. 19. “The Flyover is underway, the ponds are still filling, but the birds are happening,” Guy Corrie wrote in the post. “Here are some photos of Sandhill Cranes taken at the Llano Seco Unit. They are amazing: Little flying dinosaurs with so much personality!” You won’t want to miss the sandhill cranes in southern Sacramento and northern San Joaquin counties. But where are the best places to see them? … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
San Francisco Bay State of the Birds website offers insight into health of the bay
“The San Francisco Bay Joint Venture and Point Blue Conservation Science have launched a new website called San Francisco Bay State of the Birds. This website presents bird monitoring results, recommended actions, and success stories from around the San Francisco Bay. “This new website will allow restoration practitioners, public agencies, scientists, policymakers, and others to access up-to-date information to help them respond effectively to the pressing and rapidly evolving challenges facing our baylands,” said Jemma Williams, SF Bay State of the Birds co-lead and Conservation Coordinator at the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture. “By sharing this information online, instead of in a once-in-a-decade report, we can provide more frequent updates of population trends and recommended actions to support native and migratory birds.” Birds can serve as useful indicators of ecosystem health. Because birds tend to be sensitive to habitat changes and respond quickly to these changes, their population trends can alert us to problems, reveal how well our ecosystems are functioning overall, and help us understand the degree to which conservation and restoration efforts are effective. … ” Continue reading this press release.
Water Blueprint guides future of Valley supplies
“On October 29, the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley held a public meeting at the Fresno County Farm Bureau to discuss the Unified Valley Water Plan and other pressing issues affecting California’s water. According to the Blueprint’s Board Vice Chair Geoff Vanden Heuvel, the coalition aims to advance water resource policies and projects that maximize reliable supplies for farms and ranches, communities, and ecosystems in the San Joaquin Valley. Vanden Heuvel explained that the passage and implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was the impetus for this “coalition of the willing,” bringing stakeholders in the San Joaquin Valley together to address long-standing groundwater issues. “There’s a lot of reasons for why we are where we are, including droughts and policies and all the rest, but the fact of the matter is we’ve been mining a lot of groundwater,” Vanden Heuvel said. “It’s no longer sustainable, and we have to stop it. And now, we have to legally stop it, and that is a massive paradigm shift and a massive game changer.” … ” Read more from Valley Ag Voice.
Los Banos at the crossroads of California’s water wars: How San Joaquin River decisions shape the Valley’s future
“The San Joaquin River continues to sit at the center of California’s most complex water disputes, and Los Banos remains one of the communities most directly affected. As state and regional leaders debate over mining, water storage, flooding, fish habitats, and groundwater management, the outcomes will shape how water moves through the Central Valley for generations, and how much of it reaches local communities like Los Banos. At the western edge of the river system, just north of Los Banos, the B.F. Sisk Dam and San Luis Reservoir play a key role in storing and distributing water from Northern California to the rest of the state. Expansion of the reservoir, now underway, will increase capacity but has raised questions about who benefits most. Local observers note that while Silicon Valley and coastal regions may receive much of the additional water, Los Banos continues to serve as the logistical and environmental gateway where the reservoir, aqueduct, and wildlife refuges intersect. … ” Read more from the Los Banos Enterprise.
Kaweah growers likely to avoid state intervention but still face “mountain of work”
“Even with the threat of state intervention all but in the rearview mirror, Kaweah water managers maintained a muted celebratory tone at a recent “State of the Subbasin” event, which attracted more than 350 farmers. Managers and consultants tempered their Oct. 21 presentations with the harsh reality of implementing groundwater plans that will maintain tough stances on subsidence, water quality and groundwater levels as the region complies with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). That means reduced groundwater pumping and less farming. “The reality is we have to go on this path and it won’t be pretty,” said Mark Larsen, general manager of Greater Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Did water well dispute lead to massive fish kill in Madera County community lakes?
“In a gated community in east Chowchilla, a legal battle over water has turned ugly between a homeowners’ association and the Water Resource Council that oversees the neighborhood’s lakes. So ugly, that each side is blaming the other for causing the conditions that led to a mass fish die-off last month from lack of oxygen in the area’s community lakes. The HOA told The Fresno Bee it has reason to believe a lawsuit it filed in June, alleging fraudulent billing, led the water council to escalate tensions by shutting off the lakes’ oxygenation system. The water council, for its part, told The Bee it stopped flows into the lakes and had the right to turn off their oxygenation system because the HOA has refused to pay more than $100,000 in water delivery system costs. … ” Read more from the Fresno Bee.
San Benito County Water District weighs cost of failed Pacheco Reservoir expansion
“It now appears San Benito County Water District customers could be on the hook for more than $730,000—or its roughly equivalent in stored water under a proposed deal—in sunk costs for the ill-fated, multibillion-dollar Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project. Once touted as the top water storage project in the state, and heralded in BenitoLink as a “modern solution to the age-old challenge” of addressing expanding water supply needs, the massive project planned for a site off of Pacheco Pass collapsed under its own weight after years of ballooning costs and other challenges as state and federal agencies ultimately chose to withdraw or withhold support. … ” Read more from BenitoLink.
LA’s oceanfront power plant is a test of clean-energy ambitions in the new Trump era
“The Scattergood Generating Station in Los Angeles is an oceanfront natural-gas-burning relic that sits on the uncertain brink of a clean-energy showdown. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners will decide whether to advance a plan to shift the plant to futuristic hydrogen-ready turbines. The $800-million-plus retrofit is an anchor in California’s effort to boost hydrogen, a potentially clean fuel that for now remains costly, water-intensive and rarely produced without oil and gas. But California’s high hopes for hydrogen — and the state’s investments in it as a potential economic driver in the era of clean energy — are at a crossroads. Earlier this month, the Trump administration canceled $1.2 billion in federal funding for California’s hydrogen hub, a public-private partnership to build a clean hydrogen economy and support projects like Scattergood. The move followed a decision earlier this summer to scale back federal tax credits nationally for hydrogen. California says it’s pressing ahead with hydrogen projects including Scattergood, with or without federal support. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Long Beach to push for tighter rules on LA River trash, try to catch more garbage floating downstream
“Beset by demands to take stronger action, Long Beach unveiled Wednesday a glimpse at its plans to curb the amount of trash going into the Los Angeles River and washing ashore on its surf line. It’s a far-reaching strategy, one that calls for stricter enforcement on the 17 cities that bank the 51-mile river, and more money for Long Beach to cover its costly burden of cleaning up debris. According to the Public Works Department, the city has collected more than 12,500 tons of trash from 2020 to 2024, which cost a staggering $12.3 million. In the most recent fiscal year, the city paid seven times more for labor and materials than four years prior — an average $1,000 per ton of trash removed from the shoreline, according to previous reporting by the Long Beach Post. … ” Read more from the Long Beach Post.
Shrinking beaches, shrinking revenue: Sand erosion a concern for businesses, economy
“The Orange County Business Council most recently cast its attention to an economic sector that is vital to the region’s growth and fortunes — its coast. “A third of Orange County’s economy is based on our coast,” Orange County Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley told a recent gathering hosted by the business council in Newport Beach to address growing concerns about beach erosion and disappearing sand, vital to everything from tourism to jobs, property taxes to recreation, presenters emphasized. “For every dollar we invest in sand, we get $3,000 dollars back – let that sink in,” Foley shared, noting 75% of Americans say they choose the beach when they go on vacation. “We must keep our beaches, so we have all these tourists.” … ” Read more from the OC Register.
Deadline closing in for Utah and 6 other states hammering out a new water plan
“Utah and six other states along the Colorado River are pushing up against a deadline to figure out as a group how to manage the river and its reservoirs. If they can’t reach an agreement by Nov. 11, the federal government is set to intervene and make its own plan. The existing agreement expires at the end of next year. “There’s still hope,” Marc Stilson, principal engineer for the Colorado River Authority of Utah, said Thursday. “They’re working hard, and they’re close.” The upstream Upper Basin states — Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming — and the Lower Basin states of Nevada, Arizona and California pitched competing plans to the federal government last year. Now, in the home stretch of negotiations, the seven states are working through questions including which reservoirs would be managed under the new agreement, how they’ll measure water use and whether the plan will include mandatory cuts to water allocations, Stilson said. … ” Read more from the Utah News Dispatch.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
CA WATER COMMISSION: Proposed Regulation Change to Water Storage Investment Program
