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In California water news today …
New DWR conveyance study finds groundwater stabilization key to protecting San Joaquin Valley water supplies
“The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released a comprehensive new assessment of water conveyance in the San Joaquin Valley – home to more than 4 million Californians and one of the nation’s most important agricultural regions. The San Joaquin Valley Conveyance Study examines the effects of land subsidence on the systems that move water across the region and evaluates the need for infrastructure improvements or expansions to support long-term water reliability. The study, an action in Governor Newsom’s 2020 Water Resilience Portfolio, finds that the top priority for improving conveyance in the San Joaquin Valley is stopping or minimizing land subsidence, especially near State Water Project and Central Valley Project conveyance facilities. This can only be achieved over the long term by raising groundwater levels above critical thresholds. The study also finds that repair of existing conveyance infrastructure is more important than expanding or building new conveyance because the region has limited surface water supplies. “This study makes the picture unmistakably clear: the most effective path forward is stabilizing groundwater levels and repairing the major canals that bring surface water to the San Joaquin Valley,” said Joel Metzger, Deputy Director of Statewide Water Resources Planning and Enterprise Project Management. “Taking action to support these goals is essential if we want to protect the Valley’s communities, support its agricultural economy, and maintain a functioning water system in a hotter, more extreme future.” … ” Read more from the Department of Water Resources.
Drought killer: California storms fill reservoirs, build up Sierra snowpack
“A string of early-season storms that drenched Californians last week lifted much of the state out of drought and significantly reduced the risk of wildfires, experts say. It’s been the wettest November on record for Southland communities such as Van Nuys and San Luis Obispo. Santa Barbara has received an eye-popping 9.5 inches of rain since Oct. 1, marking the city’s wettest start to the water year on record. Overall, the state is at 186% of its average rain so far this water year, according to the Department of Water Resources. But experts say that, despite the auspicious start, it’s still too soon to say how the rest of California’s traditional rainy season will shape up. “The overall impact on our water supply is TBD [to be determined] is the best way to put it,” said Jeff Mount, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy Center. “We haven’t even really gotten into the wet season yet.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SEE ALSO: Tahoe is mostly dry, but some ski resorts have tons of snow out West, from the San Francisco Chronicle
Operations launch at Big Notch Project
“Operations have officially begun for the Big Notch Project, one of the largest floodplain salmon-rearing habitat projects in California history. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) held a ribbon cutting ceremony Nov. 21 in Yolo County to kick off the first operational season of the Big Notch Project. The project includes three seasonally operated gates at the Fremont Weir, making it easier for juvenile salmon and sturgeon to move into the Yolo Bypass, a critical floodplain habitat that plays a key role in the recovery of these threatened and endangered species. The Big Notch Project is one of the key actions highlighted in Governor Newsom’s California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future which aims to restore populations of salmon as the state experiences increased temperatures as a result of a changing climate. The project was designed with cutting-edge science and a highly public process that incorporated decades of fisheries research and land-use knowledge. Big Notch will be operated to benefit fish in a way that protects existing land-uses such as agriculture, recreation and flood protection. … ” Read more from the Carmichael Times.
Endangered sandhill cranes
“One of the most graceful birds on Earth is the sandhill crane. These tall, slate gray birds with a bright red cap breed in the open grasslands, wetlands and prairies of northern North America. They congregate in large groups, voicing distinctive calls that can be heard from miles away when a flock flies overhead. In breeding season, pairs display to one another with a dance that has to be seen to be believed. They stretch their wings while jumping into the air and bowing their heads in an energetic display to impress their mates. In winter, sandhill cranes migrate south to marshes and flooded fields of southern North America. In California, sandhill cranes overwinter in the Central Valley, and lucky for us, there are multiple places to view these beautiful birds just a few hours’ drive from Sonoma County. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
Cadiz aims to reshape water access across the Southwest
“A California company says it’s reshaping the future of water in the West by focusing on what it calls a management challenge rather than a full-blown crisis. Cadiz, Inc. is working to build a more reliable water grid across the Southwest, partnering with underserved communities that have long struggled to access clean, affordable water. CEO and veteran state policymaker Susan Kennedy says the company’s approach flips the traditional model used by large utilities. Kennedy explains that Cadiz is focusing on areas that major water utilities have historically overlooked. These include rural communities and tribal lands that lack the funding or infrastructure needed to treat and transport safe drinking water. Instead of waiting for utilities to invest, Cadiz steps in to help build treatment systems, pipelines, and other infrastructure that allows these communities to access reliable water sources. … ” Read more from NBC Palm Springs.
Avoiding and responding to peak groundwater
“Groundwater supports billions of people, but many regions are removing it from aquifers faster than nature can refill them. Bhalla et al. [2025] examine the concept of “peak groundwater”, the moment when use reaches its maximum and begins to decline due to physical, economic, or policy limits. The authors trace how climate pressures, population growth, and management choices interact to determine when those limits arrive. They show that peak groundwater is not only a physical threshold but also a social and institutional one, shaped by how communities plan for scarcity. … ” Read more from EOS.
The big data center buildup
“In early November, Texas-based New Era Energy & Digital announced plans to build a “hyperscale,” meaning massive, AI-processing data center complex in Lea County, New Mexico, the epicenter of the Permian Basin oil and gas drilling boom. The campus will be so big, and use so much power, that, if and when it is built, it will come with its own nuclear and gas power plants, with a mind-blowing combined generation capacity of about 7 gigawatts. That’s like piling the West’s largest nuclear and natural gas plants — Palo Verde and Gila River, both near Phoenix — on top of one another, and then adding another 800 megawatts. That kind of power could electrify something like 5.3 million homes, though these power plants’ output presumably will all go toward more pressing requirements: processing movie streaming, doomscrolling, social media posting and, especially, AI-related activities. Despite the enormity of this proposal, it has received very little news coverage. This is not because anyone is trying to keep it secret, but rather because such announcements have become so common that it’s hardly worth mentioning every new one. … ” Continue reading from High Country News.
SEE ALSO: Power, water, and community: Key pieces in the data center jigsaw of sustainability, from Data Center Dynamics
Could agave be an answer for farmers in water-challenged areas?
“One California farmer challenged by water availability and the desire to sustain his family business is looking at a desert plant that may need less than six inches of water a year to make a distilled product with promise. Stuart Woolf, president and CEO of Woolf Farming, began planting agave several years ago in a region of California challenged by groundwater. Woolf farms a variety of crops, including almonds, pistachios, processing tomatoes, and garlic along the west side of the southern San Joaquin Valley. The region is challenged by water availability, which is one of the reasons why he likes the idea of agave. … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
Restore the Delta submits comments regarding major threat to California’s environmental law
“On November 20, 2025, Restore the Delta submitted comments to the Attorney General’s Office highlighting our deep concerns with the proposed October 2025 Ballot Initiative, titled “Building an Affordable California.” The October 2025 proposed Ballot Initiative seeks to undermine California’s foundational environmental law, the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). At a time when our environment is under attack at the federal level, California should be stepping up as we have done throughout history to preserve our waterways, our air quality, and our most vulnerable communities – not rendering useless the very foundation of US environmental law. Under the proposed initiative, “essential projects” are defined so broadly that virtually any public, private, or utility infrastructure project could qualify—paving the way for large-scale construction without the environmental review and community protections CEQA provides. … ” Read more from the Restore the Delta.
Pest control firms agree to multi-county settlement for hazardous waste, privacy violations
“Three pest control companies that improperly disposed of hazardous waste at dozens of sites around the state and failed to secure sensitive customer records have agreed to pay over $3.1 million to resolve a civil complaint brought by multiple district attorneys’ offices. The civil complaint was filed against Orkin Services of California, Crane Pest Control, and Clark Pest Control of Stockton, which are all owned by Georgia-based Rollins Inc. The companies were discovered to have thrown away pesticides that were toxic, ignitable and corrosive in municipal dumpsters destined for regular landfills, according to Wednesday press statements from the San Mateo County and Contra Costa County district attorneys’ offices, which led investigations into the companies. … ” Read more from Local News Matters.
Cal Fire approach to SoCal’s wildfire crisis could make things worse, court says
“In a case that calls into question plant clearing techniques that have become fundamental to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, the San Diego Superior Court has ordered the agency to amend a program to reduce wildfire risk across the state because it could make things worse. The years-long legal action filed by the California Chaparral Institute and Endangered Habitats League against the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within Cal Fire, highlights deep rifts between ecologists’ and firefighters’ approaches to solving California’s wildfire crisis. Richard Halsey, director of the California Chaparral Institute, was elated. “Chaparral and sage scrub is more than 10% of the state,” he said. “Despite all the rhetoric about how we love biodiversity, you’re going to wipe out where most of the biodiversity is in the state,” and in the process make the landscape more flammable, Halsey said of the Cal Fire plan. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
In commentary today …
Need for speed: Why permitting reform can’t come soon enough
Congressman Adam Gray writes, “A sentiment I consistently hear from constituents is that they no longer believe in government’s ability to do big things — not just to stake out bold ideas but to implement and deliver on them. On the major issues we face, from housing to energy production, there is growing consensus that we lack the ability to move quickly and at the scale needed to address the problems before us. They are not wrong. In my district in California’s Central Valley, we see the need for massive investments in new water infrastructure to meet the needs of our growers and disadvantaged communities, yet we seem incapable of moving beyond the endless planning and discussion phases. This was not always the case. The Central Valley as it exists today was built on a series of ambitious federal and state infrastructure projects that transformed the way water is transported throughout the state. … ” Continue reading at The Hill.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Great News: Nearly 10,000 salmon have migrated up the Klamath River above the former dam sites
“The recovery of salmon on the Klamath River above the former PacifiCorp dam sites has exceeded all expectations. Preliminary data from California Trout’s SONAR fish counting station below the former Iron Gate Dam site reveals nearly 10,000 salmon and counting this fall. The nearly 10,000 adult-sized fish (≥ ~2 feet) migrated upstream between September 12 and November 14, according to a social media post by CalTrout. This preliminary estimate is 30 percent higher that the group’s fish counts at this same time last year. The peak passage day was on October 9 with 681 fish, the group said. “It is a relatively compressed run: 90% passed in just 25 days (Sept 26 – Oct 19),” the group revealed. … ” Read more from the Daily Kos.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Tahoe Fund launches ‘A Million For The Marsh’ campaign to bring major improvements to former Motel 6 site
“Now that the former Motel 6 building, restaurant, and parking lot have been demolished from the Upper Truckee Marsh in South Lake Tahoe, planning is underway to bring this wetland back to life. To support the next phase of this project, the Tahoe Fund announced “A Million for the Marsh” campaign to raise the first $1 million of private funds to help secure the public funds the California Tahoe Conservancy will need to revive this area and bring significant improvements to Lake Tahoe’s clarity. “California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot called the acquisition and demolition of this site ‘the most important in a generation to protect Lake Tahoe,’ and we couldn’t agree more,” said Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund CEO. “That’s why we’re launching this campaign—so that our donors can show that taking the next step to restore this marsh matters to our community and to the future health of Lake Tahoe.” … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
SEE ALSO: A Vital Marsh Restoration Effort Takes Shape in South Lake Tahoe, from Active NorCal
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Redding begins $3 million water pump station project on Cypress Avenue
“A $3 million project has commenced in Redding to install a new water pump station on Cypress Ave. City leaders are utilizing funds from the water utility fund to replace the current water pump with a new booster pump. This upgrade will allow the city to use surface water from the Sacramento River, reducing the reliance on groundwater by moving water to the east side of Redding. City officials said the project is meant to plan ahead by replacing aging infrastructure before it becomes an issue. … ” Read more from KRCR.
Anderson saves thousands by installing new wastewater pumps with in-house city staff
“The City of Anderson has replaced two of their filter pumps at the Anderson Wastewater Treatment Plant. City staff replaced outdated, obsolete equipment with new, high-efficiency filter pumps. They say thanks to the upgrade, the pumps are now producing 2.05 million gallons per day, they have a lower risk of mechanical failure and are expected to last 20 years. City of Anderson staff added that by completing the project in-house, they saved thousands of dollars in outside labor costs. … ” Read more from KRCR.
Saving the salmon: Major Battle Creek grant provides hope for wildlife
“Efforts to improve the revitalization of Battle Creek were recently achieved through River Partners’ acquisition of the historic 1,721-acre Battle Creek Ranch in Tehama County. The acquisition was made possible through a $15.05 million grant approved by the California Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB), which also awarded nearly $600,000 to retire a water-right diversion associated with the property. The goal is to restore one of California’s most important salmon-bearing waterways, according to WCB. The acquisition will conserve the last unprotected lands along lower Battle Creek, which would complete a nearly three-decade-long effort to preserve all properties along the waterway’s 7.5-mile lower reach. … ” Read more from the Red Bluff Daily News.
California Department of Fish & Wildlife working to reintroduce native fish species back to Big Chico Creek
The work to reintroduce six native types of fish into the waters of the Big Chico Creek is taking place alongside the ongoing Iron Canyon Fish Passage Project, which is removing a significant barrier in the creek that blocks Chinook salmon, steelhead, and other fish species from reaching historic habitat upstream.
Commentary: A shocking decision by a federal judge leaves Sacramento at risk of flooding
Opinion writer Tom Philp writes, “An outrageous ruling by a federal judge in Sacramento that favors trees over public safety has stalled a key flood protection project on the lower American River and put Sacramento on a path to play Russian Roulette with Mother Nature. The project is to shore up erosion that could eat under levees that are the last line of defense for thousands of homes. It cannot move forward because Judge Dena Coggins of the Eastern District of the United States District Court ruled it would do “irreparable harm” to the impacted riparian lands east of Howe Avenue. This decision on Nov. 7 demonstrated more concern for 650 trees that need to be removed than to far greater damage from potential floods. Trees would be replanted once the levees were strengthened with boulders and yes, the area would look differently for 20 years, but Sacramento would be safer. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
Sacramento Weir: Guardian of the Valley’s Past and Future
Discover the untold story of the Sacramento Weir, an engineering marvel that has safeguarded California’s Central Valley for over a century. From Native tribal stewardship to Gold Rush levees, to modern flood control innovations, this video explores how history, ingenuity, and community continue to shape the future of flood management in the Sacramento Valley.
BAY AREA
Hayward combats sea level rise
“King Tides are already happening in the Bay Area. One King Tide event happened just a couple of weeks ago. More are expected for December and January. They are a sneak peak of sea level rise, an increase of ocean mass due to climate change. When sea levels rise, it turns into an eventual flooding of communities. What stops sea level rise are natural barriers like marshlands. Greenbelt Alliance recently launched the Hayward Shoreline Resilience Collaborative, a group of organizations that are working on projects that prevent sea level rise. Greenbelt Alliance held a public event introducing the collaborative on Nov. 18 at the Cherryland Community Center in Hayward. Residents, environmental activists, engineers, architects, city leaders, recreational organizations and more gathered to learn about the Hayward Shoreline, the bodies of water at risk for sea level rise. The room was filled with round tables and every seat was taken. Event speakers said they were excited to see so many people attending the event. … ” Read more from Tri-City Voice.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Coachella Valley Water District sends chromium-6 notices, says water remains safe, warns bills could double
“Calif. (KESQ) The Coachella Valley Water District has notified customers across its service area that levels of naturally occurring chromium-6 are above California’s new drinking water standard, according to a state-approved notice mailed this week. CVWD said the issue is not an emergency and the water “remains safe to drink.” Routine samples reviewed in October showed running annual averages between 11 and 14 parts per billion of chromium-6, the notice said. California implemented a new maximum contaminant level of 10 parts per billion on Oct. 1, 2024. The state is the only one in the country with a chromium-6-specific standard. … ” Read more from KESQ.
Imperial County: Findings of landmark RAND Study on Lithium Valley
“The county of Imperial has announced the results of a comprehensive workforce and economic development study conducted by the RAND Corp., over the last 18 months. The report outlines a clear path for transforming Lithium Valley into one of the most significant clean energy, domestic supply of critical minerals and advanced manufacturing hubs in the United States. In 2023, California’s Employment Development Department awarded the Imperial County Workforce Development Board $750,000 to complete a comprehensive Lithium Valley workforce and economic development needs assessment. Following the release of the county’s Request for Proposals on Dec. 19, 2023, some 13 proposals were received by the March 1, 2024, deadline. After a structured evaluation process involving the Valley Works Steering Committee and Evaluation Committee, which was comprised of industry, labor, community and government entities, RAND Corp. received the highest score and the Imperial County Workforce Development Board formally approved a contract with RAND on April 10, 2024, for an amount not to exceed $640,908. … ” Read more from the Calexico Chronicle.
SAN DIEGO
Local emergency declared as sand buildup at Oceanside harbor creates hazard
“City officials have a declared a local emergency to obtain help with efforts to clear a growing accumulation of sand that threatens to block the entrance to the Oceanside Harbor. Parts of the harbor’s main channel have shrunk to as shallow as 10 feet, creating a navigation hazard, since the annual dredging that lowered the depth to 25 feet or more just before the Memorial Day weekend. “The Coast Guard has closed other harbors when their mouth is 6 feet in depth, and a similar closure could happen (to Oceanside) if our channel continues to accumulate sediment,” said Jayme Timberlake, Oceanside’s coastal zone administrator, in a presentation last week to the Oceanside City Council. The City Council voted unanimously to ratify the declaration made Nov. 18 by City Manager Jonathan Borrego, serving as the city’s director of emergency services. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
EPA releases first quarterly update on binational effort to resolve Tijuana River sewage crisis
“EPA and the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) have issued their first quarterly public update on progress toward implementing a permanent, “100% solution” to the longstanding Tijuana River sewage crisis. The update is the first delivered under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in July 2025 between EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Mexico’s Secretary of Environment Alicia Bárcena Ibarra. “The Trump Administration committed to delivering an urgent and permanent 100% solution to the millions of people afflicted by this crisis,” Zeldin said in an EPA press release. “Our mission will not be accomplished until we reach the 100% solution.” He noted that the agencies have implemented the MOU “well ahead of the projected timeline.” … ” Read more from Wastewater Digest.
Along the Colorado River …
Can AI help save Colorado’s rivers?
“The Colorado River Basin is enduring one of the longest and most severe droughts in modern history. The river, vital to 40 million people across seven states and parts of Mexico, is rapidly drying. Yet Colorado still lacks a reliable system for forecasting streamflow, leaving communities vulnerable to sudden shortages. That’s where Mohammad Valipour, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Metropolitan State University of Denver, is stepping in. In 2023, Valipour received a grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board to develop an AI system that forecasts streamflow across Colorado’s seven major rivers. The goal: give communities weeks, or even months, of advance warning about drought. “We can’t stop droughts from happening,” Valipour said. “But we can give communities time. Time to plan, time to react and time to prevent the worst impacts.” … ” Read more from MSU Denver.
Colorado River Indian Tribes designate their namesake waterway a ‘living being’ with legal rights
“The Colorado River Indian Tribes of Arizona and California voted this month to give their namesake waterway the same legal rights as a person, saying the ‘living being’ deserves more protection while it’s being threatened by overuse and drought. “There is no greater expression of sovereignty than protecting, stewarding, and securing for future generations what our Ancestors handed down to us,” the tribes wrote in their resolution. “And that personhood status is a reflection of our values as a people and our spiritual, cultural, and religious connection to the Colorado River from the beginning of time through the end of time.” The tribes’ leaders say their designation is more than just symbolic. In a column explaining what the vote means to her, Amelia Flores, chairwoman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, said the tribes hold the senior-most water rights in Arizona for Colorado River water. … ” Read more from KUNC.
Hobbs, western governors tackle water needs at WGA Conference
“Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs joined governors from Hawaii, Montana, Idaho and Utah to talk about water, energy, agriculture and healthcare at Western Governor’s Association’s winter meeting in the Phoenix area on Thursday, Nov. 20. The conference brought state leaders together less than two weeks after the seven basin states who rely on Colorado River water failed to come to an agreement on new management guidelines. Despite the standstill, Governor of Utah Spencer Cox alluded to the bipartisan and collaborative nature of the biannual meetings. “My hope is that over the next few days and in weeks that the rest of the country can see that same spirit in action and be reminded that working together actually still works,” Cox said. … ” Read more from Arizona Public Media.
Western states face unprecedented energy, water demand driven by AI boom
“At a conference of western governors in Arizona last week, the region’s energy future dominated the conversion as populations and the AI data center industry continue to grow and drive up demand. It didn’t take long for Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to bring up energy as he delivered his opening speech at the meeting. “We knew that the need for electricity was going to increase across our country, but we just didn’t realize the scale, the scope, and the speed at which we would need it,” he said. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
Phoenix sees wettest fall on record with week to spare
“There’s nearly a week left in November, but this autumn’s rainfall in Phoenix has broken records, according to National Weather Service data. This year, Phoenix officially experienced its wettest fall ever. After this weekend’s rainfall, the official NWS rain gauge at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has measured 6.31 inches of rain this fall, which meteorologists define as September through November. The previous record was 6.18 inches, set all the way back in 1939. “It’s pretty substantial,” said NWS meteorologist Tom Frieders. “Anytime you’re talking about records, it’s very unusual.” … ” Read more from New Times Phoenix.
Snowpack off to a slow start in the Rockies, but wetter soils could be a promising sign
“Snowpack across the Upper Colorado River Basin is much lower than average for this time of year. Researchers say the lack of accumulation is due to warmer temperatures in November. “If you look throughout the region during October, temperatures were two to four degrees above average for much of the Upper Colorado River Basin,” said Seth Arens, a research scientist with the Western Water Assessment, adding that November got even warmer. “(Temperatures) have been running six to 12 degrees above normal, some places even as much as 15 degrees,” he said. “So little bits of snow that maybe had fallen in October, some of those have melted out.” … ” Read more from Aspen Public Radio.
In national water news today …
U.S. dams, levees, stormwater, and wastewater systems get D to D+ grades, need almost $1 trillion in upgrades
“”America’s infrastructure is the foundation on which our national economy, global competitiveness, and quality of life depend,” begins the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure from the American Society of Civil Engineers, or ASCE, a trade group. The report, issued once every four years, gave America’s infrastructure an overall grade of C, up from a C- grade in its 2021 report. ASCE credited the improvement to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, plus federal partnerships with state and local governments and the private sector. But dams, levees, stormwater, and wastewater infrastructure components received D to D+ grades. That’s concerning given that climate change is increasingly stressing dams, levees, wastewater, and stormwater systems through heavier precipitation events. What’s more, the federal government has shown little interest in sustaining the funding needed to continue improving infrastructure. … ” Read more from Yale Climate Connections.
Can AI reverse systemic water utility challenges? It’s complicated.
“Across North America, water utilities face a difficult financial and operational reality: unplanned repairs on aging infrastructure run anywhere from two to five times the cost of scheduled maintenance. And those emergency bills keep climbing as labor and materials grow more expensive. There is also a critical infrastructure crisis. Because equipment installed during the post-war boom is past its intended life, breakdowns are happening more often – roughly 260,000 water main failures a year at a direct repair cost of about $2.6 billion in the United States and Canada alone, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. For finance and management, every unplanned shutdown carries immediate operational expenses and can complicate long-term rate planning. Many utilities have turned to AI-based Predictive Maintenance, yet results have often fallen short of expectations. … ” Read more from Water Finance & Management.
EPA says Sackett will save its WOTUS rule. It may not be enough.
“Trump administration officials declared last week that their proposed waters of the U.S. rule would end decades of regulatory ping pong and legal whiplash. But the draft rule redefining which waters and wetlands are covered by the Clean Water Act also introduces a concept that some environmental lawyers are already questioning: wet season. The phrase is not referenced in Sackett v. EPA, the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that administration officials cited as the basis for rewriting the WOTUS regulation. Yet that’s a key term in the new rule. In order to be federally regulated, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers proposed requiring that wetlands and waters contain surface water at least for the duration of the “wet season.” … ” Read more from E&E News.
Agencies release revised WOTUS proposed rule, open 45-day public comment period
“On November 20, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Agencies”) published a proposed rule to revise the Biden-era rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The proposal seeks to update the definition of WOTUS to reflect the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA, which imposed a significantly more restrictive interpretation of the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) jurisdiction. This proposal marks the fifth regulatory update of the WOTUS definition since 2015. The Agencies have opened a 45-day public comment period and will host two in-person public meetings, with a virtual participation option available. Written comments are due January 5, 2026. … ” Continue reading from Best Best & Krieger.
Dismantling the Endangered Species Act will hurt a lot more than just wildlife
“For more than 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has saved thousands of animals and plants from threats like poaching, habitat loss, and pollution. It brought bald eagles back from the brink of extinction, reestablished grizzly bear populations on public lands, and safeguarded the redwood forests that play host to dozens of vulnerable animals. In total, it has prevented the extinction of 99 percent of the species it has protected. Last week, President Donald Trump announced that his administration is weakening or eliminating key provisions of the bedrock environmental law that protect vulnerable species from extractive activities like oil drilling. … ” Read more from Grist.
World’s mountains warming faster than lowlands
“Around the world, mountains are warming faster than surrounding lowlands, scientists warn. More intense heat is melting glaciers and diminishing snowfall, threatening a vital source of fresh water for more than a billion people, according to an exhaustive review of scientific research. It is clear that warmer weather is altering mountain landscapes, said lead author Nick Pepin, of the University of Portsmouth. “What’s less well known is that as you go higher into the mountains, the rate of climate change can become even more intense.” … ” Read more from Yale e360.
Compound changes in oceans alarm scientists
“Climate change is nowhere more apparent in its disruptions than in the world’s oceans. The vast bodies of water that make our planet unique are currently undergoing fast and extensive transformations that are unlike anything scientists have seen before, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Climate Change. Researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, Mercator Ocean International in Toulouse, France, and the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris created a framework and tool to standardize and assess ocean variables and figure out when those variables are changed due to the warming climate. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
YOUR INPUT WANTED: Recharge Incentives Survey Re-Opened Until December 5th
YOUR INPUT WANTED: Winter-run Chinook Salmon Annual Loss Independent Peer Review
