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In California water news today …
Protecting public health: Inside the Division of Drinking Water
“The State Water Board’s Division of Drinking Water (DDW) plays a critical role in ensuring the safety and reliability of drinking water for communities across the state. With regulatory authority over public drinking water systems, the DDW is responsible for enforcing both state and federal drinking water standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This includes overseeing water quality monitoring, permitting, and compliance for thousands of water systems, ranging from small rural providers to large urban utilities. The division also works to protect public health by addressing emerging contaminants, supporting infrastructure improvements, and providing technical assistance to water systems. The November meeting of the California Water Quality Monitoring Council included several presentations from staff from the State Water Board’s Division of Drinking Water. These presentations provided an overview of the division’s role, explored the complexities of drinking water data, and addressed the challenges posed by wildfires to the safety and reliability of drinking water systems. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
Drought to deluge: California’s reservoirs start 2026 near capacity but risks remain
“California rang in the new year with heavy rains that have the state’s reservoirs at historic highs. The downpours were strong enough that the entire state is now officially drought-free for the first time in decades. Data from the Interactive California Reservoir Levels dashboard shows nearly every reservoir in the state is above the historical average capacity. “They’ve done what they’re supposed to do,” John Abatzoglou, professor of climatology at the University of California, Merced, told Straight Arrow News. Those reservoirs are extremely important to the state, especially to California’s agriculture industry which exports tens of billions of dollars of products every year. “When you drive around California and you see anything green, any green fields, that’s almost all irrigated water and it comes either from reservoirs or it comes from groundwater, which is just a reservoir underground,” Jay Lund, emeritus professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis, told SAN. … ” Read more from Straight Arrow News.
How much water is in Lake Shasta, California reservoirs in 2026?
“Lake Shasta and California’s other lakes and reservoirs got a big boost from wet holiday storms. Nearly two weeks into 2026, all of the state’s 17 major reservoirs are brimming above their 30-year average after atmospheric rivers dumped heavy rain on much of the state starting the week before Christmas, lasting into Wednesday, Jan. 7. Both the rain and the rainwater draining from the ground into lakes helped raise reservoir levels, the National Weather Service said. Lake Shasta waters lapped just short of 29 feet from the top on Jan. 11, after rising about 45 feet since Dec. 18 — the day before the first heavy winter storm of the season rolled over Shasta County, according to the California Department of Water Resources. … ” Read more the Redding Record Searchlight.
NOTICE: State Water Board announces streamlined water transfer process
“Recent changes to the Water Code have created a streamlined noticing process for those seeking a temporary water transfer approval from the State Water Resources Control Board (Board). This optional process could reduce the maximum processing time for a temporary transfer from 65 days to 55 days by expediting the noticing process. To be eligible for the streamlined process, the Board’s Division of Water Rights must be notified by January 31, 2026 of water rights intending to participate in a transfer during 2026. This notification is considered an “intent to transfer” and is not a commitment to submitting a petition for temporary transfer. … ” Read more from the State Water Board.
As water grows more scarce in the West, a satellite tool offers new insight into farm irrigation
“Across the Mountain West, where drought and shrinking reservoirs are putting pressure on already limited water supplies, decisions about who uses how much water often hinge on imperfect data. A nonprofit collaboration called OpenET hopes to change that. The group has expanded a satellite-based platform that estimates how much water crops are actually using — down to individual fields — across nearly the entire United States, including much of the arid West. The technology relies on satellite imagery and climate data to calculate evapotranspiration, or ET — essentially how much water evaporates from soil and transpires through plants. That information can help farmers fine-tune irrigation and give water managers a more consistent way to track agricultural water use at a regional scale. … ” Read more from Wyoming Public Radio.
Bay Area researchers hope to unlock the secrets of coastal fog — and understand how it’s affected by climate change and pollution
“Considering that it is a fixture of life in California, it’s remarkable how much remains unknown about the fog that regularly flows over the coast from the Pacific Ocean. But a collaboration between researchers throughout the state hopes to change that. With a five-year, $3.7 million grant from the Heising-Simon Foundation, the Pacific Coastal Fog Research project is poised to lift the veil on the rather mysterious meteorological phenomenon. The scientists will record the fog’s chemical composition, examine how it helps support redwood forests and other ecosystems, and look at the possible effects of climate change and pollution from human activities. Sara Baguskas and her colleagues at San Francisco State University are one of five teams working on the project. Starting in the spring, they will head out to locations on the coast from San Diego to Humboldt County, carrying towering fog collectors and a slew of sensors measuring temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
When clouds flock together
“Caroline Muller looks at clouds differently than most people. Where others may see puffy marshmallows, wispy cotton candy or thunderous gray objects storming overhead, Muller sees fluids flowing through the sky. She visualizes how air rises and falls, warms and cools, and spirals and swirls to form clouds and create storms. But the urgency with which Muller, a climate scientist at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria in Klosterneuburg, considers such atmospheric puzzles has surged in recent years. As our planet swelters with global warming, storms are becoming more intense, sometimes dumping two or even three times more rain than expected. Such was the case in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, in March 2025: Almost half the city’s yearly average rainfall fell in less than 12 hours, causing deadly floods. … ” Read more from Knowable Magazine.
Solar farms muscle into U.S. farmland as energy needs spike
“Central Arizona farmer Noah Hiscox is among the last holdouts in Pinal County. So far, more than 20,000 acres of farmland have been converted to solar panels in adjacent Coolidge and Eloy counties. “It was kind of like cancer. It just kept growing and before they realized, ‘My goodness, this could kill us.’ The community became united against it,” Hiscox said. “Nobody likes it. Nobody wants to see it. Everybody’s unhappy with it.” Beyond aesthetics, Hiscox said the panels have created a heat island effect, driving temperatures upward. “If it doesn’t get down into the 70s at night, cotton doesn’t pollinate,” he said. “Last summer, we had the most high-nighttime lows in history. Consequently, it hurt our yields considerably. We had a lot of nights up in the 80s. Our yields were probably off by half a bale last year.” … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
SEE ALSO: The biggest US solar-storage project yet takes shape in California, from Canary Media
Legal alert: Third District affirms judgment denying validation of DWR bonds to finance amorphously defined “Delta Program” conveyance facilities as unauthorized by Water Code Section 11260, mooting appeals of unsuccessful CEQA challenges
“In a mostly published 43-page opinion filed December 31, 2025, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s judgment in consolidated actions consisting of the Department of Water Resources’ (“DWR”) in rem validation action seeking to validate its authority to issue revenue bonds for the “Delta Program,” and a reverse-validation action brought under CEQA, the Delta Reform Act, and the public trust doctrine by various environmental NGOs, and other governmental agencies and entities, challenging that authority. Department of Water Resources v. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California et al. / Sierra Club et al. v. Department of Water Resources (The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California et al., Real Parties in Interest) (2025) ___Cal.App.5th___. The Court of Appeal held the trial court properly denied validation of DWR’s authority to issue revenue bonds under Water Code § 11260 to finance the planning, acquisition, and construction of the nebulously defined “Delta Program” as a supposed modification of the existing “Feather River Project” component of the State Water Project (“SWP”), which is one of many separate and distinct legislatively-authorized “Units” of the Central Valley Project (“CVP”). … ” Read more from Miller Starr Regalia.
SEE ALSO:
- Statement on Appellate Court Rejection of Delta Tunnel Financing, from the Delta Counties Coalition
- Butte and Plumas counties were part of winning court fight against the Newsom Administration in latest clash over future of California water, from the Chico News & Review
Supporting coastal adaptation planning across California – flood hazard maps now available statewide
“With the release of data in Mendocino County, CoSMoS projections are now available across the entire state, including San Francisco Bay and the Channel Islands. CoSMoS is a dynamic modeling approach that allows for detailed projections of coastal flooding due to both future sea level change and extreme storms, integrated with long-term coastal evolution (i.e., beach changes and cliff retreat). CoSMoS models all the relevant physics of a coastal storm (e.g., tides, waves, and storm surge), and results are scaled down to local flood projections for use in community-level coastal planning and risk-reduction. Wind and pressure from global climate models are used to project coastal storm impacts under changing climatic conditions, rather than relying on historical storm records. Resulting hazard maps are available for multiple storm scenarios under a consistent suite of sea-level rise scenarios. These options allow users to manage and meet their own planning time horizons and specify degrees of risk tolerance, in line with California Sea Level Rise Guidance (2024). … ” Read more from the USGS.
CEQA cleanup bill withdrawn, delaying fix to industrial exemptions
“Environmental justice and conservation advocates’ push to advance a bill aimed at strengthening California’s Environmental Quality Act stalled, as the measure was pulled from Monday’s hearing agenda. Assembly Bill 1083 would have rolled back some of the exemptions that the governor and the Legislature passed in June with Senate Bill 131. The exemptions to CEQA, a law that requires public agencies to identify and mitigate significant environmental impacts from their proposed projects, allowed “advanced manufacturing” projects to forgo environmental review. “I introduced AB 1083 as a two-year bill at the end of last year’s legislative session to make sure the issue of SB 131 cleanup was front-and-center when we returned the following year …As we approached the new year, it became clear that we needed more time to continue conversations, and the Speaker has facilitated these discussions,” Assemblymember Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, said in a statement. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
In commentary today …
National Academies committee misses opportunity to improve management actions targeting the embattled Delta smelt
Dennis D. Murphy writes, “Two years ago, the Bureau of Reclamation engaged the National Academies by sponsoring the Committee on Long-term Operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. The effort was intended to get much-needed direction to guide conservation efforts targeting the beleaguered delta smelt, along with the other imperiled fishes that inhabit or migrate through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Committee empaneled by the Academies, the nation’s top science advisory body, delivered its first report last month. More than three decades after the delta smelt’s listing as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and after many hundreds of millions of dollars spent by federal and state resource-management agencies on “science” targeting the species, Reclamation had formally acknowledged that management actions to alter the downward trajectory of the delta smelt had, in a word, failed. … ” Continue reading at the Center for California Water Resources and Management.
State budget still needs to prioritize safe drinking water
“Governor Gavin Newsom released his final draft California state budget for 2026-2027. Unfortunately, this budget endangers the governor’s legacy of advancing the Human Right to Water that has been a priority of the Newsom administration. While the proposal to appropriate an additional $173.2 million in capital funds from Proposition 4 is needed, we are concerned that the ability to apply those funds to California’s most at-risk households and communities will be compromised if we fail to fully fund the SAFER Program. SAFER provides funds for technical assistance, planning and feasibility studies that must be completed before capital funds can be accessed. The SAFER program makes invaluable investments into small rural communities that need safe drinking water solutions to protect the health of their families. This is a strong effort in the face of a drinking water crisis that will need a $15 billion dollar investment over the next decade. Unfortunately, this year’s shortfall is not a short-term problem; the governor’s budget estimates a nearly $100 million shortfall in SAFER revenues over the next four years. … ” Read more from the Community Water Center.
How the Colorado River impacts the Central Valley
Paul G. Peschel, P.E., a California-licensed civil engineer and water and infrastructure executive, writes, “The Central Valley’s surface water reliability is driven primarily by hydrology and regulation in Northern and Central California (Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed, Sierra snowpack, Delta export constraints), plus the operating and contractual frameworks of the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) and California State Water Project (SWP). The Colorado River does not directly supply the Central Valley; however, Colorado River shortages can materially affect Central Valley water availability through indirect pathways: (1) increased Southern California demand for SWP/CVP supplies and for transferred water originating in the Central Valley, (2) operational coupling in shared infrastructure (notably San Luis Reservoir and south-of-Delta conveyance), and (3) policy and economic feedback loops that alter Delta operations, transfer markets, and funding priorities. … ” Continue reading at Water Wrights.
In regional water news and commentary today …
SIERRA NEVADA
Plumas National Forest starts Magalia burn project
“While Magalia has yet to see snow this season, white flakes fell from the sky Monday morning after the Plumas National Forest began lighting piles of wood and brush as part of an ongoing fire fuels reduction project. Smoke and fire were clearly visible from the Skyway north of Magalia as firefighters slowly made their way through prefabricated piles, lighting the masses and carefully monitoring them to avoid the spread of fire. Plumas National Forest Public Information Officer Adrienne Freeman said the total project taking place in and around Magalia this week covers about 84 acres. “This is part of a much larger fuel reduction project,” Freeman said. “The one in Magalia is about 17 acres and the one up on Hupp Coutolenc Road is about 67 acres.” … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record.
Court rules in favor of Placer County in Tahoe basin area plan amendments lawsuit
“The Placer County Superior Court has denied a request to reverse the Placer County Board of Supervisors’ approval of amendments to the county’s Tahoe Basin Area Plan. The court’s Jan. 3 order allows the county to continue implementing updated development guidelines approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2023. The amendments are intended to focus redevelopment efforts in North Lake Tahoe’s town centers of Kings Beach and Tahoe City and facilitate achievable housing by encouraging environmental restoration, supporting local businesses and reducing traffic congestion, among other goals. Changes to the county’s Tahoe Basin Area Plan were required to ensure consistency with updates to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s development guidelines for the Lake Tahoe Basin. … ” Read more from the Placer Sentinel.
Placer County celebrates completion of American River cleanup, removing decades-old bridge debris
“Placer County officials are marking the completion of a major cleanup effort along the American River, removing hundreds of tons of debris that had been submerged for more than six decades in the Auburn State Recreation Area. Crews have spent the last several months pulling steel and concrete remnants from the old State Route 49 bridge, material left behind after a 1964 collapse tied to the failure of Hell Hole Dam. At the time, an estimated 750 tons of metal fell into the river, and much of it remained underwater for years. … ” Read more from KCRA.
NAPA/SONOMA
Sonoma Co.: All-clear announced after Russian River wastewater spill
“All remaining coastal and river beaches affected by last week’s Russian River wastewater spill have now been cleared for public use, Sonoma County officials said Monday. The notice follows several days of water quality testing after a powerful storm overwhelmed a treatment plant in Guerneville. The spill occurred Jan. 6 when heavy rainfall inundated the Russian River County Sanitation District plant on Neeley Road, sending untreated wastewater through a forest toward the Russian River. … On Monday, Sonoma County Environmental Health department officials lifted the advisories after days of sampling confirmed that water quality at Goat Rock, Stillwater, Black Point, Gualala and river beaches at Johnson’s, Monte Rio and Patterson Point met state recreational health standards. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
So far, so good…Bodega Bay crabbers cautiously optimistic as season gets underway
“Sonoma County’s first fresh Dungeness crab has begun landing in Bodega Bay. As the first boats return to Bodega Bay at dawn Monday, totes of live crab are hoisted onto the dock for the waiting processor to be steamed. These early runs are usually bountiful, so fishing crew say it’s too soon to tell what kind of season 2026 will be. Asked how the fishing’s been so far, crabbers told KRCB News, “We don’t really know yet…it’s good so far.” … ” Read more from NorCal Public Media.
BAY AREA
New study teases out seawall impacts
“Experts predict the San Francisco Bay Area will bear two-thirds of the damage from coastal flooding in the state this century, putting 400,000 residents and $150 billion in property at risk. A new study suggests much of that damage will be the result of sea level rise, and can be avoided with a combination of shoreline protection strategies. An important consideration of these strategies, however, is their impact on Bay water levels. The study, published in September in the Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, examined the effectiveness of three kinds of flood mitigation strategies, as well as their potential impact on both water levels and tidal amplitude — the intensity of and range between high and low tides — in the Bay. Researchers at a Dutch technological institute, an Alameda County engineering firm, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Berkeley collaborated on the report. … ” Read more from the Knee Deep Times.
USGS: A model to predict sediment bulk density for the San Francisco Estuary
“Sediment bulk density is a physical property of the sediment bed that tells scientists how compacted the particles are. It’s a key parameter for calculating sediment budgets, modeling sediment transport, and predicting bed erosion, and can be used to calculate carbon density when measured with carbon content to quantify sequestration rates. These analyses are used in beneficial sediment reuse and marsh restoration projects in places like San Francisco Bay, where marshes buffer shorelines from storms but are in danger of drowning due to sea-level rise if sediment accumulation can’t keep up. … ” Read more from the USGS.
CENTRAL COAST
We must defend Camarillo’s water future
David Tennessen, Mayor of Camarillo, writes, “Camarillo’s water future is at risk, and it’s important that our residents and state leaders understand what’s at stake. A group of powerful interests called the “OPV Coalition” has sued all groundwater users in the Oxnard and Pleasant Valley basins, including Camarillo, to determine groundwater availability and rights. This coalition, which includes the city of Oxnard, United Water Conservation District, Pleasant Valley County Water District, Marathon Land and other large agricultural landowners, is trying to cut our city’s long-standing share of groundwater — a move that threatens higher water costs and jeopardizes full operation of the city’s North Pleasant Valley Desalter, a $70 million project that removes salts from groundwater to meet environmental mandates while providing clean drinking water. … ” Read more from the Ventura County Star.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Manteca continues effort to remove TCP from drinking water
“Manteca has been effectively removing TCP from municipal well water over the past decade. Described by the state as a “potent carcinogen”, it has been detected in a handful of city wells over the years as the plume of contamination spreads hundreds of feet below ground. Most of the city’s wells aren’t impacted. The effective removal of the containment TCP — 1,2,3-trichloropapne — from municipal water has been a priority for the city since it was first detected in a well in 2013. The city last month finished a $3.96 million project that added the TCP treatment process to a well located in the park serving the Yosemite Village neighborhood south of Lincoln Center anchored by Hafer’s Furniture and to the southeast of the Union Road and Yosemite Avenue intersection. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin.
‘We need the snowpack’: Fresno County farmers welcome more fog and precipitation
“Central Valley farmers and ag experts welcome the continuing fog, and hope more rain and winter weather are headed our way. They say the fog helps keep temperatures cool, which is great for trees and vines. It puts them in a dormancy state, which means they stay asleep until it’s time to bloom. But if it gets too warm, they’ll start to bloom too early. “I was probably the only one complaining last month that it wasn’t cold enough,” laughed Paul Betancourt. Betancourt has been growing almonds in Fresno County for nearly 40 years. … ” Read more from Your Central Valley.
California declared drought-free, but farmers still face challenges
“California has been declared drought-free according to the latest map released by the U.S. Drought Monitor. However, local farmer Daniel Palla expressed that this change does not significantly impact farmers. “I’m excited to hear that the state did receive water from Mother Nature and God that we did receive the rain…,” Palla said. Despite the positive news, he noted, “There’s really no difference between this and your average year. The state’s only gonna give us 10%.” … ” Read more from Bakersfield Now.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
EPA marks one year since Los Angeles wildfires with completion of cleanup effort
“One year after a series of destructive wildfires swept through Los Angeles, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is highlighting the scale and speed of its post-fire hazardous materials cleanup, a critical step in protecting water quality and supporting community recovery.According to EPA, the agency completed its Phase 1 hazardous material removal in 28 days, clearing the way for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct debris removal. The effort marked EPA’s largest wildfire cleanup to date, with 13,612 residential properties and 305 commercial properties surveyed and approved for Phase 2 work. EPA also reported the safe removal and disposal of more than 1,000 lithium-ion batteries, which pose fire, soil, and stormwater contamination risks if left unmanaged. … ” Read more from Stormwater Solutions.
FEMA to pay for lead testing at 100 homes destroyed in Eaton fire, after months of saying it was unnecessary
“In a remarkable reversal, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for soil testing for lead at 100 homes that were destroyed by the Eaton fire and cleaned up by federal disaster workers. The forthcoming announcement would mark an about-face for FEMA officials, who repeatedly resisted calls to test properties for toxic substances after federal contractors finished removing fire debris. The new testing initiative follows reporting by The Times that workers repeatedly violated cleanup protocols, possibly leaving fire contaminants behind or moving them into unwanted areas, according to federal reports. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Digging out in the Palisades Fire burn zone
“Talking my way through the National Guard checkpoint at the intersection of Amalfi Drive and Sunset Boulevard felt like crossing the River Styx, into the underworld. … That first day I made it past the checkpoint into the Pacific Palisades, I met Brayan. I was wandering on foot, absorbing the sight of mansion after mansion transformed by fire into teetering, abstract sculptures. I was chilled, wheezing through the N95 mask I’d plucked from our dusty pandemic stash. When I stopped in front of the first property on the block to be cleared, the door of an excavator swung open and a spectral figure dressed in a white hazmat suit descended into the wreckage. He approached and, pulling aside a respirator, asked, “Was this your house?” I explained that the house wasn’t mine, and that I’d come simply to try to make sense of the unimaginable scale of devastation — to see it with my own eyes. Brayan told me that he lives in Wilmington, a close-knit, industrial community near the Port of Los Angeles. He and his wife have young twin boys. When I asked if he worried about the toll his work in the burn zone could take on his health, he replied, “No, it’s more the little things, you know?” … ” Read more from High Country News.
State authorizes expedited judicial review for Pure Water Southern California environmental process
“Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California State Legislature have given the Pure Water Southern California large-scale recycled water project a potential boost by approving measures designed to quickly resolve any legal challenges to its environmental review.
Metropolitan Water District and Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts are jointly planning the Carson-based project, which would purify and reuse cleaned wastewater currently discharged to the ocean. After gathering feedback on the project’s draft Environmental Impact Report last summer, Metropolitan is preparing to release a final EIR in the coming weeks. Gov. Newsom and the State Legislature last week certified the project under SB 149, the California Environmental Quality Act judicial streamlining process. The 2023 law is designed to help critical infrastructure projects move forward without lengthy court delays, while maintaining CEQA’s environmental standards. The certification of Pure Water means if the project’s final EIR faces any legal challenges, it will benefit from expedited judicial review. … ” Read more from the Metropolitan Water District.
Orange County agencies launch first AI course for water professionals
“A coalition of Orange County agencies is launching a groundbreaking online education program designed to equip Orange County water professionals with artificial intelligence skills to modernize water utility management. A collaboration between California Data Collaborative, CEO Leadership Alliance Orange County (CLAOC), Moulton Niguel Water District and the University of California Irvine, Division of Continuing Education (UCI DCE), has launched the nation’s first online course dedicated to AI for water professionals. Funding for the course was made possible through a California Jobs First grant awarded to the CEO Leadership Alliance Orange County to catalyze local workforce development projects. … ” Read more from Water Online.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Commentary: Imperial Valley water security
Paul Magaña, an Imperial Valley resident, writes, “Imperial Valley possesses some of the most senior and secure Colorado River water rights in the western United States. Despite this, the region faces a growing policy and legal risk—not from scarcity, but from persistent underutilization of its allocated water. Over multiple recent years, substantial volumes of water allocated to the Valley were not put to reasonable and beneficial use and were therefore transferred out of the region under established priority and accounting frameworks. Continued underutilization threatens Imperial Valley’s long-term water security, economic stability, and negotiating position in the post-2026 Colorado River operating regime. … ” Read more from the Imperial Valley Press Online.
Developer of $10B data center sues City of Imperial in fed court.
“Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC has filed a civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court, Southern District of California, against the city of Imperial and several senior officials (case no. 3:26-cv-00128), according to a press release from IVCM. The litigation alleges a coordinated campaign of administrative obstruction and targeted retaliation designed to derail a permitted $10 billion AI data center project. Named defendants include the city of Imperial, City Council member Katherine Burnworth, City Manager Dennis Morita, City Attorney Kathrine Turner and Planning Director Othon Mora. The lawsuit outlines massive economic losses resulting from the obstruction, including 1,688 construction jobs, 100 permanent high-tech positions, and hundreds of indirect jobs. The city’s actions have allegedly blocked $72.5 million in one-time sales tax revenue and $28.75 million in recurring annual property tax revenue. … ” Read more from the Calexico Chronicle.
Along the Colorado River …
Feds publish possible playbook for managing dwindling Colorado River supply
“The federal agency overseeing the water supply for tens of millions of people in the West has published a list of options for how it might manage the drought-stricken Colorado River in the future. The five proposals range from taking “no action” to a scenario that might result in water cuts to the lower basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona. One alternative developed in partnership with conservation groups would incentivize states and water users to proactively conserve the river. But the Interior Department is not identifying a preferred option, and the scenarios outlined in hundreds of pages of documents will only move forward if all seven states that depend on the water fail to agree on their own conservation plan soon. … ” Read more from Colorado Public Radio.
“We can do better.” Draft EIS sparks new Colorado River disputes
“On Friday, January 9, the United States Bureau of Reclamation released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement addressing how Lake Powell and Lake Mead could be operated after 2026. The document outlines several alternatives for managing the Colorado River system amid long-term drought, declining reservoir levels, and growing demand across the West. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is part of the federal process to replace the current operating guidelines that expire at the end of 2026. It evaluates multiple possible approaches for releasing water from the two largest reservoirs in the Colorado River Basin and is intended to inform future operational decisions. That same day, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California issued a public statement responding to the draft analysis. General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh described the document as a warning sign that the Basin States remain divided over the river’s future. … ” Read more from Western Water.
Arizona bill would make it a felony to change the climate or weather
“A proposed Arizona bill would make it a felony to try to affect the climate or weather. The legislation is proposed by Sen. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills). It states a person may not use any means to try to alter the temperature, climate, weather or intensity of sunlight. This isn’t the first time GOP lawmakers have tried to ban geoengineering. Although Kavanagh’s bill comes shortly after Pinal County experimented with cloud seeding over the summer, which drew frustration from Republicans — he said he introduced it because his constituents are worried about chemtrails. Kavanagh said he doesn’t know if chemtrails are happening, but he wants the ban just in case. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
In national water news today …
States say they need more help replacing lead pipes. Congress may cut the funding instead.
“The Senate is taking up a spending package passed by the House of Representatives that would cut $125 million in funding promised this year to replace toxic lead pipes. Including three of 12 appropriations bills, this package will fund parts of the federal government, including the Environmental Protection Agency. The Senate is slated to vote on it later this week. Near the end of more than 400 pages of text, it proposes repurposing some funds previously obligated by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law. That law, advanced by the Biden administration, promised $15 billion over five years to fund the replacement of service lines — pipes routing water into people’s homes and other buildings — that are made of or contain lead, a neurotoxin that can cause cognitive, developmental, reproductive, and cardiovascular harm. … ” Read more from Grist.
Study shows U.S. rivers lack adequate protections, but National Parks can help
“A peer-reviewed study from American Rivers and Conservation Science Partners reveals that more than 80 percent of U.S. rivers lack adequate protection. Roughly two-thirds of the nation’s 4.4 million miles of rivers are currently completely unprotected, according to the assessment, and protections for another 17 percent are considered inadequate to safeguard rivers from major threats including dams, pollution, and loss of fish and wildlife habitat. Only one tenth of rivers in the contiguous United States–or 383,741 miles–are currently protected at a level considered effective by the scientific community. National parks alone offer protection to 130,000 miles of rivers, or just under 3 percent of the nation’s 4.4 million miles. Of all the protected rivers, one tenth flow through national parks, showing that national parks play a large role in river protection where other mechanisms prove inadequate. … ” Read more from the National Parks Traveler.
The new cyber risk challenging America’s water: Modernization itself
“Water utilities have made significant strides in modernizing and securing their systems over the past decades. Embracing digital transformation has been necessary to improve efficiency, resilience, and service delivery. It’s also positioned utilities to respond quickly and effectively as cybersecurity threats evolve. The integration of IT and OT systems has unlocked significant benefits — from enhanced operational visibility to smarter decision-making — and reflects years of hard work and commitment to innovation. This progress is a foundation for the next phase: strengthening defenses in a rapidly changing threat landscape. As adversaries grow more sophisticated, utilities are not starting from scratch. They are building on a decade of modernization, leveraging advanced tools, and applying lessons learned to protect critical infrastructure. The challenge ahead is not about past vulnerabilities but about continuing the collaborative journey to ensure security keeps pace with innovation. Together, the industry can accelerate protective measures without sacrificing the efficiency and reliability that modernization has delivered. … ” Read more from Water Online.
U.S. carbon emissions were falling. Why did they go up in 2025?
“Coal plants churned out more electricity. Power-hungry data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations drove up demand. And colder winter temperatures meant more furnaces working overtime. After two years of declines in the amount of greenhouse gases the United States pumped into the atmosphere, the nation’s planet-warming emissions rose an estimated 2.4 percent during 2025, according to an analysis published Tuesday by the independent economic research firm Rhodium Group. “This is not the right direction,” said Ben King, a director on the U.S. energy team at Rhodium and co-author of Tuesday’s report. “Seeing upward emissions levels in the United States, on the whole, is not great. It is problematic for the prospects of meeting long-term decarbonization.” … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
