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In California water news today …
Delta data offline? No more X2? Monitoring changes could obscure the fate of fish & flows
“Big changes are likely on the way for the Delta, thanks to new federal policies, state water management plans, and planned infrastructure. These changes will almost certainly alter the volume, timing and objectives of water flowing through the Delta, but due to recent changes in long-established monitoring programs, the impact on water quality and the ecosystem may be very hard for water managers and scientists to evaluate. In early December the Bureau of Reclamation issued a Record of Decision adopting a new long-term plan for the coordinated operations of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, designed to maximize water deliveries from the projects Under the new approach, the CVP may increase annual water deliveries by between 130,000 to 180,000 acre-feet. A key component of the plan is the abandonment of the Summer-Fall Habitat Action (SFHA, often referred to as X2), which consists of several components designed to increase the area of low-salinity conditions that favor critically endangered Delta smelt. These include adjusting the operations of the Suisun Marsh Salinity Control Gates, and the release of up to 100,000 acre-feet of fresh water from the projects. … ” Read more from Cariad Hayes Thronson at Maven’s Notebook.
Sierra snow is finally returning, along with Bay Area rain. Here’s what to expect
“Relief is finally on the way for a snow-starved Sierra Nevada. A long-advertised pattern change begins this week, kicking off what looks like an active stretch of weather through mid-February. The first storm arrives Tuesday, bringing a modest but meaningful round of snow to the mountains and rain to the Bay Area. More importantly, it appears to be the opening act. On Tuesday, the first in a series of storms will deliver a quarter- to a half-inch of rain to much of the Bay Area, along with roughly 6 to 12 inches of snow at most Tahoe-area resorts. It’s not a blockbuster, but it would mark the first significant Sierra snowfall since early January. And it probably won’t be the last. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
After a long, dry, and very warm January, a cooler & wetter pattern will return to the U.S. West, with partial relief amid record-low mountain snowpack
Dr. Daniel Swain writes, “Well, it sure has been a winter to remember thus far across the Western U.S. Astonishing, record-breaking warmth has pervaded nearly entire region (with few exceptions, though one of them being CA’s Central Valley due to two distinct tule fog episodes). Precipitation has been mixed–with a record or near-record wet start to the season across portion of central and southern California and a record dry start across portions of the interior West/Rocky Mountains (including parts of Utah and Colorado). As a result of the nearly universal record warmth, plus regions of low precipitation, western U.S. snowpack has now reached record low levels for February in numerous individual locations; every single western watershed, as of February 7th, had below average snow water equivalent. There are a handful of high mountain regions with near or even above average snow water storage right now–including the highest peaks of the southern Sierra Nevada and northern Rockies–where heavy precipitation earlier this season generated “cement-like” heavy wet snowfall that has persisted despite the anomalous heat. But on balance, snowpack is essentially as bad as it’s ever been in recorded history for the time of year in at least some portion of every single western U.S. state. … ” … ” Read more from Weather West.
Valley farmers push for Trump to fund Shasta Dam enlargement project
“Central Valley farmers, businesses and water users are urging President Donald Trump to use funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill to enlarge Shasta Dam. Overall, a total of 135 people signed the letter, which was sent to Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought and the California Congressional Delegation on Monday. Why it matters: Shasta Dam was constructed in 1945 to provide 4.5 million acre-feet of water storage, helping fuel the Central Valley Project. But the delivery capability of Shasta Reservoir has been reduced by around 40% since the early 1990s due to certain environmental restrictions. Coupled with no new water storage projects built in California in around half a century, the state needs more storage capacity. The project would provide 634,000 acre feet in additional capacity at Shasta Reservoir. … ” Read more from the SJV Sun.
Water agencies grapple with climate change and the ‘silver tsunami’ of an aging workforce
“As water agencies across California grapple with the increasingly extreme effects of climate change, they’re also facing another problem: the incoming “silver tsunami.” That’s the phrase coined by the industry to illustrate the fact that much of the workforce — largely baby boomers — that keeps our water flowing and safe are getting ready to retire. Nationwide, about a third of the nation’s water workforce is eligible for retirement within the next decade, “the majority being workers with trade jobs in mission critical positions,” the Environmental Protection Agency wrote in a 2024 report. … ” Read more from the LAist.
SEE ALSO:
- New report highlights effective water workforce strategies, from Water Finance & Management
- Veolia, partners launch online training program to bolster water workforce, from Water Finance & Management
Why does water cost more in some parts of California than others?
“The price of water varies greatly throughout California, with some farmers paying next to nothing and some cities paying a lot. But why? What drives these price differences? Many farmers along the Colorado River receive water from federal projects at little or no cost, while some agencies in coastal cities — such as San Jose and Carlsbad — pay over $2,000 per acre-foot. Consider how, this past holiday season, many of us bought gifts from online retailers who provide “free” delivery. We have come to expect to only pay for the product itself — not its delivery. But the cost structure for water is almost exactly the opposite: Water itself is essentially free; what we pay for is the delivery system. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
‘Little death bombs’: Illegal cannabis farms poison California’s forests. Who’s cleaning them up?
“Law enforcement raided the illegal cannabis operation in Shasta-Trinity National Forest months before, but rotting potatoes still sat on the growers’ makeshift kitchen worktop, waiting to be cooked. Ecologist Greta Wengert stared down the pockmarked hillside at a pile of pesticide sprayers left behind, long after the raid. Wild animals had gnawed through the pressurized canisters, releasing the chemicals inside. “They’re just these little death bombs, waiting for any wildlife that is going to investigate,” said Wengert, co-founder of the Integral Ecology Research Center, a non-profit that studies the harms caused by cannabis grows on public lands. For all her stoic professionalism, she sounded a little sad. For over a decade, Wengert and her colleagues have warned that illegal cannabis grows like this one dangerously pollute California’s public lands and pristine watersheds, with lasting consequences for ecosystems, water and wildlife. Now, they’re sounding another alarm — that inadequate federal funding, disjointed communication, dangerous conditions and agencies stretched thin at both the state and federal level are leaving thousands of grow sites – and their trash, pesticides, fertilizers and more – to foul California’s forests. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Oregon, Washington and tribes head back to court after Trump pulls out of deal to recover salmon
“Lawyers for conservation groups, Native American tribes, and the states of Oregon and Washington returned to court Friday to seek changes to dam operations on the Snake and Columbia Rivers, following the collapse of a landmark agreement with the federal government to help recover critically imperiled salmon runs. Last year President Donald Trump torpedoed the 2023 deal, in which the Biden administration had promised to spend $1 billion over a decade to help restore salmon while also boosting tribal clean energy projects. The White House called it “radical environmentalism” that could have resulted in the breaching of four controversial dams on the Snake River. Referring to the decades-long litigation, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon in Portland said it was “deja vu all over again” as he opened the hearing in a packed courtroom. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Klamath County commissioners declare emergency for failing levee at Lake Ewauna, reallocate ARPA funds
“Failing infrastructure on a lot of recently purchased property at Lake Ewauna has resulted in an emergency declaration on its behalf. According to reports from Klamath County Public Works Director Jeremy Morris in an administrative meeting last month with the Board of County Commissioners, a segment of shoreline now owned by the county along Lake Ewauna is suffering from a failed pump station and failing levees. “I fear that (with) the wave action on Lake Ewauna and the lack of a pump station … the interior 60 acres is going to fill up,” Morris said. “That wave action on both sides of the levee, including other interior levees, is in jeopardy of the levee failing.” … ” Read more from the Herald & News.
SIERRA NEVADA
Tribe and others receive funds for local forest resiliency efforts
“The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) is awarding $27.5 million for wildfire recovery and forest resiliency projects, including a notable amount coming to the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians. At its most recent meeting, the state agency (SNC) approved a $920,000 grant to the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians to complete the environmental planning efforts for a 2,895 acre forest health project on tribal land. The Tribe’s land management plan aims to reduce fuels to protect forests and infrastructure from wildfires and drought. In addition, the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority has received a $723,000 grant to help develop a landscape-scale plan to improve forest health on 40,000 acres spread between the Stanislaus and El Dorado National forests. The project area includes parts of Tuolumne, Calaveras, Stanislaus, Amador, Alpine, and El Dorado counties. … ” Read more from My Mother Lode.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
The weirdly wonderful American River bridge that never was
“It was a captivating and perhaps head-scratching presentation by a world-renowned engineering visionary touting a unique bridge over the middle fork American River 10 miles upstream from what was to have been an Auburn Dam. For an hour, Placer County leaders were enthralled — if not puzzled — as T.Y. Lin of San Francisco outlined his proposal for a web of cables supporting a curved “horizontal” arc span suspended 35 feet over the future dam’s reservoir. It had never been done before. And as it turned out, it never was to be. … ” Read more from the Gold Mountain News.
City of Roseville agrees to pay nearly $358,000 for sanitary sewer spill violation
“The City of Roseville has agreed to pay nearly $358,000 to resolve water quality violations alleged by the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board in connection with a sanitary sewer spill that discharged about 366,600 gallons of untreated sewage into a tributary of the Sacramento River in late 2023. The sewage spill was caused by a blockage resulting from root intrusion into sewer system piping. The blockage caused untreated sewage to overflow from a manhole, where it went undetected for an extended period. The spill began on November 19, 2023, and continued until December 4, 2023. The order resulted from odor complaints and alleges the discharge had the potential to impact a nearby waterway. Upon learning of the spill, Roseville immediately worked to clear the blockage and recover spilled amounts. … ” Continue reading this press release from the State Water Board.
NAPA/SONOMA
Monte Rio grows, connecting Sonoma’s redwood corridor
“Through a densely forested slope on the west side of Dutch Bill Creek, upstream of its confluence with the Russian River, a dirt road zigzags skyward through the redwoods. Once used by loggers to extract the watershed’s timber, the road leads past marks of the lumbering era: a coil of rusted cable strewn in the ferns, deeply eroded stream channels, and countless redwood stumps uphill and down. But the din of logging has vanished from this land. Today, the steep road is a multiuse trail and the recovering forest is protected, part of Sonoma County’s Monte Rio Redwoods Regional Park and Open Space Preserve. Opened in 2020, Monte Rio quadrupled in size last summer with the purchase of 1,517 acres of mostly second-growth redwoods and mixed woodland. Significantly, the approximately 2,030-acre preserve connects to adjacent public property, making it a wonderland for hikers, cyclists, and equestrians. … ” Read more from Bay Nature.
BAY AREA
‘Train of two storms’ marks big change in Bay Area weather forecast
“After an unusually thick layer of fog settled over the Bay Area Sunday morning, clear skies are expected to win out just in time for Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara. However, back-to-back rain showers are looming on the horizon. Onshore winds were responsible for the early morning haze that rapidly traveled inland and led to visibility of a quarter mile or less across the region, Sebastian Westerink, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office, told SFGATE. The haze is “going to drop off dramatically in the next couple of hours or so, though it might hang around the coastline,” he said. “It’ll probably be partly cloudy by game time, but it’ll be a pretty nice evening, all things considered, for this time of year.” Temperatures will linger between the upper 50s and low-to-mid 60s at Levi’s Stadium, he said. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Pleasanton, Zone 7 eye new wells at Hansen, Tennis and Community parks
“The Pleasanton City Council recently received an update on the first phase of the so-called “Regional Groundwater Facilities Improvement Project”, which determined that the two best locations to construct and operate new groundwater wells in the city are the Pleasanton Tennis and Community Park, and Hansen Park. The two new wells would be located outside of a PFAS plume and would contribute to the city’s water supply, which has taken a significant hit after the city had to shut down its wells and buy 100% of its water supply from the Zone 7 Water Agency because of the presence of PFAS, also known as forever chemicals. City-operated groundwater wells contribute up to 3,500 acre-feet per year of water — approximately 20 to 25% — of Pleasanton’s total municipal supply needs. … ” Read more from Pleasanton Weekly.
CENTRAL COAST
Holding the line: What’s happening with salmon in Santa Cruz County
“Salmon in Santa Cruz County live on the edge. Quite literally: Monterey Bay marks the southern extent of the range for several salmon species in California, where naturally warmer water, smaller creeks that run low or dry in summer and fewer cool places to shelter leave local populations more vulnerable than their counterparts farther north. Recent years have brought cautious optimism about a rebound statewide, with scientists and restoration groups saying salmon here are still “hanging on,” sustained by decades of monitoring and an expanding web of restoration efforts. … ” Read more from Lookout Santa Cruz.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
L.A.’s Terminal Island Water Reclamation Plant leverages water reuse to protect groundwater supply
“The Terminal Island Water Reclamation Plant (TIWRP) at LA Sanitation and Environment is a global trailblazer in water reuse, harnessing recycled water to safeguard its groundwater reserves against saltwater intrusion and meet the city’s growing water needs. In this article, Lance Thibodeaux, division manager for the Terminal Island water reclamation division at LA Sanitation and Environment, describes Terminal Island’s industry leading water reuse program and its long-time partnership with Xylem. The City of Los Angeles is a global leader in water reuse, deploying advanced recycled water solutions to help meet the city’s growing demands and tackle one of its toughest challenges: groundwater depletion. … ” Read more from Water Online.
Chino Hills to install $2.6 million waterline
“Construction work began Thursday on a $2.6 million waterline project under Ramona Avenue from Bird Farm Road to Mesa Boulevard in Los Serranos. The work will replace an aging water main with 760 linear feet of new 12-inch water main, full-depth roadway construction, new curb, gutter and sidewalk, and a pedestrian island near Ramona and Mesa. The city council awarded a construction contract of $1.5 million to Gentry General Engineering, Inc. at the Nov. 25 council meeting. … ” Read more from the Chino Hills Champion.
Dangerous fire weather risks lasting longer in Los Angeles this year
“Los Angeles is rapidly drying out after a record-breaking burst of rain at the end of last year, with experts warning that dangerous wildfire conditions risk running longer than usual. The atmosphere has grown unusually “thirsty” around the city, with higher evaporative demand stripping moisture from the abundant grasses and plants that blossomed over the course of several rainy winters. Though showers are forecast this week, rainstorms have been scarce in the new year and unseasonable heat has baked parts of the US West, smashing daily temperature records across Southern California. … ” Read more from Bloomberg.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Jeff Gonzalez announces EPA administrator visit to Imperial County
“Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez (R-Indio) announced Friday, Feb. 6, in a press release that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has accepted an invitation to visit Imperial County to see firsthand the impacts of pollution along the New River and the Salton Sea, following a roundtable discussion on cross-border water pollution. Gonzalez joined EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler and regional elected officials Thursday in Coronado to discuss progress in addressing contamination in the Tijuana River. During the roundtable, Gonzalez thanked Zeldin for his work addressing the Tijuana River while emphasizing that the New River, which flows through Imperial County into the Salton Sea, presents a more severe and long-standing challenge, per the release. … ” Read more from the Desert Review.
SAN DIEGO
EPA touts bipartisan efforts to clean up Tijuana River
“The U.S. and Mexico are speeding up plans to clean the Tijuana River and considering interim steps to protect public health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said at a San Diego meeting with local leaders and Congress members Thursday. “This is a non-partisan, bipartisan effort to work together for a very common important good for millions of Americans who have been waiting for this relief for decades,” Zeldin said. Sewage pollution from the cross-border river has plagued Imperial Beach, Coronado and other parts of southern San Diego County for decades, sickening swimmers and surfers, forcing the closure of local beaches and endangering Navy Seals who train in Coronado. As the Tijuana population grew and wastewater plants on both sides of the border failed, hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage gushed into the ocean. The polluted river also emits airborne chemicals including foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide gas, which causes respiratory problems and other ailments among people in neighboring communities. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Along the Colorado River …
The Colorado River might get a short-term fix. Is that good enough?
“Climate change is making the Colorado River drier, and the cities and farms that use it need to make big changes to their demand for water. Negotiations about the future of sharing the river have stalled, and the promise of sweeping, long-lasting changes to water use in the Southwest are seeming less likely as the weeks pass by. Now, a short-term fix may be on the horizon. Negotiations have been at an impasse for months, and officials are wringing their hands about the possibility of a big multi-state court battle. Given the circumstances, some experts say a short-term agreement might be a useful, albeit imperfect, solution for the Colorado River. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
The Colorado River needs a Hail Mary, with time and snow in record short supply
“Years of infighting between states have not delivered any semblance of security for the 40 million people, sprawling acres of farmland or fast-growing Western economies that depend on a drying river. But by next Saturday, the Trump administration expects seven state officials to hammer out a deal to assign shortages amid record low snowpack in the headwaters of the Colorado River. Not everyone is convinced they will deliver. “We are far past the time of talking about meeting only our own states’ needs in these conversations,” said Elizabeth Koebele, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, focused on water governance. “I don’t have high hopes that we’re going to see anything this weekend.” … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Commentary: Seven states, zero solutions: Leadership failure on the Colorado River
Louis Myer writes, “As a Coloradan and water engineer with 48 years on the front lines, I am outraged – not merely disappointed – that the seven states renegotiating reservoir operations, shortage criteria and the post-2026 management plan under the 1922 Colorado River Compact have collapsed into a stalemate. After two full years of talks, and 19 years after the failed Interim guidelines, the Nov. 11, 2025, deadline – set by the Bureau of Reclamation – passed without a single agreement, not even a token gesture of progress. It is a failure of leadership. Why am I not surprised? Negotiations have been anything but transparent, and the public has been shut out of decisions about our most public resource. Where is the urgency, the accountability, the recognition that we are edging toward the cliff? Who thinks that a nontransparent process can withstand the scrutiny and approval of our state legislatures and Congress? … ” Read more at the Durango Herald.
Warming Lake Mead water raises alarm: ‘Big problem for the West’
“Rising temperatures in Lake Mead are straining southern Nevada’s water treatment systems and could disrupt Hoover Dam hydropower if heat persists, according to a recent report.The Colorado River system, which includes the U.S.’s largest reservoirs—Lakes Mead and Powell—supplies water to about 40 million people and irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland, according to the National Agricultural Law Center.Surface temperatures in Lake Mead have risen amid extended drought and climate change, with warmer water now passing through Glen Canyon Dam as Lake Powell shrinks and sending hotter inflows downstream, the Nevada Current reported on Thursday. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
Snow drought in upper Colorado River basin is breaking records, setting up for a drier spring
“This winter’s snow drought is shaping up to be the worst on record for the Upper Colorado River Basin. The snow-water equivalent, or the amount of water stored in snowpack, is at just 61% of median across all SNOTEL monitoring sites above Lake Powell. Both Colorado and Utah are experiencing their lowest snowpack on record. In the Colorado River headwaters, snow-water equivalent is just 54% of median, and 56% in the Gunnison River basin. Snowpack is even lower in the Four Corners, 47% of median snow-water equivalent in the San Miguel-Dolores-Animas-San Juan region, and that figure is the same in Southeastern Utah. … ” Read more from KUNC.
Nevada: Data center water/power needs, regulatory challenges strain rural communities
“Northern Nevada has attracted investments from several tech companies looking to expand their data infrastructure, and while many of those data centers are located in and around Reno, tech companies are starting to branch out. Last summer the Lyon County Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve a plan that would rezone more than 500 acres of agricultural land to accommodate a massive data center complex in the Mason Valley about 10 miles north of Yerington. If built, the 14-building complex would require 1,000 megawatts of power – or enough electricity to power roughly 500,000 homes. The amount of water the data center complex would need is less clear. That’s a concern for local residents because Mason Valley is one of the state’s most overtapped groundwater basins, where farmers already face potential water cuts following a decades-long decline in groundwater. … ” Read more from the Nevada Current.
Arizona’s water supply facing dry snowpack, low reservoirs
“While Arizonans continue to watch the battle for their water from the Colorado River play out, that water itself is having other issues this winter. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs traveled to Washington, D.C., late last week to meet with governors and water policy professionals from the Upper and Lower Basin states and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to discuss ongoing Colorado River negotiations. At its most basic, the impasse stems from Upper Basin states — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico — calling on the Lower Basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada — to reduce water use while Lower Basin states are calling on the Upper states to strengthen their conservation efforts. More than 40 million people rely at least in part on the Colorado River for drinking water, crop irrigation, hydropower and other needs. The meeting in DC didn’t amount to many answers. … ” Read more from the Fountain Hill Times.
Judge to rule on Fondomonte’s groundwater use as public nuisance case unfolds
“A Superior Court judge is weighing whether greater regulation in La Paz County undermines or intensifies the state’s legal claim over whether Fondomonte Arizona, a Saudi-owned alfalfa farm, is illegally pumping excessive groundwater. Yet while Attorney General Kris Mayes pursues Fondomonte on public nuisance charges, the Arizona Department of Water Resources implemented a new active management area for groundwater in the Ranegras Plain Basin. Now, ADWR is tasked with assessing current groundwater use, exempting existing users, blocking new irrigation and implementing water reporting and management plans to protect an area’s water supply — all of which could impact a decision on whether Fondomonte’s agricultural operations constitute a public nuisance. … ” Read more from Arizona Capital Times.
Scottsdale confident despite looming water cuts
“A Feb. 14 deadline looms for what hardly is a sweetheart deal for Scottsdale and other Valley cities. At a Feb. 3 press conference, Gov. Katie Hobbs said Arizona is “at an impasse” in negotiations to replace an expiring, multi-state deal on Colorado water. Even so, she added, “I think we’ll be on a path to get to a deal – not a deal by Feb. 14.” That uncertainty has some fretting around Scottsdale, which, like many other Arizona cities, relies on water from Colorado. … With significant cuts to the city’s main water supply almost sure coming, against a backdrop of cranes building multiple projects that will expand the city’s population and water demands – should the average Scottsdale resident be worried? … ” Read more from Scottsdale Progress.
Decades later, Arizona dam remains steeped in controversy
“Savior of the West or destroyer of nature? Completed in 1963, the Glen Canyon Dam continues in a swirl of controversy, reflecting Arizona’s longtime struggle over growth vs. preservation. It’s the second highest concrete-arch dam in the United States, second only to Hoover Dam, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which authorized and built the dam in northern Arizona, just below the Utah border. In a nod to the “rust-colored sand-stone walls of Glen Canyon” submerged by the dam, the bureau touts the dam’s ability “to harness the power of the Colorado River in order to provide for the water and power needs of millions of people in the West.” “The 25.16 million acre-feet of water storage capacity in Lake Powell, created by Glen Canyon Dam, serves as a ‘bank account’ of water that is drawn on in times of drought. This stored water has made it possible to successfully weather extended dry periods by sustaining the needs of cities, industries, and agriculture throughout the West,” the bureau writes. … But not everyone sees the dam as a savior. … ” Read more from Arizona Central. | Read via Yahoo News.
In national water news today …
Elevated geogenic contaminants common in drinking water aquifers across the US
“Groundwater present in aquifers is a source drinking water for almost 150 million people in the United States. However, the use of groundwater for drinking is often limited by the presence of geogenic contaminants— elements that occur in groundwater because of natural water–rock interactions. Some geogenic contaminants, such as manganese, molybdenum, and sulfate, are essential for human health in small quantities. But at high concentrations, these contaminants can damage organs, cause cancer, or impair reproductive function. A multi-decadal analysis of geogenic contaminants across the lower 48 states arms water-resource managers and public health professionals with new information for protecting the health and safety of communities who rely on groundwater. … ” Read more from the USGS.
