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In California water news this weekend …
Atmospheric river to blast West Coast with more flooding, heavy mountain snow
“A new series of Pacific storms will renew flooding concerns along the West coast and bring heavy snow to higher elevations. Low pressure off the Pacific coast will sweep towards British Columbia Sunday into early Monday. In advance of it, rain will spread onto the coast while snow slams the Cascades and northern Rockies. Rain totaling 1-3 inches will soak the Interstate 5 corridor from Washington into Oregon and far Northern California through Monday night. Since this same area was clocked with 1-3 inches of rain this past week, flooding will be more likely due to already saturated soil. As if one storm isn’t enough, a fresh Atmospheric River will slam into Northern California Monday night into Tuesday morning. This concentrated plume of Pacific moisture will be directed into Northern California, where another 1-3 inches of rain will foster more flooding. … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
SEE ALSO: Atmospheric river headed to California will bring surge of subtropical moisture, from the SF Chronicle
Tahoe storm dumped staggering amounts of snow
“The Sierra Nevada was walloped this week by one of the biggest storms in decades, with some areas seeing more than 10 feet of new snow. UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Laboratory tallied 111 inches of snowfall over the past five days, making for the snowiest five-day stretch in over 40 years. The only snowier periods were in December 1970, with 113 inches, and April 1982, with 118.5 inches. The recent snow has been unusually powdery — “the type of snow that you would expect out in the Rockies,” said lab director Andrew Schwartz. The 25.6 inches that the snow lab received on Wednesday had a snow-to-liquid ratio of 21:1. The Sierra typically sees ratios of 8:1 to 10:1, which corresponds with heavy, wet snow — widely known as Sierra cement. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
SEE ALSO: Over 100 inches in 5 days ranks among snowiest stretches on Sierra record, from SF Gate
Fall chinook salmon numbers in Sacramento River rise after 3 years of higher flows
“The data from documents released yesterday by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) reveals salmon returns to California’s Central Valley in 2025 were much improved over the previous two years. The promising information leads salmon advocates to conclude that California will likely see a 2026 salmon fishing season, according to an announcement from the Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA). The data can be found in the PFMC’s Review of Review of 2025 Ocean Salmon Fisheries: www.pcouncil.org/.. “For comparison, the upper section of the Sacramento River saw a return of over 62,000 adult salmon to natural spawning areas in 2025 compared to just over 4,100 in 2024, a 15 fold increase,” the GSSA emphasized. “In the same area, the number of jacks, or two year old sub adult salmon, jumped almost three fold from around 5,500 in 2024 to about 14,500 in 2025.” … ” Read more from the Daily Kos.
Motus kickstarts new era of science at River Partners
“Every year, millions of birds, bats, and butterflies move through California’s San Joaquin Valley. And for most of that journey, we’ve been largely blind to them. Traditional tracking methods—banding birds and hoping someone else catches them—returned data so rarely that a researcher might spend a career banding thousands of animals only to hear back from a fraction of a percent. Meanwhile, species like the tricolored blackbird have lost 95% of their population in the San Joaquin Valley, and scientists are still piecing together where they go outside of their breeding season and why. On January 14, multiple antennae were installed at Dos Rios State Park to receive signals from tagged wildlife. A week later a second station was installed at the 935-acre Panorama Vista Preserve (PVP) site River Partners restored north of the Kern River in Bakersfield. Together, these stations, using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System (or, just Motus) will dramatically expand understanding of migration corridors in two ecologically important areas. … ” Read more from River Partners.
Water round up: Rain, snow, and the future of San Joaquin Valley’s water supply
Geoff Vanden Heuvel, Director of Regulatory and Economic Affairs at the Milk Producers Council, writes, “We had a good week of rain and snow. It is too early to tell what ultimate impact this week’s precipitation will have on this summer’s irrigation water supplies, but it is definitely positive. It also reduced the water cost impact of an old Delta regulation that requires releases of water stored in the reservoirs to be sent to the ocean to maintain a particular water quality level at “Port Chicago,” which is located in the western Delta. … This week, the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley had a board meeting and received an update on the development of the Unified Valley Water Plan. This very important planning document is nearing completion. … ” Read the full update at the Milk Producers Council.
State Water Contractors release annual science report
“Today, the State Water Contractors (SWC) released its Annual Science Report for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The report provides updates on six studies, initially funded by more than $4 million from SWC’s Science Program in 2023, designed to generate actionable science that supports fish and habitat protection while maintaining a sustainable water supply. In addition to research funding, the report highlights SWC’s efforts to share the resulting science with partners to broaden the research’s impact. “The past year brought us insights from new studies that provide California’s resource managers with a greater understanding of how and when targeted adjustments can be made to mitigate impacts on fragile ecosystems,” said Darcy Austin, Science Manager for the State Water Contractors.“SWC is committed to putting science first, and our approach is to fund research on the basis of reducing the scientific uncertainties that would assist managers in making decisions.” … ” Read more from the State Water Contractors.
Bay Area boomtown dreams pit billionaires against city builders
“California is facing a blunt planning question: build whole new cities from scratch, or cram far more housing into the cities it already has. That long-simmering debate is back in the spotlight thanks to a fresh wave of greenfield proposals, led by a billionaire-backed plan for a city of hundreds of thousands east of the Bay Area. How state and local officials respond will help determine whether these projects pay their own way or stick taxpayers with a generational tab. As reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, planners and economists are sharply divided. Some, including Bob Rauch, told the paper that California does not need brand-new cities so much as existing cities that will actually permit housing at scale and cut red tape. UC San Diego economist Caroline Freund, meanwhile, questioned whether greenfield cities could ever attract enough residents and employers to justify the price tag. Other voices in the story floated more modest ideas, like master-planned edges or transit-oriented greenfield hubs, but most warned that the state needs to grapple with shaky population forecasts before it locks itself into megaproject infrastructure bills. … ” Read more from Hoodline.
New research: How wildfires can be leveraged to increase forest resilience
“New research from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and the USDA Forest Service (USFS), published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management, details how wildfires could be leveraged to increase forest resilience to future high-severity fires across the Western United States. Wildfires can be a powerful regenerative force for nature. However, modern wildfires in forests across the Western U.S. have become uncharacteristically destructive, largely due to climate change and more than a century of fire suppression. Mechanical thinning and prescribed fire are used to reduce wildfire size and severity, but compliance restrictions and logistical challenges, as well as agency staffing capacity and funding constraints, often limit the scale of their treatment. … ” Read more from The Nature Conservancy.
Environmental groups sue to save bedrock federal climate policy
“As the Trump administration kills the legal basis for federal climate policy, Bay Area environmental advocates are among the lawyers and plaintiffs in the first two lawsuits filed against the action. They’ve been preparing for this fight for nearly a year. The environmentalists are battling to save the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” a scientific determination that greenhouse gases put human health at risk. That’s what mandated the EPA to regulate and reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. Last week, the agency revoked it. Standing alongside President Donald J. Trump in the White House, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin called it “the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history.” Andres Restrepo, senior attorney at the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program, called it “the biggest retreat from climate action from any presidency.” … ” Read more from Bay Nature.
EPA’s Clean Water Act proposal limits tribal/state authority and creates confusion states OC Coastkeeper
“Orange County Coastkeeper has submitted formal comments opposing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed changes to Clean Water Act Section 401, a longstanding bipartisan safeguard that ensures states and tribes have a meaningful role in protecting their waters. Section 401 grants states and tribes authority to review federally permitted projects that may discharge into Waters of the United States. The proposed rule would significantly curtail that authority, concentrate power within the federal government, and disregard established Supreme Court precedent. “As with many recent EPA actions under Administrator Zeldin, this proposal seeks to expand federal control under the guise of addressing a problem that doesn’t exist and make it easier for industries to pollute our waters,” said Garry Brown, founder and president of Orange County Coastkeeper. … ” Read more from the OC Waterkeeper.
In people news this weekend …
Promotions, passings, profiles – submit people news items to maven@mavensnotebook.com.
Molli Myers, of Weitchpec, has been appointed to the North Coast Water Quality Control Board.
From the Office of the Governor: Myers has been the Chief Operating Officer for the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group since 2022. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Myers is a Democrat.
Podcasts …
TERRA VERDE: California’s Climate Whiplash
California is lurching between extremes—from record-breaking heat and low mountain snowpack to torrential atmospheric river events and catastrophic wildfire. In this episode of Terra Verde, host and producer Hannah Wilton speaks with climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain about the phenomenon of “hydroclimate whiplash” and what it reveals about the future of the American West. Dr. Swain unpacks how atmospheric dynamics are being amplified by climate change, what we learned from Los Angeles’s devastating fires last year, and why rapidly shifting wet-to-dry cycles are challenging water management and disaster preparedness across the state. The conversation also explores what’s at stake for American science as institutions like the National Center for Atmospheric Research face potential dismantling—and why California may have an opportunity to lead in rebuilding climate research capacity.
WATERLOOP: Will recycling save California’s water future?
California’s water system was built for a wetter century—and now the state is racing to turn wastewater into a reliable part of its supply portfolio. In this episode, Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board, breaks down where water reuse fits in California’s long-term strategy, and what it will take to scale it safely and affordably. The conversation spans the state’s role as both regulator and funder, including the adoption of direct potable reuse regulations, the safeguards designed to protect public health, and the need for “regulatory certainty” that helps projects move from concept to construction. Esquivel also shares the numbers behind California’s current reuse footprint—roughly 750,000 to 800,000 acre-feet annually—and the state’s goals to expand that supply in the coming decades while balancing discharges needed for instream flows.
SCIENCE FRIDAY: What a snow drought in the West means for the rest of 2026
While parts of the eastern and southern US have had unusually high snowfall this year, Colorado and Utah are in a snow drought. The abysmal winter sports season is just the tip of the melting iceberg: Snowpack is key to providing water throughout the year for the drought-stricken region. Joining Host Flora Lichtman to talk about this unusual winter are reporter David Condos and climate scientist Brad Udall.
ARIZONA SCIENCE: Looking at hard choices for water use in Arizona
Seven states in the Colorado River basin failed to meet a key deadline February 14 on a plan to conserve their shared water supplies. University of Arizona Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences professor Laura Condon talks about the difficult choices ahead for water management in Arizona amid the ongoing drought. Laura Condon spoke with Leslie Tolbert, Ph. D. Regents Professor Emerita in Neuroscience at the University of Arizona.
WATER IS A MANY SPLENDOR’ED THING: Driver Safety
The enjoyment of a summer shower or winter storm can carry an element of warning as well as an ambiance of coziness and wonderment. Each of us have a lifestyle that seems to place us behind the drivers’ seat shuttling kids, getting to work on time and meeting our previously scheduled commitments with one another. My message to you is; Be careful and live life to its fullest. Produced by Stephen Baker, Bringing People Together to Solve Water Problems, water@operationunite.co 530-205-6388Sunday reads …
AUTHOR INTERVIEW: William and Rosemarie Alley, “The Water Recycling Revolution: Tapping into the Future”
“William and Rosemary Alley are a dynamic and uniquely paired writing team who have combined their technical and artistic talents to write a series of important books on the environment and water issues. They have followed Too Hot to Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste (2012), High and Dry: Meeting the Challenges of the World’s Growing Dependence on Groundwater (2017), and The War on the EPA: America’s Endangered Environmental Protections (2020) with a timely and engaging review of the water industry’s most disruptive technological leap, The Water Recycling Revolution: Tapping into the Future (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), now out in paperback. In their below responses (soon to be followed by a podcast), the Alleys describe how being San Diego residents (and radio listeners) inspired them to write their most recent book, that water recyclers love to talk shop, and the best way to approach publishers. … ” Read more from the Water Shelf.
In regional water news this weekend …
NORTH COAST
Reclamation increases temporary adjustment to Klamath River flows
“The Bureau of Reclamation, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries, announced today it will direct temporary flow adjustments at both Link River Dam and Keno Dam to reduce the risk of disease for salmon in the Klamath River. Increased flow adjustments are effective immediately. Between Feb. 20 and March 3, flows will vary on the Link and Klamath rivers. Releases from Upper Klamath Lake through Link River Dam will result in flows below Keno Dam increasing by approximately 4,000 cubic feet per second. A peak of 4,640 cfs below Keno Dam is expected to occur for 24 hours from Feb. 20 to Feb. 21. Flows will then ramp down to 750 cfs at Keno Dam by March 3. The public is urged to take safety precautions near the rivers. Upon completion of the flushing flow event, Reclamation will continue to manage Upper Klamath Lake elevations and Klamath River flows in accordance with the 2024 Biological Opinions and state law. This flushing flow is an Endangered Species Act requirement and was implemented in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Tribal Nations, and water contractors. For more information visit: Klamath Basin Area Office | California-Great Basin
Life after the dams: New water storage options mulled for Mendocino County
“One of the few things most people can agree on when discussing life after the Potter Valley Project is that the reservoir created by Coyote Valley Dam needs to hold more water. “Increasing the storage in Lake Mendocino is really essential,” Ukiah City Council member Mari Rodin told her fellow board members this week when reporting on the latest meeting of another local board she serves on, the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission. “Assuming that we continue the diversion from the Eel River, we need to store more water, otherwise it doesn’t make sense to even have this diversion,” said Rodin, referring to an effort largely driven by the IWPC to create a New Eel-Russian Facility that will continue diverting at least some water from the Eel River into the Russian River once Pacific Gas and Electric fully decommissions its hydroelectric plant, ending a free and plentiful source of water that multiple communities have become dependent upon for their way of life. … ” Read more from the Ukiah Daily Journal.
SIERRA NEVADA
Yuba Water shares progress on cleanup one week after penstock rupture, initial water quality tests
“Yuba Water Agency continues to make progress on site security and cleanup of oily debris on the Yuba River, one week after the rupture of a penstock pipe at its Yuba County foothill facilities. The rupture caused water to cascade down the hillside below the 14-foot-diameter pipe, resulting in erosion and significant damage to downhill facilities and sending mud, sediment and man-made debris, including oil, into the Yuba River. The incident also required the rescue of several workers. One person remains hospitalized and in stable condition. … ” Read more from Yuba Water.
Powerhouse pipe burst may take ‘years’ to fix as Yuba County declares emergency
“The Yuba Water Agency faces “months to years” of recovery and millions of dollars in lost revenue after last week’s penstock rupture from a mountainous tunnel connecting New Bullards Bar Dam to New Colgate Powerhouse. That has now prompted Yuba County officials to proclaim a local emergency to step up environmental monitoring and coordination in its wake. The emergency declaration, issued by County Administrator and Director of Emergency Services Kevin Mallen, cited hazardous materials and debris that entered the Yuba River after the Feb. 13 penstock failure and resulting mudslide damaged power generation and distribution equipment. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
BAY AREA
Why the fate of antimicrobial chemicals matters for San Francisco Bay
“Even though most Bay Area residents couldn’t name a quaternary ammonium compound, or QAC, they have encountered them. That’s because the antimicrobial chemicals have soared in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic, and end up in San Francisco Bay via sewage systems and stormwater runoff in such large amounts that scientists consider them a possible threat to Bay water quality. A new study now finds that wastewater treatment plants remove 98% of QACs on average from wastewater, and includes data from San Francisco Bay. However, the treatment transfers significant portions of the chemicals from water to the solid waste instead of breaking them down. Of the twelve plants studied, only one truly broke down nearly all the QACs—and it used a costlier treatment method. QACs might be a problem not only for Californian farmers encouraged to use treated sewage as fertilizer, but also for the wastewater treatment process itself. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Estuary Institute.
CENTRAL COAST
Big Basin Redwoods State Park to expand with NoraBella property in Boulder Creek
“California State Parks is expanding its presence in the Santa Cruz Mountains in a big way. The state agency announced Thursday that it acquired the 153-acre NoraBella property in Boulder Creek from Sempervirens Fund, California’s first redwoods conservation land trust. The $2.41 million purchase will allow State Parks to expand the footprint of Big Basin Redwoods State Park as part of the first land addition to the local recreational resource in 15 years, according to a State Parks release. “Big Basin is California’s oldest state park, and this keystone expansion will help accelerate the park’s recovery from the devastating 2020 CZU wildfire while supporting the Newsom administration’s Outdoors for All and 30×30 initiatives,” California State Parks Director Armando Quintero said in the release. “NoraBella is the gateway into Big Basin and will serve as a world-class entrance to the park’s new visitor center for generations to come.” … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald.
Santa Barbara Water Commission warns aqueduct could lose 87% of capacity without funding
“The City of Santa Barbara has warned that the California Aqueduct could lose up to 87% of its capacity over the next decade if critical repairs are not funded, posing a significant risk to the region’s long-term water reliability. At its February 19, 2026 meeting, the Santa Barbara Water Commission urged immediate state and federal funding to address the aqueduct’s deterioration. Subsidence has damaged portions of the aqueduct, especially the San Luis Canal, a jointly operated segment that delivers water for both the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Without immediate action, Santa Barbara and surrounding communities that depend on aqueduct deliveries could face direct impacts on water supply. … ” Read more from Edhat.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Heavy Lift: Friant Water Authority approves nearly $500,000 in mussel fight
“The Friant Water Authority Board unanimously approved a $418,000 contract this week to develop a strategy plan to combat the growing invasion of golden mussels in the Friant-Kern Canal — an issue the board acknowledged may have been present for nearly two years. Water Resources Engineer Katie Duncan opened the presentation on Thursday morning in Lindsay by outlining what she described as a multi-part, science-driven strategy aimed at understanding, containing, and ultimately controlling the invasive species. “Staff has been all in on coming up with the golden mussel strategy, assessing our situation, and figuring out how to deal with golden mussels in the Friant-Kern and on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley,” said Duncan. The motion, ultimately approved by the board after a lengthy discussion, authorizes the negotiation and execution of a contract with Dudek, whom FWA has used for consulting services since 2023. When including related services and equipment, the total strategy cost approaches $493,000. … ” Read more from the Porterville Recorder.
Caltrans plans salt brine applications for Kern River Valley roads next winter
“As wintry weather continues to impact the Kern River Valley, Caltrans is preparing to introduce a new winter road treatment method to the area. The transportation agency plans to add salt brine applications to Kern River Valley roads in preparation for future snow and ice storms, starting next winter season. During a conversation on Wednesday, Caltrans District 6 Public Information Officer Christian Lukens explained the upcoming change. “There are areas in the state where Caltrans does use a salt brine. That is a system that will be coming to Lake Isabella, a replacement system, likely in time for the next winter season.” Lukens said. … ” Read more from Channel 23.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
SCV Water online workshop reveals its drought plan, supply portfolio
“As the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency prepares to submit its updated Urban Water Management Plan to the state by July this year, the agency is sharing its water supply outlook and drought plans with the valley residents it stands to affect. The UWMP is a state-mandated document that helps water agencies forecast future water demands, as well as plan for droughts and climate change. Urban water suppliers are required to submit them to the California Department of Water Resources every five years. Wednesday evening’s UWMP community workshop, held over Zoom – the third community-facing workshop held on the plan – gave virtual attendees a breakdown of the agency’s protocols for saving water during a drought, where that water comes from and how that may change over the next two decades. … ” Read more from the Santa Clarita Signal.
South County Beach Coalition forms to help struggling coastline
“More than a decade ago, a detailed report advised Orange County on how the region’s beaches should be maintained and sustained, an “OC Regional Sediment Management Plan” meant to serve as a roadmap on how to manage an eroding coastline. But that report, released in 2013, was put on a shelf and forgotten about as the area’s southern beaches shrank, sand space disappearing more and more with each passing year. The Board of Supervisors last week approved the South County Beach Coalition, a collaboration among beach community decision makers and others who all have the same goal: help the region’s struggling beaches figure out solutions. … ” Read more from the OC Register.
OCWD reports continued success in endangered bird recovery at Prado Basin
“The Orange County Water District (OCWD, the District) announced the results of its 2025 least Bell’s vireo monitoring program in the Prado Basin, documenting another strong year for the endangered songbird and reinforcing the long-term success of one of California’s most significant wildlife recovery efforts. “The continued growth of the least Bell’s vireo population reflects decades of careful management at Prado Basin,” said OCWD Board President Denis R. Bilodeau. “Our work shows that we can protect and enhance critical habitat while fulfilling our mission to provide a reliable, high-quality water supply for north and central Orange County.” … ” Read more from the Orange County Water District.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
IID and the QSA, life after a water haircut
Matt Dessert writes, “IID and other Colorado River water users and Mexico are looking at a reduction in their annual Colorado River water flow volumes they receive or effectively a water haircut. Locally, such a reduction or haircut has language addressing it in the QSA as to water volumes and how this would change or impact QSA participants but was their a coresponding financial make whole model applied in case of just such a flow volume reduction of Colorado River water in total by the Federal Government. A legal fight appears imminent between Upper Basin users and those of us in the Lower Basin. Even the federal government will be drawn into the conflict. … ” Read more from the Desert Review.
City disputes Brown Act violation claims by data center developer
“The Imperial City Council took heed of City Attorney Kate Turner’s recommendations to avoid litigation and provide transparency on the allegations Sebastian Rucci, the head of AI company Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC, brought forth regarding Brown Act violations during the City Council meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 18. On Jan. 21, Rucci sent the city of Imperial a cease and desist letter alleging that the city violated the Brown Act by conducting various actions over the past six months in secret, without notifying the public or conducting open meetings. Under the Brown Act, parties are given 30 days to fix any problems or allegations brought forth. The Brown Act is California’s open meetings law. “I don’t think it’s a problem, but I’m going above and beyond to ensure that we’re not going to face additional litigation over this,” Turner stated. “I addressed each and every one of the issues and it is not accurate, but for the sake of avoiding unnecessary litigation, I just want to give a brief summary of it.” … ” Read more from the Calexico Chronicle.
SAN DIEGO
Supervisor Aguirre urges stronger state action on Tijuana River crisis
“San Diego County District 1 Supervisor Paloma Aguirre was joined recently by California gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. Congresswoman Katie Porter for a tour of the Tijuana River Valley pollution crisis, marking the first official visit by a candidate following Supervisor Aguirre’s call for increased statewide engagement on the issue. “I want to thank Congresswoman Katie Porter for her willingness to be present in the southernmost California communities facing daily health, economic, and quality-of-life consequences from decades of toxic pollution,” said Supervisor Paloma Aguirre. “Showing up matters. Listening to residents, seeing the crisis in person, and engaging directly with South San Diegans is the first step toward meaningful action. Her acceptance of my invitation and commitment to fully understanding the scope of this emergency is encouraging. Our community deserves state leadership that treats the Tijuana River sewage pollution crisis with the urgency it demands.” … ” Read more fromthe Eagles and Times.
Along the Colorado River …
Colorado River crisis fails to force deal from states
“The Colorado River crisis is no longer part of some hypothetical future — it’s here. Fueled by one of the worst snowpacks on record, the “most probable” February projection from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation estimates 5 million acre-feet flowing into Lake Powell this year, which is 52% of average. A more grim estimate puts that number at just 3.5 million acre-feet, or 37% of average. Forecasts show the nation’s second-largest reservoir could fall below the minimum level needed to make hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam as soon as July under the worst-case scenario, or by December under the “most probable” forecast. Reservoir levels are projected to fall to their lowest elevation on record in March 2027, threatening the water supply for millions in the Southwest. But the increasingly dire projections, this winter’s historically bad snowpack and the growing gap between supply and demand haven’t yet pushed the seven states that share the river to come to an agreement on its future management. … ” Read more from Aspen Journalism.
Would litigation make the Colorado River situation worse?
“Fears are growing in the Colorado River basin about the prospect of painful water cuts, prolonged court battles, and other dire impacts after negotiators from seven states missed a second key deadline on Feb. 14 to reach a conservation deal. “This winter has been a really stark illustration of some of the challenges that we may face in keeping our watersheds and rivers and lands healthy,” Celene Hawkins, the Colorado River Program Director at The Nature Conservancy, said Wednesday. “And so I think it is really profoundly terrifying to think about moving into a future where we aren’t starting to really focus on implementing solutions that the basin needs,” she added. Conservation groups want the states in the basin to start using tools like conservation pools, which would offer new incentives to voluntarily cut back and save water, and a climate response indicator to help determine how much water should be released from Lake Powell. … ” Read more from Utah Public Radio.
Lake Mead water levels get good news
“Lake Mead water levels could see a welcome boost in the months ahead as emerging El Niño conditions strengthen in the Pacific, a shift forecasters say may steer more storms toward the drought‑strained Colorado River Basin. Ocean warming in the equatorial Pacific is showing early signs of developing into a full El Niño by late spring or summer, AccuWeather reported, a pattern known for altering jet stream paths and enhancing precipitation over parts of the Southwest. If the trend holds, increased rainfall across the Colorado Basin could help improve inflows to Lake Mead, which relies heavily on winter and spring moisture delivered upstream. While long‑range forecasts remain uncertain, scientists say the developing signal offers cautious optimism for the drought-parched region. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
As Colorado River decisions loom, San Luis student urges reform at Arizona Capitol
“The Colorado River supplies water to millions of people and vast agricultural areas across the Southwest, including Arizona. But the river now carries less water than it did when states divided it up a century ago. That prompted one San Luis High School student to Arizona’s Capitol to advocate for better stewardship of the river’s water. The student, Junior Figueroa, has grown concerned over declining water levels since he visited the Grand Canyon last fall for Latino Conservation Week. During that trip, he joined Rural Arizona Engagement on a whitewater rafting trip down the Colorado River. “Learning more about [the Grand Canyon] gave me a better idea of what’s going on with the decrease in water levels in the Colorado River,” he said. “It led me to want to advocate for water sustainability.” … ” Read more from KAWC.
Goldwater Institute seeks court ruling on Arizona water policy affecting home construction
“Attorneys with the Goldwater Institute are scheduled to appear in Maricopa County Superior Court at 10 a.m. Friday for a hearing in their lawsuit challenging water policy changes implemented by the administration of Katie Hobbs. The case, filed in January 2025 on behalf of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, contests new requirements adopted by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) affecting groundwater supply determinations in parts of Maricopa County. The Goldwater Institute said the policy changes have halted approvals for new housing developments in certain areas of the Phoenix metropolitan region, including portions of Queen Creek and Buckeye. … ” Read more from Arizona Free News.
Utah snowpack update: storms help, but deficits remain
“After a notably dry start to winter, Utah received a more active storm cycle in mid-February. According to the Utah Division of Water Resources in its February 19, 2026 update, the recent snowfall provided a much-needed lift across parts of the state. The timing matters. Utah typically reaches peak snowpack in early April, and snow accumulation in the mountains serves as the state’s primary natural reservoir. As snow melts in spring, it feeds rivers, refills reservoirs, and supports farms, cities, and ecosystems through the hotter months. Still, one round of storms is not enough to change the overall picture. … ” Read more from Western Water.
In national water news this weekend …
USGS: Hot spots and cold snaps: Daily stream temperature data across the US from 1979-2021
“Temperature is a key water quality parameter that affects a range of stream functions, including fish habitat, cooling capacity for power plant operations, and risk of harmful algal bloom outbreaks. Despite its importance, temperature observations are historically sparse in both space and time. Scientists at the USGS have drastically expanded the availability of stream temperature estimates across the U.S. by combining USGS and other agency data across the country. These data were used to create a first-of-its-kind dataset with daily stream temperature values modeled across 57,810 stream reaches from 1979-2021. … ” Read more from the USGS.
Trump administration to stand by tough Biden-era mandates to replace lead pipes
“The Trump administration said Friday it backs a 10-year deadline for most cities and towns to replace their harmful lead pipes, giving notice that it will support a tough rule approved under the Biden administration to reduce lead in drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency told a federal appeals court in Washington that it would defend the strongest overhaul of lead-in-water standards in three decades against a court challenge by a utility industry association. The Trump administration has typically favored rapid deregulation, including reducing or killing rules on air and water pollution. On Friday, for example, it repealed tight limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal plants. But the agency has taken a different approach to drinking water. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
Scientists change how El Nino is labeled to keep up with spike in temperature
“The natural El Nino cycle, which warps weather worldwide, is both adding to and shaped by a warming world, meteorologists said. A new study calculated that an unusual recent twist in the warming and cooling cycle that includes El Nino and its counterpart La Nina can help explain the scientific mystery of why Earth’s already rising temperature spiked to a new level over the past three years. Separately, scientists have had to update how they label El Nino and La Nina because of rapid weather changes cause by global warming. Increasingly hot waters globally have caused the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this month to alter how it calculates when the weather pattern has flipped into a new cycle. It’s likely to mean that more events will be considered La Nina and fewer qualify as an El Nino for warming tropical waters. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
USDA has “sufficient opportunities” to respond to PFAS crisis on farmland, report finds
“Federal regulators have a range of solutions available to tackle the widespread contamination of farmland with toxic chemicals, according to a new report by US academics. The report, published Feb. 13 by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), offers a framework for the agency to address the contamination of US farmland with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of humanmade chemicals that accumulate in the environment and the bodies of humans and animals. PFAS end up on agricultural lands when farmers apply tainted sewage sludge as a fertilizer, contaminating crops and soil with chemicals linked to certain cancers and other health harms. … ” Read more from The New Lede.
Also on Maven’s Notebook this weekend …
ANNOUNCEMENT: Apply Today: Catalyzing Water Efficiency Investments through Debt Financing
YOUR INPUT WANTED: Seeking Comments on 2026 Annual Salmon Management Measures and Specifications
