A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation News & Publications Director Chris Bowman.
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California water officials are urging people and their pets to
avoid Silverwood Lake in San Bernardino County after a toxic
algal bloom was detected in the reservoir. The Department of
Water Resources has issued a caution advisory warning residents
to avoid parts of the popular recreation spot until further
notice due to the presence of harmful cyanobacteria, or
blue-green algae, in the water. Blue-green algae are a natural
part of many ecosystems, but can grow, or “bloom,” rapidly
under certain conditions including warmer water temperatures.
Experts say the issue is getting worse as climate change, aging
water infrastructure and human activities converge in water
bodies across the state.
The town of Seagraves sits on the high plains of West
Texas, not far from the New Mexico border. Nearby, water pumped
from the Ogallala Aquifer irrigates fields of peanuts and
cotton. Dissolved in that West Texas water are copious amounts
of fluoride. The tap water in Seagraves contains levels of the
mineral that many experts believe could have neurotoxic
effects, lowering children’s IQs. The science on that effect is
unsettled, and most experts say better research is needed. But
nearly everyone agrees that at some point, high fluoride levels
ought to be a matter of greater concern — even if they don’t
always agree on what that point is. Many cities add low
levels of fluoride to drinking water in a bid to prevent tooth
decay, but the policy has long been controversial. Lost
in that debate are the roughly 3 million Americans
whose water naturally contains higher concentrations of
fluoride — often at levels that even some fluoridation
advocates now acknowledge could have neurodevelopmental
effects.
After more than an hour of discussion, which included the
addition of some new conditions of approval by staff as well as
public comments both in opposition and support, the California
Coastal Commission unanimously approved the project. In
granting the Harbor District’s permit application, the
commission cleared away one of the last remaining
administrative hurdles for Nordic Aquafarms’ proposed
fish-production factory on the Samoa Peninsula. The coastal
development permit will allow the Harbor District to upgrade
its seawater intake infrastructure in Humboldt Bay, install new
underground water pipelines along the bay, perform a variety of
environmental mitigation activities and, eventually, withdraw
up to 11.8 million gallons of water per day for tenants in the
future National Marine Research and Innovation Park.
Businesses should start preparing for more regulatory
notification and reporting, recordkeeping obligations, and
potential liability now that the Environmental Protection
Agency has issued its first-ever national, legally enforceable
drinking-water standards for “forever chemicals.” The EPA has
set near-zero maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs, for six per-
and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and we expect this development
to broadly impact PFAS regulation. Water systems operating
under state drinking water standards for PFAS will have to
comply with the more stringent MCLs. The costs to treat PFAS in
drinking water to meet the MCLs will cost billions of
dollars. -Written by Jeffrey Dintzer and Gregory Berlin of the
Alston & Bird law firm.
California’s reservoirs are not only vital to the state’s
complex water systems, providing millions of people and the
state’s agricultural economy with needed access to water;
they’re also important gauges for how healthy the state is
overall. This year’s at-capacity reservoirs have been a boon
for a region besieged by drought over much of the past decade,
but more work is needed to help ensure a plentiful and
water-wise future for the most populous state in
America. Enter Sites Reservoir, a long-in-the-works
project that aims to be the biggest reservoir development in
nearly half a century. It’s been a massive dream for
decades, an idea first worked up by landowners and water
districts northwest of Sacramento. Thanks to a new infusion of
federal cash, the proposal is closer than ever to actually
happening — but not without a very real cost.
The American Southwest and its drinking water may not be in as
bad of shape as originally thought. A new study coming from
researchers at CU Boulder, reveals that precipitation, not
temperature, will keep the Colorado River fuller than previous
research told us. The Journal of Climate published the study
Tuesday as a guide for policymakers, water managers, states and
tribes to figure out how to monitor the river until 2050. New
guidelines are going to replace regulations from 2007, which
are set to expire at the end of 2026.
One of multiple charges in a lawsuit that pins blame for the
perpetually sinking Friant-Kern Canal on a single Tulare County
groundwater agency was recently removed. The Eastern Tule
Groundwater Sustainability Agency (ETGSA) hailed the move as
vindication. But plaintiffs, the Friant Water Authority and
Arvin-Edison Water Storage District, said the change was simply
meant to narrow the complaint in order to get faster action
against Eastern Tule. The stakes could not be higher as the
entire Tule subbasin, which covers the southern half of
Tulare’s valley portion, is looking down the barrel of a
possible pumping takeover by the state Water Resources Control
Board. The Water Board, the enforcement arm of the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, has scheduled a
“probationary hearing” for the subbasin Sept. 17.
After years of pervasive declines, groundwater levels rose
significantly in much of California last year, boosted by
historic wet weather and the state’s expanding efforts to
replenish depleted aquifers. The state’s aquifers gained an
estimated 8.7 million acre-feet of groundwater — nearly double
the total storage capacity of Shasta Lake — during the 2023
water year that ended Sept. 30, according to newly compiled
data from the California Department of Water Resources. A large
portion of the gains, an estimated 4.1 million acre-feet, came
through efforts that involved capturing water from rivers
swollen by rains and snowmelt, and sending it to areas where
the water percolated into the ground to recharge aquifers. The
state said the amount of managed groundwater recharge that
occurred was unprecedented, and nearly double the amount of
water replenished during 2019, the prior wet year.
Are you a journalist enthralled by the history, policy and
science behind Western water issues? The journalism team at the
Water Education Foundation is looking for a full-time writer
who is knowledgeable about the most precious natural resource
in California and the Colorado River Basin, enjoys a fast-paced
environment and possesses strong reporting, writing and
multimedia skills. The ideal candidate has experience reporting
and writing in-depth articles as well as shorter enterprise
articles, posting breaking news on social media channels and
staying current on Western water issues. Our stories often
explore the science, policy and debates centered around
drought, groundwater, sustainability, water access and
affordability, climate change and endangered species involving
key sources of supply such as the Colorado River and the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Some California residents will see their sewer bills more than
double by mid-2028 if city officials approve a proposed budget
from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Under the new plan, Bass
proposes a variety of budget increases for city services,
ranging from increased ambulance service costs from the fire
department to a slew of increases to the city’s bimonthly sewer
bill that will see the cost more than double if the Los Angeles
council approves the mayor’s budget. The budget proposal
from Bass, who previously served as a Democrat in the U.S.
House, comes as municipalities across the nation have
recently considered an increase in water bills while
citing a variety of reasons, ranging from new nanofiltration
systems to reduce the levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances, known as PFAS, to less water storage in
reservoirs because of damaged dams.
Residents of Allensworth are finally getting attention from a
company that installed and then abandoned hydropanels, which
make water out of thin air, several years ago. As SJV
Water reported in March, residents were frustrated they
couldn’t get support from Source Global, the company behind the
panels, after the panels had fallen into disrepair. Following
SJV Water’s story, Source Global dedicated a staff person to
oversee operations in Allensworth, said Kayode Kadara, a
community leader in Allensworth. … Kadara said Source
Global staff has been making calls to residents in town with
the hydropanels and technicians have come out to perform upkeep
and check the hydropanels. Kadara’s own hydropanels at home
were serviced. The hydropanels at Allensworth’s community
center still aren’t working though, said Kadara.
Related San Joaquin Valley drinking water article:
As legacy publications celebrated their Pulitzer Prize wins
Monday, bottles of champagne were also uncorked at Lookout
Santa Cruz, a fledgling 10-person newsroom based on the second
floor of a former bank on Santa Cruz’s quiet, tree-lined
Pacific Avenue. “What a day!” said Ken Doctor, the Lookout’s
chief executive and founder. “It’s incredible!” The online news
organization won the prize for its breaking news coverage of
Santa Cruz County’s catastrophic January 2023 floods.
… Doctor said the package submitted to the Pulitzer
board included on-the-ground reporting, as well as blogs,
newsletters and texts produced for readers as the storms
hammered California’s Central Coast, causing landslides, levee
failures and widespread destruction.
A local ag industry titan is being recognized for his lifelong
service in farming and civic life. Assemblymember Esmeralda
Soria has recognized Firebaugh farmer Joe L. Del Bosque as her
office’s 2024 Latino Spirit Award Honoree. Following years of
migrant farm work, Del Bosque’s family established themselves
on the westside of the San Joaquin Valley, where he grew up on
the farm with his father, going to work at age 10. He graduated
from Fresno State in 1975 and then his started own operation in
1985. Del Bosque Farms produces organic melons, tomatoes,
almonds and cherries. Del Bosque is a vocal advocate for
farmers and farmworkers impacted by water policies.
Nearly 1,600 acres of land used as rice fields north of
Sacramento could one day become public land, after a huge
restoration project funded partly by
big tech. Apple is among the donors to the Dos
Rios Norte project, an effort to restore a floodplain located
where the Sacramento and Feather rivers meet that’s crucial to
wildlife, the Sacramento Bee first reported.
California conservation nonprofit River Partners is leading the
efforts, with the goal of repairing the area habitat for the
state’s native Chinook salmon population, threatened bird
species and other wildlife species. The project aims to save
around 7,000 acre-feet of water each year, among other
environmental benefits. Apple would not disclose how much the
company contributed to this project, but confirmed to SFGATE it
has pledged more than $8 million since 2023 to California
watershed projects, including this one.
For several years now, one question has held the key to
understanding just how much we should worry about the hundreds
of tons of DDT that had been dumped off the coast of Los
Angeles: How, exactly, has this decades-old pesticide — a toxic
chemical spread across the seafloor 3,000 feet underwater —
continued to reenter the food web? Now, in a highly anticipated
study, researchers have identified tiny zooplankton and
mid-to-deep-water fish as potential links between the
contaminated sediment and the greater ecosystem. For the first
time, chemical analyses confirmed that these deep-sea organisms
are contaminated by numerous DDT-related compounds that match
similar chemical patterns found on the seafloor and animals
higher up on the food chain.
The California Desalination Association (CalDesal) today
announced the unanimous appointment of Lacy Carothers, PE,
Director of Engineering for California American Water, to its
Executive Committee. Carothers brings a wealth of
experience in the water industry to CalDesal, a statewide
association comprised of leaders from public and private water
agencies, non-profit organizations, and others committed to
integrating desalination into California’s sustainable water
future. “We’re all very excited to have Lacy join our Executive
Committee,” said Glenn Farrel, Executive Director of CalDesal.
“Her expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we continue
to advocate for desalination as a key solution to California’s
water challenges.”
As temperatures begin to warm up in Northern California, you
might be tempted to take a dip in local waterways. “Keep in
mind that the area rivers and streams will continue to run COLD
as a product of mountain snowmelt,” the National Weather
Service posted Monday afternoon on X, formerly known as
Twitter. The weather service is forecasting temperatures in
Sacramento to reach 90 degrees by Sunday, for the first time in
2024. “We will be going from below-normal temperatures to
above-normal temperatures for this time of the year,” Scott
Rowe, a senior service hydrologist at the weather service in
Sacramento, said Monday.
Lake Oroville, the second-largest reservoir in California,
reached capacity on Monday for a second straight year after
another relatively wet winter. The rising waters come as state
reservoir managers have been reducing outflows from the lake in
recent weeks — as winter inflows tailed off and the threat
of downstream flooding waned — allowing the reservoir to
slowly fill to its current 899-foot elevation, or 3.52-million
acre-feet of water. … Lake Oroville contains 28% more water
than it historically has on this date. “This is great news
for ensuring adequate water supply for millions of Californians
& environmental needs,” the state Department of Water Resources
posted Monday afternoon on X, formerly Twitter.
In another move to build water resilient systems in the West
and particularly in the Colorado River Basin, the U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation announced Monday $147 million in federal grants
to help underserved communities dogged by water scarcity
issues. The funding will support 42 projects in 10 states. In
eastern Utah, nearly $6.6 million was granted to the Ute Indian
Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation which operates the
Ute Tribe Water Systems, providing water service to tribal
members.
A federal judge ruled Monday afternoon that a California dam
harms endangered salmon when it conducts flood control
operations. Coyote Valley Dam, operated by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, protects the city of Ukiah from flooding from
nearby Lake Mendocino. In 2022, fisheries biologist Sean White
sued the Corps claiming the dam’s flood control operations kick
up sediment in the water, increasing turbidity and harming
endangered Central California coast steelhead, coho and Chinook
salmon. White’s previous requests for injunctive relief were
denied in 2023, yet he was granted summary judgment on his
claims on Monday after providing more data. U.S. District Judge
Jacqueline Scott Corley, a Joe Biden appointee, wrote in her
18-page opinion that it was beyond dispute that the dam’s
operations harm the fish.
