Today Californians face increased risks from flooding, water
shortages, unhealthy water quality, ecosystem decline and
infrastructure degradation. Many federal and state legislative
acts address ways to improve water resource management, ecosystem
restoration, as well as water rights settlements and strategies
to oversee groundwater and surface water.
Colorado voters may be asked to let more money flow to water
projects by allowing the state to keep all of the sports
betting tax revenue it collects, if a measure referring the
issue to the November ballot is approved by lawmakers. House
Bill 1436 … collects a 10% tax on the proceeds of licensed
sports betting. Some of the money is used to cover the cost of
regulating betting and the rest, up to $29 million total, is
funneled toward water projects. In the event tax collections
exceed $29 million, the legislature decides how to refund the
money under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
The Biden administration announced a goal Tuesday to protect
and restore 8 million acres of wetlands over the next six years
in an effort to counter development pressures and recently
weakened federal regulations. The bold new target seeks to
reverse the ongoing loss of U.S. wetlands, which help keep
pollutants out of rivers and streams and act as a natural
buffer against flooding. Over 60 percent of wetlands now lack
protections under the Clean Water Act for the first time in
decades after the Supreme Court curtailed the law’s scope last
year. In addition to wetlands, the administration
committed to “reconnect, restore and protect” 100,000 miles of
rivers and streams nationwide by 2030, including by removing
impediments such as dams and by restoring stream banks
experiencing erosion.
California may be a leader in the fight against climate change,
but the state is years, even decades, behind other states when
it comes to granting environmental rights to its citizens.
While a handful of other state constitutions, including those
of New York and Pennsylvania, declare the people’s rights to
clean air, water and a healthy environment, California’s does
not. That could change as soon as November. Under a proposal
moving through the Legislature, voters would decide whether to
add one sentence to the state constitution’s Declaration of
Rights: “The people shall have a right to clean air and water
and a healthy environment.”
When Californians voted for Proposition 1 in 2014, they had
every reason to expect sound investments in climate-resilient
water projects. And all but one of the projects selected to
receive the proposition’s $2.7 billion in water supply funding
fulfill those criteria.They replenish groundwater basins and
enhance the storage capacity of existing reservoirs to better
withstand droughts — benefits that are realized by all people
across the state. Unfortunately, the one project that does not
measure up — the Sites Reservoir Project — would be publicly
funded to the tune of nearly $900 million. -Written by Max Gomberg, a former California
State Water Resources Control Board climate adviser and a
senior policy consultant and board member of the California
Water Impact Network.
Arizona Democrats are looking to capture voters mindful of one
resource that is sparse in the desert state: water. As
political battles over abortion and the southern border hit
close to home for some Arizonans, record-setting
high-temperature summers and droughts worry many. Democrats
look to rein in rural voters who have turned on the party by
framing water as a “life or death” matter going into the 2024
elections. … In tandem, Mayes and Gov. Katie Hobbs
(D-AZ) have cracked down on controversial farms that
had unlimited access to the state’s limited groundwater
supply. Last year, the pair ended a contract with a Saudi
Arabian company, Fondomonte, that grew alfalfa in Arizona and
then shipped the hay back to the Middle East. Under the
contract from former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, the company
was given unlimited access to groundwater in Arizona.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS,
can be found in those items and hundreds of other household
products. the chemicals have made their way into our showers,
sinks and drinking glasses — a 2023 study detected PFAS in
nearly half of the nation’s tap water. … For the first time,
the Environmental Protection Agency is regulating PFAS. This
month, the E.P.A. announced that it would require municipal
water systems to remove six forever chemicals from tap
water. Lisa Friedman, a reporter on the Climate desk at
The New York Times, wrote about the new rules.
In one of the biggest rollbacks of the Clean Water Act since
its inception five decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court last
year abolished protections for tens of thousands of acres of
wetlands in Colorado. And unless the state legislature passes a
measure to create a permitting plan and restore the protections
that existed before the Supreme Court’s decision, Grand
County’s waterways are at risk. In every area of the state,
Colorado’s wetlands lacking a permanent surface flow – along
with intermittent streams that run seasonally and ephemeral
streams that only flow in response to rain or snow – are in
jeopardy. In essence, the ruling means wetlands that were
previously protected can now be filled, paved over and
destroyed with impunity. -Written by Kirk Klanke, Colorado Headwaters
Chapter of Trout Unlimited.
California has unveiled an ambitious plan to help combat the
worsening climate crisis with one of its invaluable assets: its
land. Over the next 20 years, the state will work to transform
more than half of its 100 million acres into multi-benefit
landscapes that can absorb more carbon than they release,
officials announced Monday. … The plan also calls for
11.9 million acres of forestland to be managed for biodiversity
protection, carbon storage and water supply protection by 2045,
and 2.7 million acres of shrublands and chaparral to be managed
for carbon storage, resilience and habitat connectivity, among
other efforts.
State lawmakers are considering a bill that would let two
energy companies with coal-fired power plants in northwest
Colorado hang on to their water rights even after the plants’
planned closures in 2028. Senate Bill 197 says that industrial
water rights held by Xcel Energy and Tri-State Generation and
Transmission Association Inc. will be protected from
abandonment through 2050. Under Colorado law, a water right
that is not being used could end up on an abandonment list,
which is compiled every 10 years. Abandonment is the official
term for one of Colorado’s best-known water adages: Use it or
lose it. It means that the right to use the water is
essentially canceled and ceases to exist. The water goes back
into the stream where another water user can claim it.
State Sen. Anthony J. Portantino, who represents Pasadena, has
authored a bill mandating the study of microplastics’ health
impacts in drinking water. The Senate Environmental Quality
Committee approved the bill this week. By filing SB
1147, Portantino seeks to emphasize the need for further
research and action in addressing the pervasive presence of
microplastics in various environmental elements.
… The bill’s provisions include a requirement for all
water-bottling plants producing bottled water for sale to
provide an annual report to the State Department of Public
Health’s Food and Drug branch on microplastic levels found in
their source water. This data, as mandated by the bill, aims to
enhance transparency and consumer awareness regarding the
presence of microplastics in bottled water, a product consumed
widely across California.
With private investors poised to profit from water scarcity in
the west, US senator Elizabeth Warren and representative Ro
Khanna are pursuing a bill to prohibit the trading of water as
a commodity. The lawmakers will introduce the bill on Thursday
afternoon, the Guardian has learned. “Water is not a commodity
for the rich and powerful to profit off of,” said Warren, the
progressive Democrat from Massachusetts. … Water-futures
trading allows investors – including hedge funds, farmers and
municipalities – to trade water and water rights as a
commodity, similar to oil or gold. The practice is currently
limited to California, where the world’s first water futures
market was launched. So far, the market hasn’t taken off,
dampened by the reality that the physical trade of water in the
state has been limited. After a couple of wet years in
California, the price of water futures has also plummeted.
A major southern Colorado water district voted unanimously last
week to oppose an $80.4 million agricultural water purchase by
Aurora in the Arkansas Valley, saying the deal violates a 2003
agreement that prohibits the fast-growing city from taking more
water out of the valley. Aurora would lease the water back to
Arkansas Valley farmers in most years, using it periodically in
dry periods. During a special meeting April 9, the Southeastern
Colorado Water Conservancy District said it had numerous
concerns with the purchase, which is set to close this month.
Southeastern manages the federally owned Fryingpan-Arkansas
Project, which includes the Pueblo Reservoir.
… The federal government’s current approach to this imbalance
is the equivalent of trying to cure cancer with a Band-Aid.
Instead of pursuing a long-term solution, Washington is using
federal funds to pay states and tribal nations to leave water
in the river instead of taking their full allocation. Mostly,
that means paying farmers to stop farming. That is not a viable
long-term solution, and strategically, we need to be
encouraging MORE local farming and food production, not less.
It does make sense to assist local farmers in switching to
crops that require less water, but it does not make sense to
put American farmers out of business and make us more reliant
on food trucked or shipped thousands of miles before it arrives
on our tables. -Written by Arizona Republican Kari Lake, who is running
for the U.S. Senate.
Missouri lawmakers say water has almost always been plentiful
in their state, giving no reason to think twice about a concept
known as riparian rights — the idea that, if you own the land,
you have broad freedoms to use its water. But that could change
under a bill advancing quickly in a state legislature that is
normally sharply divided. The measure would largely forbid the
export of water across state lines without a permit, even
though there is no evidence that is happening on any large
scale. … lawmakers are wary of the West, and the chance that
thirsty communities facing dwindling water supplies will look
east for lakes and rivers to tap.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [last week] unveiled
the first nationwide limits on dangerous “forever chemicals” in
drinking water, setting standards that will have sweeping,
costly effects throughout California. … In California
alone, traces of the compounds have been detected in water
systems serving more than 25 million people, nearly a third in
disadvantaged communities, according to an analysis by
the Natural Resources Defense Council.
A northern Arizona county is getting $15.5 million in federal
funding to mitigate post-wildfire flood damage, the Biden
administration announced Thursday. Coconino County received the
funding to make improvements to the drainage system along U.S.
Highway 89. Wildfires have made the area more susceptible to
flooding that threatens homes and businesses and forces highway
closures. The Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation are
disproportionately impacted by the flood threat, according to
the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced
the first federal limits on PFAS — manmade “forever
chemicals” linked to cancer, organ damage and other health
issues — in the nation’s drinking water. The regulation,
which was initially proposed in 2023, requires water systems to
reduce levels of six of the most studied types of PFAS to
the lowest levels that can be reliably measured with
testing. … The Bay Area’s drinking water generally
has low levels of PFAS because large water systems in the
region get most of their drinking water from pristine sources
in the Sierra or local reservoirs in regional parks, according
to researchers who study toxic chemicals in drinking water. The
city of San Francisco, for instance, gets most of its water
from Hetch Hetchy, a reservoir north of Yosemite Valley.
After being sanctioned by federal regulators for plowing up
protected wetlands on his California farm, a U.S. lawmaker is
now spearheading an effort to roll back federal water
protections — including the very same provisions that he once
paid penalties for violating. If the scheme is successful,
environmental groups say industrial polluters could more freely
contaminate wetlands, rivers, and other waters, harming both
the nation’s water resources and the communities depending on
them. It could also benefit the lawmaker spearheading the
attack, since he still owns the farm where he was found to be
destroying wetlands.
Today, Congresswoman Norma Torres and Congressman David Valadao
– members of the House Appropriations Committee – announced the
introduction of the bipartisan Removing Nitrate and Arsenic in
Drinking Water Act. This bill would amend the Safe Drinking
Water Act to provide grants for nitrate and arsenic reduction,
by providing $15 million for FY25 and every fiscal year
thereafter. The bill also directs the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to take into consideration the needs of
economically disadvantaged populations impacted by drinking
water contamination. The California State Water Resources
Control Board found the Inland Empire to have the highest
levels of contamination of nitrate throughout the state
including 82 sources in San Bernardino, 67 sources in Riverside
County, and 123 sources in Los Angeles County.
California lawmakers want to establish the state’s position on
environmental health, taking a first step Monday in their
proactive approach to ensure processes for the state’s
environmental management remains secure, regardless of any
federal changes. … The Los Angeles Democrat is
propositioning a constitutional amendment that would enshrine
into law the Californian’s right to clean air, water and the
environment. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 16,
authored by Bryan, passed Monday out of the Assembly Natural
Resources Committee and into his chamber’s Appropriations
Committee. It must pass both houses by at least two-thirds and
then secure a majority vote at the polls.
A bill that would allow graywater systems to be included in new
homes throughout Colorado received rare unanimous approval from
the Colorado House on Friday. Graywater is made up of water
that has been used a single time from appliances like laundry
machines, baths or sinks and can be used again for non-drinking
purposes like toilet flushes and irrigation. Conservationists
point to graywater uses as a way to cut down on water
consumption as the drought in the West has deepened in recent
years.
Arizona House Republicans convened in a newly created committee
Thursday afternoon to discuss an investigation into the state’s
Democrat attorney general. The conservative lawmakers announced
the creation of the House Committee on Executive Oversight
Wednesday in response to Attorney General Kris Mayes’ ongoing
investigations into “megafarms” she says are overusing
groundwater and draining the wells of rural Arizonans. …
Mayes has recently indicated in multiple town halls across
rural Arizona, specifically La Paz County, her intent to file a
public nuisance complaint against large industrial farms and
corporations that she says are sucking rural Arizonans dry.
New California legislation seeks to permanently ban paraquat, a
powerful and widely used weedkiller that has been linked to
Parkinson’s disease and other serious health issues. Assembly
Bill 1963, introduced recently by Assemblymember Laura Friedman
(D-Glendale), would sunset the use of paraquat beginning in
January 2026. The herbicide, which is described by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency as highly toxic, is regularly
sprayed on almonds, grapes, cotton and other crops in the
state. … California is the nation’s top user of paraquat
…
The Department of the Interior announced the Yuma East Wetlands
will receive $5 million to upgrade infrastructure to ensure the
continued existence of the marshes for future
generations. There will be improvements that include
designing and replacing the system used to move water around
the wetlands. Pumps currently fueled by diesel with
electrical pumps will be replaced, concrete canals will be
extended and electrical power will be brought to the
conservation area to allow for technology updates. The
Yuma East Wetlands is used by the community for public
recreation and it also provides habitat for wildlife including
endangered species.
Groundwater in Arizona belongs to all of us. It is a public
resource and sensible management of it is vital to our shared
future. But instead of fulfilling their obligation to
protect this finite and diminishing water supply, Arizona’s
Republican legislators have introduced dozens of bills at the
statehouse aimed at enriching residential developers and
corporate farmers who want to expand their groundwater
use. Many of these bills are advancing and will end up on
the governor’s desk. One intent of these bills is to
weaken the state’s assured water supply requirement for
development in urban areas. This crucial consumer protection
prevents the sale of subdivision lots that lack a 100-year
water supply, thereby assuring our desert state’s
longevity. -Written by Kathleen Ferris, a Phoenix water
attorney and sits on the Governor’s Water Policy
Council.
Colorado lawmakers are considering legislation to restore
protections to key waters and wetlands struck down by the U.S.
Supreme Court last year in a decision leaving more than half of
the nation’s water supply at risk of industrial pollution.
Margaret Kran-Annexstein, director of the Colorado chapter of
the Sierra Club, said House Bill 1379 is in sync with Colorado
voters, pointing to a recent survey which found nearly nine in
10 voters want to limit damage and pollution from development,
industry and mining on wetlands and streams.
Rep. John Duarte (R-Hughson) was in Turlock, as well as other
Central Valley communities, on Monday to deliver Community
Project Funding checks — as part of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2024 — that totaled about $11 million.
Turlock received $1.2 million for its Golden State Boulevard
sewer-extension project, and $1 million for the city’s
stormwater infrastructure project. … Turlock’s Golden State
sewer-extension project focuses on extending an 18-inch
diameter sewer main near Taylor Road. The extension, according
to the city, will provide utility services to an unserved area
of Stanislaus County currently on wells and septic
tanks. The other project — the Positive Drainage Project —
involves replacement and upsizing of 1,120 feet of pipe in the
city to create a positive drainage system that would increase
flood capacity and alleviate flooding concerns.
On the heels of two wet winters, it’s easy to forget how close
some parts of California came to running out of water a few
short years ago. But this climate amnesia will not help us
prepare for the next inevitable drought. … the water board is
about to trample the hard-won work that’s been done so far by
allowing water utilities until 2035 or later to
implement meaningful reductions. … Because the water
board’s latest plan for implementing efficiency standards has
such an extended timeline, water will inevitably become even
more expensive, including for low-income households and
communities. -Written by Robert Hertzberg, a former speaker of
the Assembly and former majority leader of the state Senate;
and Assembly member Laura Friedman
(D-Glendale), running to replace Adam Schiff in the U.S.
House of Representatives.
A Senate panel voted to shut the public out of the key business
of the state agency tasked with finding new water for Arizona.
HB 2014 authorizes the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority
to enter into agreements to facilitate the construction of a
project that would bring water from outside the state into
Arizona. It also empowers the agency to negotiate deals with
others to agree to purchase the water once it becomes
available. But what HB 2014 also would do is exempt all
communications and information gathered related to water
augmentation from all provisions of the state’s Public Records
Law. And the only time anyone could get information would be
“on the consent of the authority.”
Today, legislation to protect California’s iconic salmon and
steelhead trout authored by Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San
Mateo) was approved by the Assembly Committee on Transportation
with a bipartisan vote. The S.A.L.M.O.N Act (Stormwater
Anti-Lethal Measures for Our Natives Act), would mandate the
development and implementation of a regional strategy by the
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to eliminate (a
contaminant from tire rubber) from stormwater discharges
into specified salmon and steelhead trout-bearing surface
waters of the state.
Colorado lawmakers say they want Congress to do its job and
fund repairs to a deteriorating irrigation system in
southwestern Colorado. The irrigation system, called the Pine
River Indian Irrigation Project, is one of 16 federal projects
in the West that have fallen into disrepair. The maintenance
backlog is extensive and would cost more than $2.3 billion to
address. … Southern Ute representatives focused on the
Indian Irrigation Fund during Colorado River Drought Task Force
meetings in 2023.
California officials are trying to boost state wetlands
protections in order to guard against a 2023 Supreme Court
decision that slashed federal oversight of wetlands.
Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s A.B. 2875 would declare it the
state’s policy to ensure long-term gain and no net loss of
California’s wetlands. And Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s
administration is proposing to add 38 new positions to enforce
the state’s existing wetlands protection laws and scrutinize
development permits.
A much-anticipated water bill brought by one of the most
powerful lawmakers on Capitol Hill became public Thursday.
Senate President Stuart Adams’s SB 211, titled “Generational
Water Infrastructure Amendments,” seeks to secure a water
supply for decades to come. It forms a new council comprised of
leadership from the state’s biggest water districts that will
figure out Utah’s water needs for the next 50 to 75 years. It
also creates a new governor-appointed “Utah Water Agent” with a
$1 million annual budget that will “coordinate with the council
to ensure Utah’s generational water needs are met,” according
to a news release. But combing through the text of the bill
reveals the water agent’s main job will be finding an
out-of-state water supply. … The bill also notes the
water agent won’t meddle with existing water compacts with
other states on the Bear and Colorado rivers.
Last week, Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria introduced AB 2060 to
help divert local floodwater into regional groundwater
basins. AB 2060 seeks to streamline the permitting process
to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in support of
Flood-MAR activities when a stream or river has reached
flood-monitor or flood stage as determined by the California
Nevada River Forecast Center or the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB). This expedited approval process would be
temporary during storm events with qualifying flows under the
SWRCB permit.
… In California, just figuring out who holds a water right
requires a trip to a downtown Sacramento storage room crammed
with millions of paper and microfilmed records dating to the
mid-1800s. Even the state’s water rights enforcers struggle to
determine who is using what. … Come next year, however,
the board expects to have all records electronically accessible
to the public. Officials recently started scanning records tied
to an estimated 45,000 water rights into an online database.
They’re also designing a system that will give real-time data
on how much water is being diverted from rivers and streams
across the state. … Proponents say the information
technology upgrade will help the state and water users better
manage droughts, establish robust water trading markets and
ensure water for fish and the environment.
… Without more investment and regulatory relief,
Californians face a future of chronic water scarcity. Our
system of water storage and distribution is in trouble. We have
depleted aquifers, nearly empty reservoirs on the Colorado
River, and a precarious network of century-old levees that are
one big earthquake away from catastrophic failure. Then there’s
always the next severe drought. Even if the governor
aggressively pushes for more investment in water supply
infrastructure and more regulatory relief so projects can go
forward, the state is again staring down a budget deficit.
Bonds to fund water infrastructure projects are going to have a
hard time getting approval from voters already overburdened
with among the highest taxes in America. - Written by Edward Ring, senior fellow with the
California Policy Center.
Below-average precipitation and snowpack during 2020-22 and
depleted surface and groundwater supplies pushed California
into a drought emergency that brought curtailment orders and
calls for modernizing water rights. At the Water Education
Foundation annual water summit last week in Sacramento,
Eric Oppenheimer, chief deputy director of the California State
Water Resources Control Board, discussed what he described as
the state’s “antiquated” water rights system. He spoke before
some 150 water managers, government officials, farmers,
environmentalists and others as part of the event where
interests come together to collaborate on some of the state’s
most challenging water issues.
This tour traveled along the San Joaquin River to learn firsthand
about one of the nation’s largest and most expensive river
restoration projects.
The San Joaquin River was the focus of one of the most
contentious legal battles in California water history,
ending in a 2006 settlement between the federal government,
Friant Water Users Authority and a coalition of environmental
groups.
Hampton Inn & Suites Fresno
327 E Fir Ave
Fresno, CA 93720
Martha Guzman recalls those awful
days working on water and other issues as a deputy legislative
secretary for then-Gov. Jerry Brown. California was mired in a
recession and the state’s finances were deep in the red. Parks
were cut, schools were cut, programs were cut to try to balance a
troubled state budget in what she remembers as “that terrible
time.”
She now finds herself in a strikingly different position: As
administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
Region 9, she has a mandate to address water challenges across
California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and $1 billion to help pay
for it. It is the kind of funding, she said, that is usually
spread out over a decade. Guzman called it the “absolutely
greatest opportunity.”
Groundwater provides about 40
percent of the water in California for urban, rural and
agricultural needs in typical years, and as much as 60 percent in
dry years when surface water supplies are low. But in many areas
of the state, groundwater is being extracted faster than it can
be replenished through natural or artificial means.
The bill is coming due, literally,
to protect and restore groundwater in California.
Local agencies in the most depleted groundwater basins in
California spent months putting together plans to show how they
will achieve balance in about 20 years.
California is chock full of rivers and creeks, yet the state’s network of stream gauges has significant gaps that limit real-time tracking of how much water is flowing downstream, information that is vital for flood protection, forecasting water supplies and knowing what the future might bring.
That network of stream gauges got a big boost Sept. 30 with the signing of SB 19. Authored by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), the law requires the state to develop a stream gauge deployment plan, focusing on reactivating existing gauges that have been offline for lack of funding and other reasons. Nearly half of California’s stream gauges are dormant.
Bruce Babbitt, the former Arizona
governor and secretary of the Interior, has been a thoughtful,
provocative and sometimes forceful voice in some of the most
high-profile water conflicts over the last 40 years, including
groundwater management in Arizona and the reduction of
California’s take of the Colorado River. In 2016, former
California Gov. Jerry Brown named Babbitt as a special adviser to
work on matters relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and
the Delta tunnels plan.
Groundwater helped make Kern County
the king of California agricultural production, with a $7 billion
annual array of crops that help feed the nation. That success has
come at a price, however. Decades of unchecked groundwater
pumping in the county and elsewhere across the state have left
some aquifers severely depleted. Now, the county’s water managers
have less than a year left to devise a plan that manages and
protects groundwater for the long term, yet ensures that Kern
County’s economy can continue to thrive, even with less water.
Low-income Californians can get help with their phone bills, their natural gas bills and their electric bills. But there’s only limited help available when it comes to water bills.
That could change if the recommendations of a new report are implemented into law. Drafted by the State Water Resources Control Board, the report outlines the possible components of a program to assist low-income households facing rising water bills.
There’s going to be a new governor
in California next year – and a host of challenges both old and
new involving the state’s most vital natural resource, water.
So what should be the next governor’s water priorities?
That was one of the questions put to more than 150 participants
during a wrap-up session at the end of the Water Education
Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento.
Spurred by drought and a major
policy shift, groundwater management has assumed an unprecedented
mantle of importance in California. Local agencies in the
hardest-hit areas of groundwater depletion are drawing plans to
halt overdraft and bring stressed aquifers to the road of
recovery.
Along the way, an army of experts has been enlisted to help
characterize the extent of the problem and how the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act of 2014 is implemented in a manner
that reflects its original intent.
California voters may experience a sense of déjà vu this year when they are asked twice in the same year to consider water bonds — one in June, the other headed to the November ballot.
Both tackle a variety of water issues, from helping disadvantaged communities get clean drinking water to making flood management improvements. But they avoid more controversial proposals, such as new surface storage, and they propose to do some very different things to appeal to different constituencies.
Participants of this tour snaked along the San Joaquin River to
learn firsthand about one of the nation’s largest and most
expensive river restoration projects.
The San Joaquin River was the focus of one of the most
contentious legal battles in California water history,
ending in a 2006 settlement between the federal government,
Friant Water Users Authority and a coalition of environmental
groups.
A new era of groundwater management
began in 2014 with the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act (SGMA), which aims for local and regional agencies
to develop and implement sustainable groundwater management
plans with the state as the backstop.
SGMA defines “sustainable groundwater management” as the
“management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be
maintained during the planning and implementation horizon without
causing undesirable results.”
This handbook provides crucial
background information on the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act, signed into law in 2014 by Gov. Jerry Brown. The handbook
also includes a section on options for new governance.
Water conservation has become a way of life throughout the West
with a growing recognition that water supply is not unlimited.
Drought is the most common motivator of increased water
conservation. However, the gradual drying of the West due to
climate change means the amount of fresh water available for
drinking, irrigation, industry and other uses must be used as
efficiently as possible.
As part of the historic Colorado
River Delta, the Salton Sea regularly filled and dried for
thousands of years due to its elevation of 237 feet below
sea level.
The most recent version of the Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when
the Colorado River broke
through a series of dikes and flooded the seabed for two years,
creating California’s largest inland body of water. The
Salton Sea, which is saltier than the Pacific Ocean, includes 130
miles of shoreline and is larger than Lake Tahoe.
The federal Safe Drinking Water Act sets standards for drinking
water quality in the United States.
Launched in 1974 and administered by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the Safe Drinking Water Act oversees states,
communities, and water suppliers who implement the drinking water
standards at the local level.
The act’s regulations apply to every public water system in the
United States but do not include private wells serving less than
25 people.
According to the EPA, there are more than 160,000 public water
systems in the United States.
The California Environmental Quality
Act, commonly known as CEQA, is foundational to the state’s
environmental protection efforts. The law requires proposed
developments with the potential for “significant” impacts on the
physical environment to undergo an environmental review.
Since its passage in 1970, CEQA (based on the National
Environmental Policy Act) has served as a model for
similar legislation in other states.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at some of
the pieces of the 2009 water legislation, including the Delta
Stewardship Council, the new requirements for groundwater
monitoring and the proposed water bond.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at California
groundwater and whether its sustainability can be assured by
local, regional and state management. For more background
information on groundwater please refer to the Foundation’s
Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at hydraulic
fracturing, or “fracking,” in California. Much of the information
in the article was presented at a conference hosted by the
Groundwater Resources Association of California.
This issue of Western Water looks at the political
landscape in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento as it relates to
water issues in 2007. Several issues are under consideration,
including the means to deal with impending climate change, the
fate of the San Joaquin River, the prospects for new surface
storage in California and the Delta.
This printed issue of Western Water examines water
infrastructure – its costs and the quest to augment traditional
brick-and-mortar facilities with sleeker, “green” features.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the
financing of water infrastructure, both at the local level and
from the statewide perspective, and some of the factors that
influence how people receive their water, the price they pay for
it and how much they might have to pay in the future.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at the energy
requirements associated with water use and the means by which
state and local agencies are working to increase their knowledge
and improve the management of both resources.
This printed issue of Western Water discusses low
impact development and stormwater capture – two areas of emerging
interest that are viewed as important components of California’s
future water supply and management scenario.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the
Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study and what its
finding might mean for the future of the lifeblood of the
Southwest.
20-minute version of the 2012 documentary The Klamath Basin: A
Restoration for the Ages. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues related to complex water management
disputes in the Klamath River Basin. Narrated by actress Frances
Fisher.
For over a century, the Klamath River Basin along the Oregon and
California border has faced complex water management disputes. As
relayed in this 2012, 60-minute public television documentary
narrated by actress Frances Fisher, the water interests range
from the Tribes near the river, to energy producer PacifiCorp,
farmers, municipalities, commercial fishermen, environmentalists
– all bearing legitimate arguments for how to manage the water.
After years of fighting, a groundbreaking compromise may soon
settle the battles with two epic agreements that hold the promise
of peace and fish for the watershed. View an excerpt from the
documentary here.
30-minute DVD that traces the history of the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation and its role in the development of the West. Includes
extensive historic footage of farming and the construction of
dams and other water projects, and discusses historic and modern
day issues.
This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, features
a map of the San Joaquin River. The map text focuses on the San
Joaquin River Restoration Program, which aims to restore flows
and populations of Chinook salmon to the river below Friant Dam
to its confluence with the Merced River. The text discusses the
history of the program, its goals and ongoing challenges with
implementation.
A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this 24×36
inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson River, and
its link to the Truckee River. The map includes Lahontan Dam and
Reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming areas in the basin.
Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and geography, the
Newlands Project, land and water use within the basin and
wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan Basin
Area Office.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law, recognized as
the most thorough explanation of California water rights law
available to non-lawyers, traces the authority for water flowing
in a stream or reservoir, from a faucet or into an irrigation
ditch through the complex web of California water rights.
As the state’s population continues to grow and traditional water
supplies grow tighter, there is increased interest in reusing
treated wastewater for a variety of activities, including
irrigation of crops, parks and golf courses, groundwater recharge
and industrial uses.
The 20-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Marketing provides
background information on water rights, types of transfers and
critical policy issues surrounding this topic. First published in
1996, the 2005 version offers expanded information on
groundwater banking and conjunctive use, Colorado River
transfers and the role of private companies in California’s
developing water market.
Order in bulk (25 or more copies of the same guide) for a reduced
fee. Contact the Foundation, 916-444-6240, for details.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the State Water Project provides
an overview of the California-funded and constructed State Water
Project.
The State Water Project is best known for the 444-mile-long
aqueduct that provides water from the Delta to San Joaquin Valley
agriculture and southern California cities. The guide contains
information about the project’s history and facilities.
The Water Education Foundation’s second edition of
the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is
hot off the press and available for purchase.
Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview covers the
history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental
relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers — and a
vast watershed that hosts one of the nation’s oldest and
largest reclamation projects.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water
Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication
that provides background information on the principles of IRWM,
its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water
management approach.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater is an in-depth,
easy-to-understand publication that provides background and
perspective on groundwater. The guide explains what groundwater
is – not an underground network of rivers and lakes! – and the
history of its use in California.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Flood Management explains the
physical flood control system, including levees; discusses
previous flood events (including the 1997 flooding); explores
issues of floodplain management and development; provides an
overview of flood forecasting; and outlines ongoing flood control
projects.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project
explores the history and development of the federal Central
Valley Project (CVP), California’s largest surface water delivery
system. In addition to the project’s history, the guide describes
the various CVP facilities, CVP operations, the benefits the CVP
brought to the state and the CVP Improvement Act (CVPIA).
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Delta explores the competing
uses and demands on California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Included in the guide are sections on the history of the Delta,
its role in the state’s water system, and its many complex issues
with sections on water quality, levees, salinity and agricultural
drainage, fish and wildlife, and water distribution.
For more than 30 years, the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta has been embroiled in continuing controversy over the
struggle to restore the faltering ecosystem while maintaining its
role as the hub of the state’s water supply.
Lawsuits and counter lawsuits have been filed, while
environmentalists and water users continue to clash over
the amount of water that can be safely exported from the region.
Passed in 1970, the federal National Environmental Policy Act
requires lead public agencies to prepare and submit for public
review environmental impact reports and statements on major
federal projects under their purview with potentially significant
environmental effects.
According to the Department of Energy, administrator of NEPA:
California has considered, but not implemented, a comprehensive
groundwater strategy many
times over the last century.
One hundred years ago, the California Conservation Commission
considered adding groundwater regulation into the Water
Commission Act of 1913. After hearings were held, it was
decided to leave groundwater rights out of the Water Code.
Federal reserved rights were created when the United States
reserved land from the public domain for uses such as Indian
reservations, military bases and national parks, forests and
monuments. [See also Pueblo Rights].
The federal government passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973,
following earlier legislation. The first, the Endangered
Species Preservation Act of 1966, authorized land acquisition to
conserve select species. The Endangered Species Conservation Act
of 1969 then expanded on the 1966 act, and authorized “the
compilation of a list of animals “threatened with worldwide
extinction” and prohibits their importation without a permit.”
California’s Legislature passed the
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1972, following the passage of the
federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by Congress in 1968. Under
California law, “[c]ertain rivers which possess extraordinary
scenic, recreational, fishery, or wildlife values shall be
preserved in their free-flowing state, together with their
immediate environments, for the benefit and enjoyment of the
people of the state.”
The legal term “area-of-origin” dates back to 1931 in California.
At that time, concerns over water transfers prompted enactment of
four “area-of-origin” statutes. With water transfers from
Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley to supply water for San Francisco
and from Owens Valley to Los Angeles fresh in mind, the statutes
were intended to protect local areas against export of water.
In particular, counties in Northern California had concerns about
the state tapping their water to develop California’s supply.
It would be a vast understatement to say the package of water
bills approved by the California Legislature and signed by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger last November was anything but a
significant achievement. During a time of fierce partisan battles
and the state’s long-standing political gridlock with virtually
all water policy, pundits at the beginning of 2009 would have
given little chance to lawmakers being able to reach compromise
on water legislation.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most
significant environmental laws in American history, the Clean
Water Act (CWA). The law that emerged from the consensus and
compromise that characterizes the legislative process has had
remarkable success, reversing years of neglect and outright abuse
of the nation’s waters.
In January, Mary Nichols joined the cabinet of the new Davis
administration. With her appointment by Gov. Gray Davis as
Secretary for Resources, Ms. Nichols, 53, took on the role of
overseeing the state of California’s activities for the
management, preservation and enhancement of its natural
resources, including land, wildlife, water and minerals. As head
of the Resources Agency, she directs the activities of 19
departments, conservancies, boards and commissions, serving as
the governor’s representative on these boards and commissions.
Two days before our annual Executive Briefing, I picked up my
phone to hear “The White House calling… .” Vice President Al
Gore had accepted the foundation’s invitation to speak at our
March 13 briefing on California water issues. That was the start
of a new experience for us. For in addition to conducting a
briefing for about 250 people, we were now dealing with Secret
Service agents, bomb sniffing dogs and government sharpshooters,
speech writers, print and TV reporters, school children and
public relations people.