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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The Klamath River in southern Oregon and northern California is
now running freer. In late 2023 and early 2024, four of the six
dams along the river were breached and reservoirs drained.
These actions were part of an effort to restore hundreds of
miles of riparian habitat. It is thought to be the largest dam
removal project in history. The four dams—Iron Gate, Copco No.
1, Copco No. 2, and J.C. Boyle—were built between 1918 and 1962
to generate electricity. Facing steep costs to modernize them
in the early 2000s, the utility that owned the dams opted for
deconstruction instead. In addition to removing aging
infrastructure, the project is expected to eliminate the
ecosystem and human health risks posed by toxic algae, which
has regularly reached harmful levels in the reservoirs since
2005.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced
a proposed settlement with Shasta-Siskiyou Transport of
Redding, Calif. to resolve claims of Clean Water Act (CWA)
violations after one of the company’s trucks overturned and a
fuel product spilled into storm drains in downtown Redding. The
fuel reached the Sacramento River. The proposed settlement
requires Shasta-Siskiyou Transport to pay a civil penalty of
$208,840. … On Jan. 21, 2022, one of Shasta-Siskiyou
Transport’s trucks was transporting transmix, a mixture of
gasoline, diesel fuel, and other petroleum distillates, when
the truck overturned in downtown Redding, releasing transmix
into nearby storm drains, which led directly to Calaboose Creek
and subsequently into the Sacramento River.
California ranks as the “greenest” state in America thanks to
rooftop solar, water conservation and electric vehicles,
according to a report released Wednesday by the WalletHub
personal finance website. … The Golden State also ranked
first in water conservation and sixth lowest in gasoline use
per capita, in part because of support to electric vehicles and
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today unveiled the
first nationwide limits on dangerous “forever chemicals” in
drinking water, setting standards that will have sweeping,
costly effects throughout California. Several thousand water
systems around the country are expected to exceed the new
limits for the chemicals, which have been linked to an array of
diseases — including cancer and heart disease — and have
contaminated people and animals worldwide, including
newborns. 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.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has
announced that it will increase rates and property taxes
throughout the region over the next two years as the state
grapples with fundamental changes to its water supply and
usage. District leaders said the increases are necessary to
cover the costs of importing and treating water, as well as
finance climate change adaptations to infrastructure and make
up for declines in revenue due to widespread conservation
efforts. … The district’s 38-member board voted Tuesday
to raise water rates 8.5% in 2025 and an additional 8.5% in
2026.
California is expected to experience what some meteorologists
are calling “weather whiplash” this week with a brief spell of
warm weather during the work week followed by a wet weekend
from yet another unusually cold storm. … A significant
weather shift is expected to impact the Golden State starting
Friday, with temperatures dropping as a cold storm system
approaches the area, potentially bringing rains as early as
Friday to some locations. Widespread rain is expected Saturday.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommended
Alternative 3 – Salmon Closure during the final days of the
Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) meeting mirroring
the opinions of commercial and recreational charter boat
anglers. The department’s position is a significant change from
early March. The PFMC meetings are being held in Seattle from
April 6 to 11, and the final recommendations of the council
will be forwarded to the California Fish and Game Commission in
May.
Sustaining the American Southwest is the Colorado River. But
demand, damming, diversion, and drought are draining this vital
water resource at alarming rates. The future of water in the
region – particularly from the Colorado River – was top of mind
at the 10th Annual Eccles Family Rural West Conference, an
event organized by the Bill Lane Center for the American West
that brings together policymakers, practitioners, and scholars
to discuss solutions to urgent problems facing rural Western
regions.
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.
Catastrophic weather events wreaked havoc on U.S. agriculture
last year, causing nearly $22 billion in crop and rangeland
losses, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
California accounted for $1.14 billion of that figure,
including nearly $880 million in damages from severe storms and
flooding. The figures represent a significant shift from
previous years, when drought and wildfires were California’s
biggest challenges. Since then, atmospheric rivers, Tropical
Storm Hilary and other weather events battered our farming
communities. - Written by Matthew Viohl, director of federal
policy for the California Farm Bureau
… After years of drought, California’s water supply is the
healthiest it’s been in the 21st century. Nevertheless, the
state’s age-old jousting over water use priorities continues
and may become more intense as climate change affects the
amount of water available. - Written by Dan Walters, CalMatters columnist
A bloom of toxic blue-green algae recently forced the closure
of three East Bay lakes to swimmers. Quarry Lake in Fremont,
Del Valle in Livermore, and Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton are all
off-limits to people and pets due to the dangerous water
conditions, per ABC 7. The East Bay Regional Parks District has
posted signs at the lakes warning people to avoid contact with
the water. A less severe caution advisory has been issued for
Lake Temescal in Oakland, Lake Anza at Tilden Park in Berkeley,
and Contra Loma Reservoir in Antioch. Blue-green algae, also
known as cyanobacteria, are natural organisms that tend to
bloom in areas with low water levels, warm temperatures, and
stagnant water. These conditions can cause the algae to release
toxins that can be harmful to people and animals.
The Bureau of Reclamation’s announcement at Monday’s meeting of
the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District that it is halting
work on El Vado Dam repairs raises hugely consequential
questions about water management in New Mexico’s Middle Rio
Grande Valley. The short explanation for the halt is that the
current approach to repairing the 1930s-era dam wasn’t working.
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.
Lake Shasta could reach its full capacity this spring,
following a high amount of rainfall in California. The largest
reservoir in California has been steadily rising since the
beginning of March. It has gone up sharply since the start of
the year, which saw its levels at 1,012 feet, compared to its
current level on April 5 of 1,058 feet. The lake has risen by
about 19 feet since the beginning of March alone. “Shasta
Reservoir is currently 121 percent of the 15-year average and
93 percent full as of April 4. Unlike other Central Valley
Project reservoirs, Shasta is predominantly filled by rainfall
rather than snowpack runoff,” a Bureau of Reclamation
spokesperson told Newsweek. … The reservoir, located in
Shasta County, California, was in a dire situation due to
drought in 2022.
The Bureau of Reclamation announced Monday that recently
uncovered damage to the Glen Canyon Dam will require it to
reduce flows through portions of the structure as it looks to
repair the site and prevent future problems at one of the
nation’s major reservoirs. Wayne Pullan, the Bureau of
Reclamation’s Upper Colorado Basin regional director, said that
the agency — which is responsible for delivering water to
Arizona, California and Nevada — is investigating damage to the
lowest level of pipes at the dam, four structures known as the
“River Outlet Works.” “In nearly 60 years of operation in Glen
Canyon Dam, we didn’t need to address the issues that we’re
facing now,” Pullan said in a news conference. “We didn’t need
to consider the possible sustained operation of the River
Outlet Works at low elevations.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom has a new sales pitch for a tunnel to move
more water south from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
that past governors have tried and failed to build for five
decades. “The Delta conveyance is an adaptation project,” he
said last week in a snowy field in the Sierra Nevada, where a
winter that started out dry eventually delivered a
just-above-average snowpack that will soon melt into the
Sacramento River and its
tributaries. … Long-skeptical Delta lawmakers
aren’t convinced by the latest rationale. “He’s searching for a
reason,” said Representative John Garamendi, a Democrat
from the western part of the Delta.
As the date of reckoning for excessive groundwater pumping in
Tulare County grows closer, lobbying by water managers and
growers has ramped up. The Friant Water Authority, desperate to
protect its newly rebuilt – yet still sinking –
Friant-Kern Canal, has beseeched the Water Resources Control
Board to get involved. Specifically, it has asked board members
to look into how the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability
Agency (GSA) has, or has not, curbed over pumping that affects
the canal. Meanwhile, the Eastern Tule groundwater agency has
been doing a bit of its own lobbying. It recently hosted all
five members of the Water Board on three separate tours of the
region, including the canal. Because the tours were staggered,
there wasn’t a quorum of board members, which meant they
weren’t automatically open to the public.
Hydropower generation in the U.S. West plunged to a 22-year low
last year — dropping 11 percent from the year before, according
to a new federal data analysis. The total amount produced
in the region amounted to 141.5 million megawatt-hours, or
about 60 percent of the country’s total hydroelectricity output
in the 2022-23 “water year,” per the data published
by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
… On the other hand, a series of atmospheric rivers in
California spurred an increase in hydroelectricity production
in the Golden State — nearly doubling it in comparison to the
previous water year, the analysis noted.
The Commerce Department announced Monday it pledged up to
$6.6 billion to Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC,
which will add a third chip manufacturing facility in Arizona
to the two in the works. The grant will go down in Washington
as one of the crown jewels of the Biden administration’s
initiative to bring the supply chain for ubiquitous—and
strategically vital—computer chips back to the United
States. But in Phoenix, where the factories are going to
be built, TSMC faces a lingering question: where’s the water
going to come from in one of the driest cities in the
country?
