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Water news you need to know

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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Please Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing. Also, the headlines below are the original headlines used in the publication cited at the time they are posted here and do not reflect the stance of the Water Education Foundation, an impartial nonprofit that remains neutral.

Aquafornia news Ag Alert

Commentary: Can California reject a ’scarcity mindset’ on water?

… 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.

Aquafornia news

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM AQUAFORNIA!

Dear Aquafornia readers,

Thanks for being avid readers of Aquafornia in 2023!

Aquafornia is off for the holidays but will return with a full slate of water news on Jan. 2, 2024.

In the meantime, follow us on Twitter where we post breaking water news and on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

The team at the Water Education Foundation wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

Aquafornia news CalMatters

State limits water for Klamath farmers to protect salmon

…Tuesday, the State Water Resources Control Board took action to protect the salmon, unanimously extending the region’s expired emergency drought measures. Ground and surface water for farms will be restricted for another year if flows in the Shasta and Scott rivers dip below minimum thresholds. State officials say these measures are likely to kick in next year. Water board chair Joaquin Esquivel said action is needed because “a fish emergency” remains on the rivers. “Time isn’t our friend,” he said at a previous meeting in August. “There is an urgency.” The water board also is investigating the possibility of permanent requirements to keep more water in the rivers, after the Karuk Tribe and the fishing industry petitioned the state for stronger protections. That decision, however, could take years.

Related articles: 

Aquafornia news Ag Alert

Summit tackles water challenges facing California

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.

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Aquafornia news The Sacramento Bee

Opinion: Sites Reservoir would cause negative environmental impacts to Sacramento River

As the permitting battle over the proposed Sites Reservoir Project in Northern California heats up, it’s become clear that the project would further heat up the atmosphere as well. Just as California has made bold commitments to achieve carbon neutrality in the next few decades, the state seems ready to approve a dam project that would put that progress in jeopardy. A new report, “Estimate of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for the Proposed Sites Reservoir Project Using the All-Res Modeling Tool,” created by a science team at my organization, Tell The Dam Truth, exposes the climate impacts caused by this massive dam and reservoir system.
-Written by Gary Wockner, PhD, who directs Tell The Dam Truth

Aquafornia news SJV Water

Residents below Isabella Dam again swamped by seepage after new pump runs out of gas

Residents living below the Isabella Auxiliary Dam were thrilled earlier this month with a temporary fix that finally dried up excessive seepage from the dam that had been swamping septic systems and breeding forests of mosquito-infested weeds around their homes. The didn’t realize how temporary the fix would be, however. After only 12 days without a river cutting through his land, rancher Gerald Wenstrand woke up to see the seepage back on Saturday.

Aquafornia news Fresnoland

Most of state’s unsafe water systems in California’s Central Valley

… A state audit from the California Water Resources Control Board released last year found that over 920,000 residents faced an increased risk of illness–including cancer, liver and kidney problems–due to consuming unsafe drinking water. A majority of these unsafe water systems are in the Central Valley. The matter has prompted community leaders to mobilize residents around water quality as politicians confront imperfect solutions for the region’s supply. Advocates point out that impacted areas, including those in Tulare County, tend to be majority Latino with low median incomes. … This year’s extreme weather has only worsened the valley’s problems. The storms that hit California at the start of this year caused stormwater tainted with farm industry fertilizer, manure and nitrates to flow into valley aquifers. 

Aquafornia news Water Education Foundation

Announcement: Water Leader apps now available for 2024 cohort; Agenda posted for Water Summit along with sponsorship opportunities

The application period for our 2024 Water Leaders cohort is now open, and don’t forget to sign up for our virtual Q&A session on Oct. 31 if you are interested in applying or supporting a candidate. Check out the interesting lineup of topics and speakers for our Oct. 25 Water Summit; the agenda is now posted. And don’t miss out on snatching up a sponsorship for our annual event!

Aquafornia news The Sacramento Bee

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: Red alert sounding on California drought, as farmers get less water

A government agency that controls much of California’s water supply released its initial allocation for 2021, and the numbers reinforced fears that the state is falling into another drought. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Tuesday that most of the water agencies that rely on the Central Valley Project will get just 5% of their contract supply, a dismally low number. Although the figure could grow if California gets more rain and snow, the allocation comes amid fresh weather forecasts suggesting the dry winter is continuing. The National Weather Service says the Sacramento Valley will be warm and windy the next few days, with no rain in the forecast.

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Aquafornia news Army Corps of Engineers

Blog: Sacramento District quick to adapt in face of COVID

USACE Sacramento District has a proven track record of facing challenges head-on. When 2020 brought with it the Novel Coronavirus, the District responded quickly to address the needs of a rapidly changing work environment…This year marked the start of major construction on the [American River Common Features] project, and the pandemic hit just as crews were mobilizing, meaning both USACE and its contractors faced unexpected public impacts.