Focus
Trump takes step to overhaul Delta water deliveries to farms, cities
CalMatters - January 21
President Donald Trump on Monday issued a memorandum directing the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior to develop a new plan within 90 days “to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state for use by the people there who desperately need a reliable water supply.” Trump’s memo calls for reinstating 2019 regulations drafted by his first administration governing operation of the federal Central Valley Project and State Water Project, the two systems that deliver water from Northern California rivers to San Joaquin Valley farmers, Southern California residents, and other water users in the southern half of the state. But the rules that former President Joe Biden and Governor Gavin Newsom agreed upon in December would actually send more water to Southern California than the Trump rules that they replaced, according to an environmental analysis of the plan.
News
Governor Newsom orders investigation after hydrants run dry during Palisades Fire
KCRA – January 10
Amid the historic wildfire damage in Southern California, Governor Gavin Newsom is seeking an investigation into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). Several fire hydrants in Los Angeles ran dry as crews were working to battle the Palisades Fire, which caused some to express criticism over the city and state’s infrastructure and approach to fire prevention. LADWP said water was being pumped from aqueducts and groundwater into the system, but demand was so high that it wasn’t enough to refill three 1-million-gallon tanks in hilly Pacific Palisades that help pressurize hydrants for the neighborhood.
$20 billion Delta tunnel plan wins endorsement from Silicon Valley’s largest water agency
The Mercury News – January 15
Governor Gavin Newsom’s $20 billion plan to build a 45-mile long tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to make it easier to move water from Northern California to Southern California won the endorsement of Silicon Valley’s largest water agency on January 15. By a vote of 6-1, the board of the Santa Clara Valley Water District approved spending $9.7 million for planning and geotechnical studies of the project, thus remaining as a partner. The district is expected to vote by 2027 on whether to provide $650 million in construction funding for the plan.
False claims about who owns California’s water are spreading online. Here’s what to know.
CBS News – January 16
Accusations that Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners of the Wonderful Company, have been hoarding water needed to fight the Southern California wildfires have been spreading online. While the Resnicks do own a large stake in the Kern Water Bank — a 32-square-mile underground reservoir 150 miles from Los Angeles — claims they are hoarding the supply or hindering the fight to control the blazes aren’t true. The Resnicks own 57% of the rights to that water. The Resnicks’ water rights have not affected Los Angeles’ water supply throughout the wildfire crisis. In a severe drought, Los Angeles County or the city might request to draw water from the Kern Water Bank. However, the reservoirs the city and county rely on in Southern California are currently at or above historical averages, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
From waves to wells: Seawater desalination and coastal groundwater basins
ABA Natural Resources & Environment – December 18
Traditional sources of freshwater are dwindling as a result of increased demand, reduced natural replenishment, volatile weather patterns, and extended-duration droughts. Desalination, the industrial-scale removal of salt from saline water to create fresh product water, can be a valuable source of “new water.” “New water” is recognized in California as water that would not occur in a watershed or groundwater basin but for human intervention to cause the water to be captured or created. The California Water Plan Update 2023 identifies a goal of increasing desalinated product water by 28,000 acre-feet per year by 2030 and 84,000 by 2040. New desalination projects would benefit from clarifying the project’s legal rights to desalination source water and product water.
State Water Board readopts drought flows for Siskiyou
Maven’s Notebook/AgAlert – January 15
Even though hydrologic conditions point to a more positive water outlook for the Scott River and Shasta River in Siskiyou County, state water officials last week readopted drought emergency regulations that curtail water rights in the region, affecting farmers and ranchers. At its January 7 meeting, the California State Water Resources Control Board readopted an emergency drought regulation that took effect in 2021 after Governor Gavin Newsom first issued a drought state of emergency.
Arizona AG sues Saudi firm over ‘excessive’ groundwater pumping, saying it’s a public nuisance
Associated Press – December 11
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has sued a Saudi Arabian agribusiness for allegedly violating a public nuisance law, contending that its groundwater pumping threatens the public health, safety, and infrastructure of local communities in a rural western county. The complaint filed in Maricopa County Superior Court alleges that the pumping at a Fondomonte Arizona alfalfa farm has had widespread effects in the Ranegras Plain Basin of La Paz County, including drawing down water supplies, drying up wells, and causing the ground to crack and sink in some areas.
EPA urges California to protect Native culture by keeping more water in the Delta
The Sacramento Bee – December 4
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urged California water regulators to protect tribal cultural practices in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, the troubled heart of the state’s water supply. Comments to the State Water Resources Control Board by EPA regional administrator Martha Guzman at a December hearing marked rare federal intervention into state water politics as regulators weigh options to regulate how much water stays in the estuary. Guzman also challenged a proposal spearheaded by Governor Gavin Newsom to let water users voluntarily cut back on their use with limited oversight.
Utah will pay millions for farmers to leave fields empty — and leave water for the Colorado River
The Salt Lake Tribune – December 29
Across Utah, farmers are experimenting with ways to tighten their water use as agriculture, drought, and population growth collide to put pressure on the state’s limited water resources. Some are installing more efficient irrigation technology. Others are testing unconventional crops. Others are taking farmland out of commission entirely — for a time and for a price. For years, the federal government has paid some Utah farmers to leave their fields empty to keep more water in the Colorado River. Now, Utah is trying its own version of this — and changing how it keeps track of the water that’s saved.
Understanding water available for recharge in the Central Valley
Public Policy Institute of California – December 5
Recharging more water from large winter and spring storms into California’s underground aquifers is a powerful tool for reducing groundwater overdraft, improving drought preparedness, and limiting flood risk to downstream communities. The state facilitated the recharge of flood flows through new executive orders and legislation (SB 122), and numerous local programs got more water into the ground. This article examines the issues at stake in the Central Valley—California’s main source of water for recharge—and highlights how partnerships could make the most of the water that is available.
*This article may require a subscription to read.
[View source.]
