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‘Fiscal Cliff’ for Drinking Water Fixes: Californians With Bad Tap Water Could Have a Longer Wait

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

The state program that helps bring solutions for Californians with contaminated drinking water is facing a major drop in funding.

At a meeting in Sacramento last week, state officials presented estimates that grant money to help communities get clean drinking water, including by drilling new wells or connecting to nearby water systems, could fall from $941 million in the current fiscal year to about $103 million in 2027-28.

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Lake Mead Is Dry as a Bone. California Is Coming To Help.

/in , /by /San Francisco Gateby Erin Rode

The largest water district in California has agreed to leave billions of gallons of water in Lake Mead this year in an effort to save America’s largest reservoir — in exchange for up to $65 million in cold hard cash.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California serves 26 different public water agencies, which in turn deliver water to about 19 million people spanning Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. The water giant holds some of the oldest and largest rights to the Colorado River, and was founded in the 1920s to build the 242-mile aqueduct that diverts water from the river and toward Southern California’s population centers.

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Local Group Continues Efforts To Raise Lake Hodges Water Level

/in , /by /The Coast Newsby Samantha Nelson

As the water level at Lake Hodges remains low, neighbors fear what could happen if a wildfire tears through their valley again, as it did nearly two decades ago — this time with a much smaller water barrier to slow the spread.

Efforts continue to urge the City of San Diego, which owns Hodges Dam, to raise the lake level from 280 to 295 feet. The lake’s maximum capacity is 315 feet.

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Lake Mead Nears ‘Dead Pool,’ Putting Water, Power, and Farms at Risk in Nevada, Arizona, and California

/in , /by /The Cool Downby Leslie Sattler

Lake Mead, the massive reservoir formed by Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, is still above “dead pool,” the point at which water levels are too low to keep flowing downstream. But the shrinking buffer is becoming a bigger concern for water managers across the Southwest, WorldAtlas reported.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said the dead pool level begins at 895 feet. Lake Mead still sits about 150 feet above that point, but federal forecasters expect the water to keep dropping through 2026 and 2027.

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San Diego Water Rate Proposal Could Raise Bills for Low Water Users

/in , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Monica Hernandez

San Diego homeowners who use less water could see their monthly water bills increase next year under a proposed rate change that would eliminate the city’s tiered pricing system.

The proposal, prompted by a court ruling in a case against the city of San Diego, would replace the current system in which customers who use less water pay a lower rate, and those who use more water pay more. If approved, all customers would pay the same rate, regardless of how much water they use.

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California Lawmakers Seek More Transparency on Data Center Water Use

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Naomi Taxay

As artificial intelligence fuels a new wave of data center development across California, lawmakers are grappling with how to support the growing industry while protecting the state’s limited water supplies.

Two bills moving through the Legislature would give state and local officials a more complete picture of data centers’ water demands. AB 2469 would require developers to disclose projected water use before local governments approve new facilities, while AB 2619 would require operators to report actual water use annually once the facilities open.

 

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California’s Water Wars Get a New Invader

/in , /by /Politicoby Camille Von Kaenel

Golden mussels do not vote, hire lobbyists or contribute to campaigns. But the invasive species taking over California’s system of canals and pumps holds a lot of power in Sacramento these days. It’s bringing some of the state’s warring water factions together, while giving others a new reason to fight.

The thumbnail-size mollusks, native to Southeast Asia and first discovered in North America near the Port of Stockton in 2024, reproduce rapidly, cling by the thousands to hard surfaces and clog the pipes, pumps and screens that keep water moving.

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Federal Government Helping Add Water to Lake Mead, SoCal Water Agency Says

/in , /by /NBC 4 Los Angeles

In an effort to address the historic-low water level at Lake Mead, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Tuesday approved an agreement with the federal government to help add water to the reservoir.

On Tuesday, Metropolitan’s Board of Directors approved an agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which will provide the agency up to $65 million to keep up to 200,000 acre-feet of its Colorado River supplies in the lake this year.

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Water-Saving San Diegans’ Bills Won’t Go Up As Steeply as Feared. Here’s Why.

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Garrick Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

A court ruling is prompting San Diego to propose new water rates that eliminate discounts for conservation — requiring rate hikes for low-volume users and cheaper water for high-volume users.

But the rate hikes for low-volume users are smaller than previously estimated, because plaintiffs in the court case agreed to a $40 million settlement — despite the courts awarding them $118 million.

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OPINION: Trump Greenlights California’s Dumbest Water Project

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Michael Hiltzik

On July 9, the Trump administration delivered a gift to Cadiz Inc., a politically well-connected firm that has been trying for decades to win approval for a scheme to pump water out of the Mojave Desert and market it to water agencies across the Southland.

The administration approved the company’s application to convert an abandoned 220-mile oil and gas pipeline crossing the desert to carry water instead. Susan Kennedy, the chief executive of Cadiz, called the approval “a pivotal milestone” that would enable the project to move into its construction stage.

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