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California, Arizona and Nevada Press Trump Administration To Rethink Colorado River Water Cuts

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Leaders of California, Arizona and Nevada are criticizing the Trump administration’s proposals for water cutbacks along the Colorado River, urging it to take a different approach and avoid a court battle.

The three downstream states said in letters to the Interior Department this week that the agency’s preliminary outline of five options for cuts ignores the foundational “Law of the River” that has underpinned how seven western states operate for more than a century.

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California Pushes for Statewide Water-Conservation Plan in Fight Against Climate Change

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Madeline Shannon

State officials in California have announced the implementation of a statewide water-saving plan meant to conserve water resources amid worsening climate change.

“Climate change is reshaping life in California through historic droughts and record storms that threaten the farms that feed the nation, communities that depend on reliable water, and the environment we all share,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news release on Feb. 25. “The 2028 Water Plan is a commitment to every Californian that we will capture, store, and conserve the water our state — the 4th largest economy in the world — needs to thrive, no matter what climate change throws at us.”

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Head of L.A.’s Department of Water and Power Resigns

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Noah Goldberg and David Zahniser

The head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is stepping down to become chief executive of an electric company in her native Puerto Rico.

Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement Wednesday that Janisse Quiñones, the DWP’s top executive since 2024, brought “steady leadership and engineering expertise” to the utility. In her new job, Quiñones will work on modernizing Puerto Rico’s electric grid.

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Arizona Water Leaders Push Back on ‘Unacceptable’ Draft Colorado River Plans

/in , /by /KJZZ Phoenixby Alex Hager

Arizona water leaders had some harsh words about a draft of federal plans for managing the Colorado River. Brenda Burman, general manager of the Central Arizona Project, wrote in a statement that those plans would “disproportionately harm Arizona and are unacceptable.”

The Colorado River is managed according to agreements between the seven states that use it. The current management plan expires this year, and those states have failed to agree on a new deal for sharing water. With states at an impasse, the federal government proposed its own series of options for river management.

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California Snowpack Still Below Average Despite Winter Storms

/in , /by /Desert Sunby Daniella Segura

Despite the recent onslaught of winter storms in California, the state’s snowpack is still below average, according to state officials. During the third snow survey of the season, Department of Water Resources officials “recorded 28 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 11 inches, which is 47% of average for this location,” the agency said in a Feb. 27 news release.

Statewide, the snowpack is 66% average for this time of year, officials said.

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California Warns Federal Government: Proposed Colorado River Plans May Violate Century-Old Water Compact

/in , /by /Imperial Valley Press

California water officials issued a formal warning to the federal government Monday, asserting that current draft plans for managing the Colorado River after 2026 lack a sound legal basis and unfairly shift the burden of drought onto Lower Basin states.

In a detailed comment letter submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, JB Hamby, California’s Colorado River Commissioner, argued that the government’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) fails to analyze whether its proposed “shortage” scenarios actually comply with the 1922 Colorado River Compact—the foundational “Law of the River.”

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Mexican Farmers Gave Up Water to Protect the Colorado River. They Claim Payment Is Still Due

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer

Farmers in Mexicali are protesting again, arguing they haven’t been paid in full for pulling land out of production to save water for the imperiled Colorado River.

The farmers argue they’ve only been paid half for the amount of land they’ve left out of production. Earlier this month those farmers staged a days-long sit-in at the offices of CONAGUA, Mexico’s federal water agency. They claim they’re still owed millions of dollars, which ultimately come from the U.S. government under international agreements to compensate farmers who agree not to grow crops and save river water.

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California Water Officials Urge Stronger Legal Review in Post-2026 Colorado River Plan

/in , /by /The Desert Review

California water officials are calling on the federal government to strengthen its legal and environmental analysis of proposed new operating rules for the Colorado River, warning that the current draft plan fails to adequately address interstate obligations, infrastructure limitations, and impacts to communities, including the Imperial Valley, according to a recent Colorado River Board of California press release.

In formal comments submitted Monday to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Colorado River Board of California Chairman JB Hamby outlined concerns with the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) governing post-2026 operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

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Conservation Groups Lawsuit Challenges President Trump’s ‘Dangerous’ Water Grab in California’s Central Valley

/in , /by /Gold Rush Cam

On Monday, Conservation groups sued the Trump administration for pumping excessive amounts of water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in a way that harms imperiled fish.

The lawsuit says that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation violated the Endangered Species Act by exceeding regulations intended to limit the Central Valley Project’s impacts on Central Valley steelhead, North American green sturgeon, and Chinook salmon.

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A New Twist of Colorado River Water

/in , /by /The Desert Reviewby Kay Day Pricola Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

OPINION: As the U.S. Department of the Interior has now taken control of the decision about the Colorado River and the volumes of water for each of the seven states, one agency in California is seeking a “game changing” agreement. Based on a press release, (https://www.sdcwa.org/board-approves-federal-interstate-partnership-on-colorado-river)

The San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) has negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the first interstate water transfer-and-exchange pilot program with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and agencies in Nevada and Arizona.

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