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Tanned, rested and presumably ready after a summer vacation break, state legislators will return to the Capitol next week for the final month of their 2025 session.

The session’s final weeks will be dominated by bills aimed at registering blue California’s dislike of and opposition to President Donald Trump. The most prominent will be Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to redraw boundaries of California’s 52 congressional districts, giving Democrats five more seats to counter efforts in Texas to create five more Republican seats.

A new California bill would help ensure that our drinking water is safe. The legislation is important — and unusual in its approach.

Senate Bill 466, authored by Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Merced, would shield water agencies from civil suits. The temporary legal immunity would protect them from lawsuits over chromium-6 contamination as they work to remove the cancer-causing chemical from drinking water supplies.

 

California’s water system, constructed in partnership with the federal government, was built on a predictable weather cycle every calendar year. Throughout the winter, snow piles in the Sierra before it melts in late spring and flows throughout the state just when farms need it most. For decades, this cycle, paired with our world-class water infrastructure, allowed for reliable water deliveries, captured excess flows in reservoirs and efficiently moved supply to refill our groundwater tables. But that rhythm is slowly changing. State climate indicators show the Sacramento River’s peak runoff now arrives nearly a month earlier — in March instead of April — compared with the mid-20th-century record. Looking ahead, the Department of Water Resources projects the Sierra’s April 1st snowpack will shrink by roughly half to two-thirds before the end of the century.

 

While San Diego may be known for its sparkling beaches, some areas of the county are also susceptible to extreme heat and wildfires, which can pose a continued risk of drought throughout California.

With elevated heat advisories coming into effect in several regions of the county this week, including El Cajon, Escondido and Campo, the risk of drought in these areas also rises.