Elected officials and advocacy groups in San Joaquin County are sounding the alarm after Gov. Gavin Newsom called for fast-tracking the Delta Conveyance Project.
The $20 billion project would divert water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and send it south. Critics warn it could drain water needed for agriculture in the Central Valley and harm Delta smelt, Chinook salmon and other imperiled fish.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a proposed addition to his state budget May 14 that would “fast-track” water infrastructure improvements. The presented changes would, among other things, change the way property acquisitions — including eminent domain — are dealt with relative to water infrastructure projects under the State Water Project. It would also change how protests to water rights permitting decisions are managed.
“For too long, attempts to modernize our critical water infrastructure have stalled in endless red tape, burdened with unnecessary delay,” Newsom said in a news release. “We’re done with barriers — our state needs to complete this project as soon as possible, so that we can better store and manage water to prepare for a hotter, drier future.”
In a state often struggling with water scarcity and record-breaking droughts, a promising milestone is being reached in Northern California.
Lake Oroville is expected to reach its full capacity of 900 feet this spring, fueled by robust snowmelt from California’s northern mountains, according to Newsweek.
The University of California, Davis and University of California, Merced released an economic report on the future of water in California, May 13. The report found that projected declines in the state’s water supplies could result in the fallowing of up to 3 million acres of farmland, the loss of 67,000 jobs statewide and lasting damage to California’s agricultural and rural communities if no action is taken.
Florida has become the second state to officially ban fluoride in public water. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 700, also known as the Florida Farm Bill, into law Thursday. The bill doesn’t specifically mention the word “fluoride,” but it effectively bans the mineral by preventing “the use of certain additives in a water system.” It will go into effect July 1.
The Trump administration said Wednesday it intends to roll back first-ever limits set by the Biden administration on four toxic “forever chemicals” contaminating water supplies across the country. Even low levels of the chemicals known as PFAS are linked with cancer, immune system problems, developmental effects and other health ailments. EPA-mandated testing has found them in nearly half of Americans’ drinking water.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to accelerate his administration’s plan to build a $20-billion water tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta by short-cutting permitting for the project and limiting avenues for legal challenges. Newsom urged the Legislature on Wednesday to adopt his plan to “fast-track” the tunnel, called the Delta Conveyance Project, as part of his revised May budget proposal.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, is part of a bipartisan bill to unlock federal funding for water infrastructure in the West. Working alongside U.S. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, Kelly has introduced the Restoring WIFIA Eligibility Act. It’s part of efforts by their states, Washington state and California to get federal dollars.
Mexico recently paid a small portion of the water it owes the United States under a 1944 international treaty. A total of 56,750 acre-feet of water was paid via “a transfer of ownership in Amistad Dam” on April 30, Frank Fisher, spokesman for U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission told Border Report on Wednesday.
The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that it plans to weaken limits on some so-called forever chemicals in drinking water that were finalized last year, while maintaining standards for two common ones. The Biden administration set the first federal drinking water limits for PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, finding they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight.
