Utah will become the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, despite widespread opposition from dentists and national health organizations.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said he would sign legislation that bars cities and communities from deciding whether to add the mineral to their water systems.
Texas senators advanced a resolution Monday that calls on the U.S. State Department to ensure Mexico meets its obligations to deliver water to the U.S. under a 1944 water treaty.
The Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee voted in favor of the resolution after hearing testimony from state and Rio Grande Valley officials on how Mexico’s failure to deliver water has impacted the local farmers and stalled growth.
San Diego utility customers will see another upcharge on their water bills starting May 1 after a 5.5% rate adjustment was approved by the San Diego City Council last week.
The city of San Diego said the rate hike passed last Tuesday was a pass-through charge necessary to cover a 14% increase approved by the San Diego County Water Authority in July 2024.
The sprawling estuary about 70 miles inland from San Francisco feels distinctly out of place — more like the swampy Florida Everglades than arid California. But from that confluence of two great rivers, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin, 1,100 miles of webbed waterways and levees send upward of six million acre-feet of freshwater a year to thirstier parts of the state, from farms in the San Joaquin Valley to the Southern California megalopolis. Known as the California Delta, the estuary is among the state’s most important sources of water — and most consistent flash points over environmental protection.
State lawmakers are proposing new limits on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in tap water as questions emerge about the Trump administration’s stance on regulating the chemicals. Democratic lawmakers in at least five states have introduced bills to set maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFAS in drinking water.
Millions of Californians are set to see significant water rate hikes over the next few years, with prices for essential water supplies jumping by double-digit percentage points. In one large city, cumulative increases could see prices jump about 70% just in the next five years.
More late season rainfall is headed toward San Diego this week, starting with some drizzle before another atmospheric river is expected to bring several days of wet, overcast conditions into the weekend. The first bout of precipitation is anticipated to begin Tuesday into Wednesday as a ribbon of low atmospheric pressure currently over the Pacific Northwest advances towards the region.
Water rates in San Diego are set to rise, and many residents and business owners are voicing their frustrations. On Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted 6-3 to approve a 5.5% water rate increase, with additional hikes expected in the coming years.
Rain has officially entered the region once again. Coastal communities are not expecting to receive more than an inch of rain through Friday, which might not sound like a lot, but it is when it comes to water conservation.
Both U.S. senators from Arizona joined those from California and Nevada in a plea to end a federal freeze of $4 billion in water management and conservation for the Colorado River Basin and other Western areas in drought.
