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2025 U.S. Presidential Shift: Water Policy Impact and Industry Implications

The re-election of Donald Trump in 2024 will likely lead to a notable shift in U.S. water policy, steering away from the sustainability-focused initiatives of the Biden administration. This change is expected to reshape key sectors within the water industry — including infrastructure development, water quality standards, climate change strategies, and water utility operations — by prioritizing economic growth and regulatory relaxation over federally driven environmental protections.

Climate-Driven Impacts on Water in US West will Raise the Cost of Grid Decarbonization: Study

The western U.S.’s plans to decarbonize electricity grids by 2050 may be much more expensive than anticipated, as such targets fail to account for the effects of climate change on water resources, a new study has found.

Shifts in water availability due to warming could decrease hydropower production by up to 23 percent by midcentury, while electricity demand could rise by 2 percent annually, according to the study, published Monday in Nature Communications.

What to Know about a Newly Defined Chemical Byproduct Found in Drinking Water

A chemical byproduct found in some treated drinking water in the U.S. that remained a mystery for more than 40 years may have finally been identified by scientists.

The authors of the study, published Thursday in the journal Science, have named the byproduct chloronitramide anion, and believe it is a decomposition byproduct of chloramine, which is used as a disinfectant in tap water.

Record Dryness in US Northeast Should Change Water Behavior, Experts Say

It hasn’t been a typical fall for the northeastern United States.

Fires have burned in parks and forests around New York City. Towns and cities in a stretch from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to south of Philadelphia had their driest three months on record, according to the Applied Climate Information System. Some reservoirs in the region are near historic lows.

California’s Water Crisis Demands Solutions Beyond Reservoirs, Report Finds

California’s ongoing struggle with water scarcity has spurred significant investment in reservoirs and dam expansion, but a new report from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) highlights why these massive infrastructure projects may worsen the state’s water and environmental crises.

The report, titled “Beneath the Surface,” challenges the notion that reservoirs are a sustainable solution, arguing that their benefits are undermined by environmental and economic costs, especially as climate change intensifies.

Carlsbad to Study Whether to Build Solar Power Farm

Carlsbad has decided to proceed with a feasibility study of whether it should build a solar power farm on 30 to 40 acres in a rarely visited corner of the city.

The site is at the city’s Maerkle Reservoir, near the border of Oceanside and Vista, where Carlsbad owns about 100 acres including the 17-acre reservoir topped by a floating fabric cover.

Water Authority Buys 9-Acre Site for $39 Million to Replace Aging Operations Facility

The San Diego County Water Authority has purchased a new building on 9 acres in Escondido for $38.76 million, according to a brokerage.

San Diego-based RPG sold the 88,552-square-foot facility. The property, now completed, is part of a larger planned two-building industrial development, known as the Escondido Logistics Center, on Citracado Parkway at So. Andreasen Drive.

Groundwater Pumping is Causing Land to Sink at Record Rate in San Joaquin Valley

For decades, a costly problem has been worsening beneath California’s San Joaquin Valley: the land has been sinking, driven by the chronic overpumping of groundwater.

As agricultural wells have drained water from aquifers, underground clay layers have compacted and the ground surface has been sinking as much as 1 foot per year in some areas.

California Water Agency Considers Spending $141 Million on Delta Tunnel Project

The powerful board of Southern California’s largest urban water supplier will soon vote on whether to continue funding a large share of preliminary planning work for the state’s proposed water tunnel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The 38-member board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is set to consider approving $141.6 million for planning and preconstruction costs at its Dec. 10 meeting.

How will the Northwest’s “Bomb Cyclone” Impact San Diego?

As San Diego’s wet season arrives and rain totals climb, scientific terms like “bomb cyclone” and “atmospheric river” are used to give context as to what is causing rain in the region. But, what do these terms really mean? And, will the same impact seen in other parts of the state carry over to San Diego?

The questions carry weight as the first atmospheric river of the season hits the Pacific Northwest this week and rain and snow are expected to hit Northern California through Sunday.