The deadly flash flood along Texas’ Guadalupe River showed the devastating toll such a disaster can take, and California could face similar dangers when extreme weather strikes.
Low-lying areas along rivers and creeks can be hazardous when downpours and torrents come, as shown by past floods in parts of the state including the Los Angeles area, the Central Valley and the Central Coast.
The deadly floods in Central Texas, which had killed more than 100 people as of Tuesday afternoon, have become a flashpoint for discussions of government preparedness for flood emergencies. Kerr County abandoned efforts to build a more robust warning system, reportedly due to budget issues; officials also appear not to have issued evacuation orders at the start of the flood.
But one expert tells Governing that local officials across the country should also be using this moment to reflect on the need for updated water infrastructure, the first line of defense for communities experiencing extreme rain events.
The role of water in the high-growth data center market is fast becoming a critical factor in site selection, design, and operations. By 2030, annual water-related capital and operational expenditures are forecasted to reach US$797.1 million, representing a 31.4% increase from today.
According to a new report from Bluefield Research, U.S. Water for Data Centers: Market Trends, Opportunities, and Forecasts, 2025–2030, this surge in activity is accelerating—driven by artificial intelligence (AI)-fueled growth, mounting local concerns over water availability, and the tech sector’s urgent push to safeguard operational resilience amid growing environmental scrutiny.
It’s time to break out the fans and frozen treats as a midweek hot spell is heading to Southern California with temperatures up to 10 degrees above normal expected across the region on Wednesday and Thursday.
The worst of the L.A. County heat is forecast for the San Fernando, Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys, where temperatures are expected to sit in the 90s and potentially push into the triple digits, according to the National Weather Service.
Water management is vital to every town, city, and state, as it determines the optimum use of water resources, including how those managing it distribute these resources.
However, because of issues the world is facing due to changes to the climate, such as more frequent and severe extreme weather events as well as an increase in water scarcity, governments will need to adapt their water management.
Water levels at some of the United States’ largest reservoirs are well below average for this time of year, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR).
Lake Mead was 31 percent full as of June 29, with just over eight million acre-feet of water in storage, according to the data.
California is at a groundwater management crossroads as legal loopholes threaten to undo the state’s progress toward responsible groundwater sustainability.
At the core of this legal conflict are two legal processes. The first is the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the landmark law passed in 2014 to bring order to overdrafting of basins and ensure long-term sustainability of the state’s groundwater resources. The second is groundwater adjudications, a legal tool to determine water rights of who can pump water and how much they can use.
The landmark California environmental legislation that lawmakers have voted to revise will allow for crucial infrastructure to take place within the state, some environmental policy experts told ABC News.
On Monday, state lawmakers passed a trailer budget bill that will now exclude certain construction projects from being subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), such as water system upgrades, advanced manufacturing facilities — like EV plants — and wildfire fuel breaks.
On a recent sunny Monday morning, 85-year-old Doug Brown pulled up to a breakfast joint in Willits in his white pickup. Bold white letters on the tinted camper shell window spelled out “Water Witcher,” with Brown’s phone number written just below. Inside the truck was a quiver of wire rods, each tipped with different metals or materials, to be used for Brown’s practice of an archaic tradition: water dowsing.
Two years ago, the Colorado River Lower Basin states united to conserve an extra 3 million acre-feet of water by 2026, aiming to stabilize Lake Powell and Lake Mead while crafting the post-2026 guidelines for managing the river. With last year’s near-normal snowpack and conservation efforts ahead of schedule, success seemed within reach. However, over the last few months, this year has become anything but normal, and the system is looking to be anything but stabilized.
