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Paper Records and Steel Vaults: Can California Water Rights Enter the Digital Age?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ari Plachta

From an unremarkable office in Sacramento, Matthew Jay can pinpoint any moment in California history when somebody was granted the right to transfer water from any particular lake, river, stream or creek.

An analyst with the California State Water Resources Control Board, he is a custodian of millions of pieces of paper. Some are over a hundred years old and are crammed into towering filing cabinets and vaults. The room is so heavy that its floor needed to be reinforced.

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Regulators Approve Emergency Rules to Allow Halt of Russian River Diversions for Thousands of Water Right Holders

/in , , /by /The North Bay Business Journalby Mary Callahan

The state water board has unanimously approved emergency regulations behind a move to halt Russian River diversions for up to 2,400 water right holders, part of a wider effort to conserve dwindling supplies in Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino.

The 5-0 vote of the State Water Resources Control Board late Tuesday came over the objections raised by agricultural interests and allies who argued the new rule was too blunt a tool to use to address the worsening drought.

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California Plans to Cut Detection Level for Perchlorate in Water

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Emily C. Dooley

California water regulators announced Monday they planned to cut the level at which water suppliers must sample for and report detections of the chemical perchlorate, which has been linked to thyroid conditions.

Water suppliers in California currently must test for perchlorate in drinking water down to 4 parts per billion. The State Water Resources Control Board said it plans to cut that level to 2 parts per billion and then again to 1 part per billion in 2024.

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State, Feds in Talks Over Water

/in , , /by /Western Farm Pressby Tim Hearden

California and federal water regulators are trying to quickly resolve their legal dispute over competing biological opinions governing the management of their respective water projects, a top state official says.

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Coronavirus is Stalling Air Quality, Pollution Rules, Even in Eco-Minded California

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Tony Barboza

As experts warn that exposure to pollution can increase the risk of dying from COVID-19, an array of powerful industries is pressuring California regulators to delay or roll back air quality and climate regulations due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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California Regulator Adopts Safe Drinking Water Plan

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Emily Dooley

California’s top water regulator adopted a plan Tuesday that will guide the state in identifying and helping communities that don’t have access to safe drinking water.

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California Rules Anger Water Agencies, Environmental Groups

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Adam Beam

California regulators on Tuesday set new rules about how much water can be taken from the state’s largest rivers, angering water agencies for restricting how much they can take and environmental groups for not making those limits low enough to protect endangered species.

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Coronavirus: California Issues Warning About Disinfecting Wipes

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

As Americans stockpile disinfecting wipes and paper towels to clean their homes more often to reduce the risk of coronavirus, California’s state water regulators on Tuesday urged them to keep one thing in mind: Don’t flush them down the toilet.

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