On April 2, 2024, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the California Water Plan Update 2023 (CWP 2023 Update). DWR’s press release dubs the plan “A Roadmap to Water Management and Infrastructure for a Water Resilient Future.” Resiliency is one of the key focuses for the CWP 2023 Update, as its chapter on objectives is entitled the “Roadmap to Resilience.” The plan is focused on the vision that “All Californians benefit from water resources that are sustainable, resilient to climate change, and managed to achieve shared values and connections to ...
In January 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Agencies) adopted a final rule altering the definition of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS), a key term that is referred to but not defined in the Clean Water Act (CWA) and is crucial for determining CWA permitting jurisdiction. The Agencies' stated purpose in adopting the rule was to better comply with the CWA by repealing and replacing a definition of WOTUS that had previously been adopted during the Trump administration; however, promulgation of the rule prompted multiple lawsuits ...
After releasing the final environmental report (EIR) for the Delta Conveyance Project on December 8, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) certified it on December 21, 2023. The certification of the final EIR is a significant step forward for the Delta Conveyance Project, a key project for the Newsom administration. It also provides the basis for legal challenges, which are all-but inevitable.
The Delta Conveyance Project is the latest in a long line of proposed conveyance projects designed to bring water from northern California to southern California. Different iterations of ...
On October 8, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 389 (SB 389), which amended § 1051 of the Water Code to expand the investigatory authority of the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board). The bill was introduced by Senator Ben Allen of Santa Monica.
While the bill imbues the Water Board with additional investigatory authority to ascertain whether or not a water right is valid, it does not alter the statutory scheme for enforcement should the Water Board determine as part of an investigation that a particular diversion or use of water was not supported by a ...
On January 10, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom announced his $297 billion budget proposal for 2023-2024, which includes a $22.5 billion budget deficit. Despite environmental/climate change programs facing $6 billion in cuts, Governor Newsom’s proposed budget includes relatively few negative impacts to water projects. In fact, the drought response and water resilience section, which includes the vast majority of water-related funding, only faces a cut of two percent, from $8.7 billion to $8.6 billion. That two percent reduction is the lowest of any environmental category. ...
At a board meeting on April 26, 2022, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (“the Met”) announced it would be requiring reductions in water usage from retail water suppliers that are dependent on water from the State Water Project. The reduction, which the Met took as a result of the severity of the state’s current drought, will apply to six million Californians covering Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties. The impacted retail water suppliers are Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Three Valleys Municipal Water District, Upper San Gabriel ...
The past few weeks have been active ones for California in assessing the severity of its current drought and how it plans to manage its water during the third year of that drought. On top of other, more localized action, California released its report on 2021 groundwater conditions, evaluated current snowpack conditions and Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing action affecting 2022 water usage.
2021 Groundwater Conditions Report
On April 4, 2022, the California Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) issued its Groundwater Conditions Report for Water Year 2021 ...
On November 18, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced the availability of a pre-publication version of a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) to amend the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS). This much anticipated rulemaking is the latest attempt by the agencies to provide regulatory clarity on what water features are subject to the protections of the Clean Water Act.
The agencies did not announce a date for official Federal Register publication, but once published, the Proposed Rule will have a 60-day comment period ...
California Water Views provides timely and insightful updates on the water sector in the state. We relay information on how water legislation and policy from the nation’s capital, Sacramento, and around the U.S. affect California’s water utilities, agencies, practitioners, and consumers. We also write about important events, conferences, legal cases, and other key happenings involving all things water in and around California.
Stay Connected
RSS Feed
Categories
- Clean Up of Groundwater & Contaminated Media
- Climate Change
- Coastal Development
- Construction
- COVID-19
- Dam Construction, Operation & Removal
- Desalination
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Events
- Government Administration
- Groundwater Management & SGMA
- Inverse Condemnation & Regulatory Takings
- New Legislation
- Oceans, Marine Life & Maritime Transportation
- Project Construction
- Projects
- Public Agency Regulation
- Recycled Water
- Regulatory Reform & Proposed Rules
- Right to Take
- Valuation
- Water Infrastructure
- Water Litigation
- Water Quality
- Water Rights
- Water Supply
- Water Utility Regulation