On March 4, 2026, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the launch of its the Real Water Technical Assistance (RealWaterTA) initiative. The press release highlights that the goal of the RealWaterTA initiative is to refocus on “public health and compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act” largely through “align[ing] all technical assistance for drinking water and wastewater systems with tried-and-true services, such as engineering and design expertise, operational support, workforce development, and financial management.” The ...
On December 11, 2025, Representative Adam Gray (D-CA-13) and Representative Jim Costa (D-CA-21) announced a legislative package entitled the End California Water Crisis Package. The bills “aim to expand California’s water storage capacity by providing funding and technical support to both develop and maintain water infrastructure projects.” They seek to accomplish their goals by “authoriz[ing] additional California water storage projects, eas[ing] permitting restrictions, and creat[ing] enforceable timelines for environmental review processes.”
Both ...
On January 24, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14181 (EO 14181), entitled “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas.” While alluding to assisting Americans in disaster areas generally, EO 14181 largely focuses on significantly changing water management policies in California.
Key Provisions of EO 14181 and the Impact on Water
The first three sections of the executive order are the ones primarily focused on California water.
- Section 1, entitled “Policy,” notes that “it is the policy of the ...
On January 31, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is proposing to list nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous constituents under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This action represents another significant step in the regulation of PFAS.
PFAS are a key focus of many environmental regulators and of many people as well largely based on their ubiquity and catchy nickname “forever chemicals.” Both come from the fact that PFAS do not break down naturally over time either in the environment or in the human ...
President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump could mean big changes for federal treatment of issues affecting water service providers, as well as how such issues are addressed in California, where Governor Newsom will presumably now have an ally in the White House. At both the state and federal levels, legislators are still working to address the impact of COVID-19 on public health and the economy, while pursuing existing policy goals that may have been put on hold due to the challenges created by the pandemic.
To navigate these new changes, please join us on December 3, 2020 ...
On October 13, 2020, President Trump issued the Executive Order (EO) on Modernizing America’s Water Resource Management and Water Infrastructure. The goal of the EO is to streamline the management of federal water policy and make coordination among agencies managing water infrastructure more efficient. The EO established a Water Subcabinet of agency officials to coordinate water strategy and planning. The composition of the Water Subcabinet is outlined in the EO, and according to a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ...
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.
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