A July 11, 2026 article in Valley Ag Voice reports that Adam Nickels, acting Regional Director for the California-Great Basin region of the Bureau of Reclamation, is on record as proposing to improve “water supply reliability” by “updating” Water Rights Decision 1641. The article quotes Mr. Nickels as follows: “We actually know today that D-1641…

A funny thing happened on the way to the Capitol. On July 1, 2026, the author pulled Assembly Bill 2215, against which I was about to testify in a state Senate committee. If enacted, AB 2215 would have given the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) a special deal. It would have given DWR’s State…

https://mavensnotebook.com/2026/06/23/press-release-political-pressure-on-sites-reservoir-doesnt-change-the-facts From the San Francisco Baykeeper and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance: In an overt act of political meddling, Governor Newsom and his deputies are pressuring a judge to retract her evidence-based findings on the Sites Reservoir Project The evidence shows the multi-billion-dollar Sites Reservoir project cannot operate as proposed without unreasonable harm to rivers, fish, and ecosystems.…

On May 18, 2026, San Joaquin County issued a draft environmental impact report (DEIR) to support water right application 29835. The application seeks to divert up to 158,000 acre-feet of water per year from the Mokelumne River. The stated purpose of the project is conjunctive use. Conjunctive use refers to coordinated management of surface water…

The Water Renaissance Plan (the Plan), published May 2026, is a new 27-page proposal for a sustainable water future for California. It was developed by a coalition of entities that include California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the River, Golden State Salmon Association, LA Waterkeeper, Resource Renewal Institute, Restore the Delta, San…