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State Water Board Takes Action to Protect Klamath River Salmon and Steelhead
By Cindy Charles & Chris Shutes On February 4, 2025, the California State Water Board issued Water Rights Order WR 2025-0002 settling longstanding disputes regarding the diversion of water from Stanshaw Creek, a tributary of the Klamath River in Siskiyou County. The Order found waste of water, unreasonable use of water, and unreasonable method of…
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CSPA Submits Scoping Comments on Water Rights Application 29835 – Mokelumne River Conjunctive Use Program
On July 30, 2024, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) and The Center for Biological Diversity (The Center) submitted public scoping comments on Water Rights Application 29835 (Application 29835) and the associated Mokelumne River Conjunctive Use Program (MICUP). Public scoping comments are intended to inform project leaders on what should be included in the Environmental Impact…
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Newsom’s 2023 California Water Plan: Supplying Imaginary Water to Meet an Insatiable Demand
On April 2, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the release of the 2023 update of the California Water Plan (Water Plan). Governor Newsom announced the Water Plan at a press conference held at Phillips Station in the high Sierra, just after this year’s snowpack was measured there at 113 percent of average. At the press…
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How A Lack of Regulatory Oversight Dried Up the Merced River – The State Water Board Needs to Protect Merced River Flows Now
The Merced River, the iconic wild and scenic river flowing out of Yosemite National Park, died in the summer of 2022 upstream of its confluence with the San Joaquin River. The river was completely dewatered from July 7 to October 7. It was dead for 3 months over a nearly 5-mile stretch. It could not…
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Groundwater Gold Rush
The groundwater gold rush is on. New projects to divert rivers for groundwater recharge are popping up across the state. Most of these projects are temporary, but most also explicitly foresee long-term, permanent projects. These recharge projects threaten to divert still more water from already-depleted rivers, even as the State Water Resources Control Board (State…
