Administrative Hearings Office Requires More Modeling for Proposed Sites Project and Delta Tunnel The Hearing Officer in the respective water rights hearings for the proposed Sites Reservoir Project and the proposed Delta Tunnel, who happens to be the same individual, has ordered more modeling in each proceeding.  The State Water Board’s Administrative Hearings Office (AHO)…

For decades, stream flows in the Shasta River dropped to a fraction of historical levels every summer, no matter how wet the water year type. Now, a new law, AB 263, which took effect in September 2025, requires that sufficient quantities of water remain instream. This ensures that coho salmon will be less likely to…

Fall-run Chinook salmon are currently migrating back to the Lower Mokelumne River to spawn. Many of these fish will be spawned in the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery. But of those that spawn in the river, many will do so in reaches where there have been floodplain restoration efforts. Historical land use practices such as agriculture,…

Most people don’t know where their water comes from or how it gets to where they live. One water agency is working to change that. East Bay Municipal Utility District’s (EBMUD’s) headquarters in Oakland has become a base for water-focused education, with water district employees partnering with nonprofits and local schools to share information about…

A fall-run Chinook salmon travels up the fish ladder near California Department of Water Resources infrastructure in Oroville. Image: Andrew Nixon and the California Department of Water Resources A fish ladder is a structure in a natural or artificial waterway that allows fish to pass to a destination, like the ocean or spawning grounds. The…