On-Demand Webinar | Taking the Plunge: Lessons Learned from Water System Consolidations
State and federal officials move forward plans and policies for water conservation, conveyance, and climate resilience. The winter of 2022-23 brought historic levels of precipitation to California after years of deep...more
Following compliance with the parliamentary requirements, the National Policy Statement (NPS) for water resource infrastructure was finally designated by the Environment Secretary on 18 September 2023, bringing it immediately...more
July 17, 2023 Of Counsel On June 7, 2023, Governor Tina Kotek signed into law SB 718, which provides an additional layer of protection for Oregon water right holders in drought-stricken counties. The new law goes into effect...more
Reversing the district court, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit held that that the Bureau of Reclamation and a local water agency have discretion to release water from Twitchell Dam on the Santa Maria River on the Central...more
As severe drought conditions continue across the western U.S., Allen Matkins will begin publishing a quarterly newsletter focused on recent legal, regulatory, and policy issues impacting water users and suppliers in...more
Ramifications for Urban Water Suppliers and Non-Functional Turf - The State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) has adopted an emergency regulation (Regulation) requiring urban water suppliers to implement the...more
The EIR for a water ditch to underground pipeline conversion project withstood challenges to the project description and impacts analysis. The Third Appellate District held that the project description sufficiently disclosed...more
THE DROUGHT CRISIS - 2021 was the driest year California has experienced in a century. At the end of the water year, spanning October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, the State received only 11.87 inches of precipitation,...more
State Water Project will deliver no water to most communities next year - The Mercury News – December 1 - In a stark indicator of California’s worsening drought, Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration announced this...more
With a wide patchwork of water systems servicing residents across California, there have been ongoing efforts by the Legislature to encourage the consolidation of smaller water systems to take advantage of scale economies and...more
On February 19, 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on the reinitiation of consultation on the coordinated long-term operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. At the...more
As members of the Colorado River Water Users’ Association gathered for their annual meeting in Las Vegas last week, the States of Arizona and California appeared to be making progress towards approving agreements needed to...more
Water updates from South Africa - South Africa: U.S. firm launches “water from air” device in Cape Town - A U.S.-based company has launched a new solar "water from air" device in Cape Town to alleviate some of the...more
The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (“ANRC”) issued a June 5th document titled: Drought Contingency Response Network Report (“Report”) ...more
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Vicksburg District) (“Corps”) has issued an April 19th public notice referencing an application for an after-the-fact Clean Water Act 404 permit for work conducted in Ouachita...more
After five parched years, substantial winter rains and Sierra snowpack have brought California a long-sought reprieve from drought, though not without presenting a new set of challenges. In February, nearly 200,000 residents...more
Good day! Today we feature a series of little squibs of what has been happening in the past two weeks. All of the information below is confirmed, and all of it is notated with additional context. But we did want to share with...more
On May, 17, 2016, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Water and Energy held hearings on a number of pending bills, including S. 2533, sponsored by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA). The...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - State Water Project allocation increased to 45 percent - Western Farm Press - Mar 17 - This year’s “miracle March” boosted water supply conditions well enough in California for...more
Most know by now that California is facing one of its driest years in recorded history. Yet droughts are not new to California, and to put things in context we can be thankful that current drought conditions are only as bad...more
In a July 3, 2014 published decision more notable for the practical importance of the water rights involved than the CEQA law applied, the Fifth District Court of Appeal rejected the CEQA challenges of various environmental...more
Water in California sparks news headlines on nearly a daily basis. Much of the attention is focused on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a sprawling river delta and estuary wedged between Sacramento and Stockton that acts as...more