Stakeholders should stay informed as state and federal officials advance plans and policies for water conservation, water quality, and climate resilience in California....more
In 2024, after years of deliberation, California water officials adopted landmark rules that will guide future water use and conservation in the state. The “Making Conservation a California Way of Life” framework went into...more
Like much of the western and southwestern U.S., California has experienced drought conditions on and off for decades. Fortunately, the regulatory landscape is starting to catch up with water treatment technology, paving the...more
The Alberta government has identified, and is taking proactive steps to address, the looming threat of a severe drought this year. As negotiations unfold to secure water-sharing agreements, a cascade of legal and economic...more
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
An ongoing, historic drought in California has compelled California state legislators to rethink the state’s long-standing treatment of water rights. While the recent heavy snowpack and wet spring and summer have alleviated...more
Top water officials for the seven Colorado River Basin states met in December 2023 at the Colorado River Water Users Association conference to resume negotiating a new compromise for how they will share — and cut back on —...more
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 28.8 percent of the lower 48 states are in drought. At one point in 2022, almost half of the country was in a drought condition. The lack of precipitation plays havoc on the groundwater...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
The drought years leading up to 2023 in the western U.S. saw unprecedented drops in storage in places like Lake Mead and Lake Powell when these reservoirs reached record lows. As a result, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation told...more
Over the past five weeks, we have described the wide range of water resources available to meet Arizona’s current and future needs. These resources include groundwater, in-state surface water, Colorado River water, long-term...more
On May 22, Arizona, Nevada, and California sent a letter to the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) that announced their agreement to conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of Colorado River water...more
This article is Part 3 of a series providing information about the resilience of Arizona’s water supplies during a time in which the news is dominated by stories about drought and scarcity. As we noted in Part 1, Arizona has...more
On January 10, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom announced his $297 billion budget proposal for 2023-2024, which includes a $22.5 billion budget deficit. Despite environmental/climate change programs facing $6 billion in cuts,...more
On Monday, September 12, 2022, a California Court of Appeal upheld a decision that the State Water Resources Control Board (the “Board”) lacks jurisdictional authority to issue curtailment notices to pre-1914 appropriative...more
California legislators reject bill to curb agricultural groundwater pumping - The Bakersfield Californian – September 4 - California lawmakers have rejected proposed legislation seeking to rein in agricultural...more
On September 12, 2022, the Court of Appeal for the Sixth District issued its opinion in the California Water Curtailment Cases, No. 1-15-CV285182 (2022). The court held that the State Water Resources Control Board (State...more
Governor Gavin Newsom announced a revamped water strategy on August 11, 2022, in response to updated projections that California could witness a 10% reduction in water supply by 2040 due to the accelerated impacts of climate...more
The Colorado River is a critical water source for more than 40 million people, vast agricultural operations, numerous industries, and a wide variety of ecological resources across the seven states that share its waters:...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
On March 21, 2022, the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board” or “Board”) issued a letter to approximately 20,000 water rights holders warning them curtailment orders are imminent due to continued drought...more
On May 24, 2022, the California State Water Resources Control Board announced emergency drought restrictions resulting from Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-7-22. The regulations are the latest in a series of attempts by...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
As part of a busy few weeks that revealed the severity of the drought California is currently facing, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-7-22. The executive order is the latest in a series of orders aimed at...more
The past few weeks have been active ones for California in assessing the severity of its current drought and how it plans to manage its water during the third year of that drought. On top of other, more localized action,...more