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
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
On December 21, 2023, I published a post on the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management’s DeltaCurrents blog discussing integration of resource optimization into endangered species policy to improve...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
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
The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) recently released a draft updated Colorado Water Plan to be finalized in early 2023 (Draft Plan). The Draft Plan continues to project a water supply gap resulting from hotter and...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
Court of Appeal Strikes Down Minimum 3:1 Ratio Statute for Failure to Comply with Proposition 26 and Provides Guidance on Standard of Review - The California Court of Appeal has ruled that a statute requiring local...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
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
Potential Ramifications for Urban Water Suppliers and Well-Permitting Entities - Gov. Newson has signed Executive Order N-7-22 (Order) in response to intensifying drought conditions. The Order, signed earlier this week,...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
Limited water supply, restrictions on use, and higher costs may be in store for next year if the state’s drought conditions persist. This year has been critically dry and hot for California, resulting in déjà vu as the...more
The American West is in the throes of a “megadrought”—one that’s plagued the region since 2000. Indeed, the Western U.S. has entered an era of water crisis that’s unprecedented in recorded American history. Due to climate...more
The Arizona’s First Regular Session of the 55th Legislature has been moving along at a pretty fast and steady pace. A total of 40 bills have already been sent to the Governor’s desk; and 32 of those have been signed into law...more
Stakeholders Have Until Sept. 21 to Review and Comment - The California Department of Water Resources released its long-awaited draft Guidebook for 2020 Urban Water Management Plans last week. The Guidebook is designed to...more
The Texas State Soil & Water Conservation Board (Soil Board) is responsible for the abatement and prevention of pollution resulting from agricultural or silvicultural nonpoint source pollution in the state of Texas, as...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
The Arkansas Water Resources Center (“AWRC”) issued a Request for Preproposals. The Request for Preproposals are in the area of water research....more
Like the river on a hot day in August, the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project (YRBWEP) is a slow-moving process. Congress originally authorized YRBWEP in 1979, with major amendments in 1984 and 1994. Congress has...more