Innovation in Iowa: Talking About the Future of Watershed Management With Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig - Reflections on Water Podcast
Diving In: An Interview With Radhika Fox, Assistant Administrator, Office of Water - Reflections on Water Podcast
Introduction to Reflections on Water - Reflections on Water Podcast
[VIDEO] The Price of an Aging Infrastructure on the Environment
Beginning January 1, 2025, the “Making Conservation a California Way of Life” regulatory framework requires urban retail water suppliers — not individual households or businesses — to adopt a series of “urban water use...more
Facing federal government plans to weaken regulation of “forever chemicals” in drinking water, Tustin’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, announced the city received a new, state-funded water treatment system designed to remove per-...more
California’s regulatory authority over “waters of the state” continues to grow even as the federal definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) narrows under shifting legal and regulatory frameworks. In Sackett v. EPA...more
As climate variability and drought continue to challenge California’s water supply, the state is renewing its focus on seawater desalination as part of a diversified water portfolio. While only a handful of large-scale...more
Water is simple. Water issues are complex. To provide more clarity, we asked our attorneys who are committed to the water sector to identify the pivotal issues they’re watching now and for the year ahead. Their perspectives...more
The California legislature continues to advance Senate Bill 601 (SB 601), the “Right to Clean Water Act,” which aims to safeguard protections for California’s streams and wetlands that lost federal protection under the Clean...more
On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that prohibits the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” or “the Agency”) from setting qualitative limits based on the condition of the “receiving waters” that...more
The Supreme Court of the United States (“Court”) issued an Opinion on March 4th in the case styled: City and County of San Francisco, California v. Environmental Protection Agency. See No. 23-753....more
On March 4, 2025 the Supreme Court overturned the 9th Circuit to rule in favor of the City of San Francisco in a landmark Clean Water Act case. The EPA authorizes states to issue National Pollutant Discharge Elimination...more
The California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) has begun its process to develop a new statewide Urban Stormwater Infiltration Policy. The goal of the proposed new policy is to establish statewide...more
In the latest edition of the PFAS Primer Quarterly Update, our roundup of regulatory, litigation, and scientific actions involving PFAS, the EPA drafts recommended PFAS levels for water quality, California’s Department of...more
At its October 10 meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission (the Commission) unanimously found that a petition to list the western burrowing owl as an endangered or threatened species in California provides sufficient...more
Plans to build the largest new reservoir in California in 50 years have taken a significant step forward following a judge’s decision last Friday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging the adequacy of...more
Water Agencies Beware Before Proceeding with Forced Municipalization - California’s state water system serves roughly 40 million people and irrigates nearly 10 million acres of farmland. The 2023 water year was ranked as...more
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has drafted a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) facilities. Our Environment, Land Use & Natural...more
Introduction - On March 15, 2024, the Sacramento County Superior Court found that the State Water Board’s substitute environmental document did not violate the Porter-Cologne Act, the California Environmental Quality Act...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday proposed banning the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene (TCE), which can be found in consumer products including automobile brake cleaners, furniture care, and...more
The Regional Water Quality Control Board for the San Francisco Bay Region (the “Board”) recently eliminated a credit that many transit-oriented development projects have relied on to meet stormwater runoff requirements. The...more
On September 7, 2022, California became the first government in the world to require microplastics testing for drinking water, an emerging contaminant that is found throughout the environment. The State Water Resources...more
The State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) is in the final stages of developing a revised Statewide Construction Stormwater General Permit (“Construction Stormwater General Permit” or “Permit”). The State...more
Forest Service livestock grazing permits do not run afoul of state water quality permitting requirements because the Management Agency Agreement (MAA) between the agency and the State Water Resources Control Board, which...more
Recently, I authored a post for DeltaCurrents, the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management's blog. The focus of the piece is on the ways in which science can play a role in the success of the so-called...more
The State Water Resources Control Board (“Water Board”) is now receiving public comments on certain components of its revised proposed statewide National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Construction...more
On March 29, 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom released a signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlines the terms for an 8-year program that would provide additional flows to and create habitat in the Sacramento-San...more
Last week, the Ocean Protection Council adopted California’s Statewide Microplastics Strategy. The strategy is the first of its kind in the nation, focusing on outlining steps to address microplastic pollution, an emerging...more