South Lahontan

Mono Lake Committee request for an emergency action to protect Mono Lake and its public trust resources

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | December 16th, 2022

Mono Lake Kutzadika’a Tribe support for Emergency Action at Mono Lake Due to Low Lake Level

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | December 22nd, 2022

Mono Lake: background, Decision 1631, current conditions, ongoing developments

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | January 1st, 2023

More state and local attention to financing can advance sustainable groundwater management

Berkeley Law Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment | April 12th, 2025

Municipal Stormwater Management Spending in California: Data Extraction, Compilation, and Analysis

Environmental Management (Springer) | March 23rd, 2022

Communities in the U.S. fund stormwater management programs to reduce flooding and improve and protect water quality. Few studies have attempted to quantify municipal sto

Communities in the U.S. fund stormwater management programs to reduce flooding and improve and protect water quality. Few studies have attempted to quantify municipal storwmater management expenditures. This task is important given efforts to meet increasing water quality standards and develop new revenue sources. The purpose of this study was to evaluate trends in municipal stormwater management expenditures across the state of California. The study identified and compiled publicly-available data on reported stormwater expenditures (spending) and budgets for local governments in California. Data were extracted from annual reports for over 160 public agencies. A standardized rubric of activities was developed and used to create a first-of-its-kind database of municipal stormwater budgets and expenditures. The results indicated that there is over $700 million in annual municipal stormwater spending, but this total does not represent all spending due to gaps in publicly-available data. Counties and flood control districts often have the largest total expenditures in a region, but in aggregate cities reported more spending statewide. Available data are not sufficient to adequately evaluate whether current spending meets regulatory requirements. Additionally, publicly-available data are inconsistent across geographic regions regulated by different agencies. The analysis offers a template for improved cost reporting of stormwater programs in U.S. municipalities, which can help answer key questions such as the sufficiency of current funding. Future research can use the method to evaluate spending in other states and regions, evaluate trends over time to improve outcomes, and refine the spending categories based on examples from other states. Click here for related post at UC Davis site California WaterBlog

National Audubon Society v. Superior Court of Alpine County

Supreme Court of California | February 17th, 1983

Natural and Anthropogenic Hexavalent Chromium, Cr(VI), in Groundwater near a Mapped Plume, Hinkley, California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | May 25th, 2023

Related documents in this series: Chapter A: Introduction to Study Area Hydrogeology, Chromium Sources, Site History, and Purpose of Study Chapter B: Survey of Chro

Related documents in this series: Chapter A: Introduction to Study Area Hydrogeology, Chromium Sources, Site History, and Purpose of Study Chapter B: Survey of Chromium and Selected Element Concentrations in Rock, Alluvium, and Core Material Chapter C: Chromium in Minerals and Selected Aquifer Materials Chapter D: Analyses of Regulatory Water-Quality Data Chapter E: Groundwater Chemistry and Hexavalent Chromium Chapter F: Environmental Tracers of Groundwater Source, Age, and Geochemical Evolution Chapter G: Evaluation of Natural and Anthropogenic (Human-Made) Hexavalent Chromium Chapter H: Predevelopment Water Levels, Groundwater Recharge, and Selected Hydrologic Properties of Aquifer Materials, Hinkley and Water Valleys, California Chapter I: Sequestration and Reoxidation of Chromium in Experimental Microcosms Chapter J: Summary and Conclusions

Nearly a Million Californians Lack Access to Safe Drinking Water

State of California | July 26th, 2022

Our audit of the State Water Board’s efforts to help provide Californians with safe drinking water highlighted the following: More than 370 of the State’s water

Our audit of the State Water Board’s efforts to help provide Californians with safe drinking water highlighted the following: More than 370 of the State’s water systems, serving nearly a million Californians, exceed the maximum contaminant levels for substances that are harmful to human health. More than 150 of these systems have been failing for at least five years. Hundreds of additional water systems are currently at risk of failing. The State Water Board has not prioritized the processing of water systems’ funding applications so that the systems can improve their water quality. Over the past five years, the average length of time for water systems to complete their applications and receive funding nearly doubled, from 17 months to 33 months. The State Water Board has not established performance goals or metrics related to its cumbersome application process. Although the State Water Board provides water systems with technical assistance to plan their improvements and apply for funds, it has not adequately monitored the performance of the technical assistance providers with which it contracts. The State Water Board needs to better ensure that its staff and its contracted providers do not duplicate each other’s outreach efforts.

Nutrient Chemistry in the Elizabeth Lake Subwatershed: Effects of Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems on Groundwater and Lake Water Quality, Los Angeles County, California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | April 16th, 2024

Nutrient (nitrogen [N] and phosphorus [P] chemistry) down-gradient from onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS) was evaluated with a groundwater study in the area surr

Nutrient (nitrogen [N] and phosphorus [P] chemistry) down-gradient from onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS) was evaluated with a groundwater study in the area surrounding Elizabeth Lake, the largest of three sag lakes within the Santa Clara River watershed of Los Angeles County, California. Elizabeth Lake is listed on the “303 (d) Impaired Waters List” for excess nutrients and is down-gradient from more than 600 OWTS. The primary objective of this study was to develop a conceptual hydrogeological model to determine if discharge from OWTS is transported into shallow groundwater within the Elizabeth Lake subwatershed and contributes nutrients to Elizabeth Lake in excess of the total maximum daily load limit.

Oases of the future? Springs as potential hydrologic refugia in drying climates

Ecological Society of America (Wiley) | June 1st, 2020

Natural springs in water‐limited landscapes are biodiversity hotspots and keystone ecosystems that have a disproportionate influence on surrounding landscapes despite t

Natural springs in water‐limited landscapes are biodiversity hotspots and keystone ecosystems that have a disproportionate influence on surrounding landscapes despite their usually small size. Some springs served as evolutionary refugia during previous climate drying, supporting relict species in isolated habitats. Understanding whether springs will provide hydrologic refugia from future climate change is important to biodiversity conservation but is complicated by hydrologic variability among springs, data limitations, and multiple non‐climate threats to groundwater‐dependent ecosystems. We present a conceptual framework for categorizing springs as potentially stable, relative, or transient hydrologic refugia in a drying climate. Clues about the refugial capacity of springs can be assembled from various approaches, including citizen‐science‐powered ecohydrologic monitoring, remote sensing, landowner interviews, and environmental tracer analysis. Managers can integrate multiple lines of evidence to predict which springs may become future refugia for species of concern, strengthening the long‐term effectiveness of their conservation and restoration, and informing climate adaptation for terrestrial and freshwater species.