by: Katie ChavezPosted: Jul 21, 2026 (FOX40.COM) — Despite multi-million-dollar efforts to combat an invasive species’ impact on a key California water source, Yolo County was forced to declare a local emergency in its latest attempt to slow the spread. The Yolo County Board of Supervisors proclaimed a local emergency Tuesday as golden mussels continue to threaten […]
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As 2025 drew to a close, the big news on California’s Eel River was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ unhinged and weird letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) opposing Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) License Surrender Application for the Potter Valley Project. Rollins demanded the commission reject PG&E’s application, contrary to FERC precedent and […]
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by Yuba Water Agency March 4, 2026 OREGON HOUSE, Calif. (Mar. 3, 2026) – Yuba Water Agency and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response are close to completing oily debris containment and removal at Englebright Lake following the recent rupture of Yuba Water’s penstock pipe. Today, the same excavator that […]
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Native wisdom and ancient rock paintings save the day. kat hong Upworthy Staff01.17.26 Checking in on California’s beaver project. Deep in the Sierra Nevada foothills on the Tule River Indian Reservation, tribal member Kenneth McDarment had passed by an ochre-red pictograph countless times throughout his life—a simple yet unmistakable image of a beaver with four paws and a distinctive […]
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by William McKinnon First, an IntroductionEyes On Napa is pleased to share this article with you as we start the New Year and consider the needs of our beautiful Napa Valley and everyone who lives here. Our guest author is William McKinnon, an attorney for Water Audit California, a Public Benefit Corporation with highly regarded top advisors, including Dr Peter […]
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By Lyric Aquino (Underscore Native News + Report for America)Oct. 14, 2025 1:54 p.m. Despite the hopeful strides the river has taken in healing, scientists say federal funding cuts pose a setback to continued scientific monitoring. This story originally appeared on Underscore Native News. At a virtual press conference on Thursday, Oct. 9, Klamath River scientists announced […]
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The upper Eel River is joining many rivers that are being freed from past excessive anthropological influences. A gorgeous PBS documentary [2] describes a process of “restoration” for two rivers – one in Northern California and the other in France: The Klamath River and the Seine River. River Restoration, Season 4, Episode 1, 55 minutes, […]
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I’ve always cared deeply about my local watershed’s health. When I was in my 20s, I volunteered with local protection groups—joining stream cleanups and actively monitoring our local water for pollution. Back then, when we discovered contaminants, we didn’t hesitate to report them to our state environmental agency or the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). […]
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Today’s showdown over the White House’s attempt to freeze funds already approved by Congress echoes a similar battle waged by Clean Water Action and allies in the past. Back then, Clean Water Action – and the rule of law – prevailed. In January 1974, not long after he vetoed the original Clean Water Act (the […]
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Landmark deal will secure water reliability for people and agriculture in the Russian River while returning Eel River water rights to Round Valley Indian Tribes and restoring salmon California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham today joined with the Round Valley Indian Tribes, supervisors […]
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By John Ramos January 14, 2025 / 7:30 PM PST / CBS San Francisco The Santa Clara Valley Water District met Tuesday to consider whether to continue supporting Governor Gavin Newsom’s controversial Delta water tunnel project. The plan is to take water from the Sacramento River, above the Delta, and pipe it underground […]
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By Caty Wagner The past few months have seen a series of votes by participating State Water Contractors (SWC) on whether or not to fund the next phase of the environmentally destructive Delta Conveyance Project (DCP), aka the Delta Tunnel. The ultimate vote on construction of the tunnel is scheduled for 2027, although Newsom leaves […]
Read More![The Middle Fork of the Eel River [Photo by Matt LaFever]](https://criverwatch.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/middle-fork-eel-river.webp)
The following is a press release issued by the Office of U.S. Representative Jared Huffman: Today, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02) announced that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has awarded Round Valley Indian Tribes and the Sonoma County Water Agency $15 million toward implementing the Two-Basin Solution. The funds through the Inflation Reduction Act will […]
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On the U.S. West Coast, conservationists for the world’s largest dam-removal project are both celebrating initial successes and encountering short-term obstacles. VOA’s Matt Dibble has our story from the Klamath River on the border between California and Oregon.
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Great news! The Commission unanimously adopted the updated Sea Level Rise (SLR) Policy Guidance during its November 2024 hearing. The updates focus on three main areas: This update incorporated input from eight environmental justice (EJ) and SLR experts from the start to ensure community voices and EJ principles were central throughout the Guidance. For more details, […]
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To River Lovers: Many of you may have watched a recently created YouTube video entitled, “A Dying Napa River”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaX18CF-2gI Since then, the Mishewal Wappo Tribe of Alexander Valley among other First Indigious Tribes, gathered to walk, sing, and pray for the Napa River and a return of salmon and life. Those who utilized or cared […]
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Toxic Algal Blooms can harm people and pets. They can ruin vacations and wreck recreation and tourist economies. They can happen anywhere. And they’re entirely preventable. We were fortunate. Though he waded and drank some of the contaminated water, our dog Wooly escaped with a few days of severe vomiting and diarrhea. He’s now fully […]
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By Ian JamesStaff Writer June 18, 2024 In the face of climate change and worsening cycles of drought, California water managers have been increasingly focused on the precise tracking of water resources. Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is measured with sensors and aerial images, reservoir levels are electronically logged, and the movement of water through aqueducts […]
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Feb. 20, 2024 The researchers examined 814 active gauges and modeled scenarios in which more gauges are installed across the state. They said adding 500 gauges to the network could more than double the length of streams monitored. They acknowledged that this expansion would be expensive because each gauge can cost as much as $40,000 […]
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May 26, 2024 In another recent report, researchers with the Public Policy Institute of California assessed the dire threats to freshwater biodiversity in the state. Studies have found that about half of California’s native aquatic species are highly vulnerable to extinction this century, and the researchers said with climate change accelerating, the state needs to quickly […]
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PublishedJune 27, 2024 A new study co-authored by Yale researchers quantifies the consequences of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened the Clean Water Act. Ephemeral streams, or those streams that flow only briefly after precipitation events, are a substantial pathway for water transfer with significant implications for water quality, a first-of-its kind study co-authored […]
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The largest-ever dam removal is underway, a milestone in the nation’s reckoning over its past attempts to bend nature to human will
It was a small moment, with little fanfare, in one of the most remote patches of northern California. Just the rat-a-tat of three Caterpillar excavators gnawing through concrete signaled the beginning of the largest dam removal project in the history of the country, and perhaps the world.
There was no ribbon cutting or ceremonial dynamite detonation. But the demolition on that June day arrived only after decades of argument and activism.
The Klamath River dams, built between the early 1900s and 1960s, fundamentally reshaped one of the West’s most […]
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Brian Nguyen 1 , Dominique Claveau-Mallet 1 , Laura M Hernandez 1 , Elvis Genbo Xu 1 , Jeffrey M Farner 1 , Nathalie Tufenkji 1 March 29, 2023 Abstract The vast amount of plastic waste emitted into the environment and the increasing concern of potential harm to wildlife has made microplastic and nanoplastic pollution a growing environmental concern. Plastic pollution has the potential to cause both physical and chemical harm […]
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An annual report highlights 10 waterways that have arrived at forks: where public support could determine whether they receive protection. By: EosApril 20, 2023By Saima May Sidik America’s waterways need help. Threats such as industrial pollution, poorly planned development, and climate change are widespread. In some cases, help could be imminent—but only with support from the public […]
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Questions swirl as carcasses rot at Lake Merritt and beyond. We talked to experts and explored 100 years of local fish-kills. by Natalie Orenstein and Darwin BondGrahamSeptember 2, 2022 Scientists are hard at work trying to home in on the cause—or likely causes—of the algae bloom that’s led to mass death for marine life. Credit: Amir Aziz “Mystery epidemic kills […]
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Exciting news! Rangers Josh Crosbie and Keith Gray recently observed a beaver dam at Maxwell Farms Regional Park. Beavers are important “ecosystem engineers” that help create habitat for other species. Beavers are also a “keystone species,” which means they have a disproportionately positive influence on the species and environment around them. Beavers help sequester carbon […]
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WATER Institute Co-Directors Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman are excited to announce the initiation of the California Process-Based Restoration (Cal PBR) Network. The goals of the Cal PBR Network are to promote process-based (aka, beaver-based, ecological, low-tech, nature-based) restoration approaches to increase the capacity of degraded river and stream ecosystems to retain water, support biodiversity, […]
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The day after an unseasonal June rain swelled the streams of the northern Sierra Nevada, Marily Woodhouse steered her 2003 Dodge Dakota through 65 miles of winding mountain roads near Mount Lassen. Woodhouse first traversed the area on horseback shortly after moving here 25 years ago. Back then, the land was lush with life, and its towering conifer forests furnished refreshingly cool air on days that were blistering hot beyond the canopy’s shade. Now, acre after acre of land of the Battle Creek Watershed is parched as far as the eye can see. Nonnative plants like […]
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The fate of one critically endangered natural resource – our precious wetlands – could spell either failure or success for all that we do to protect clean water.
Without healthy wetlands, our clean water goals would be nearly impossible to achieve.
NOAA is announcing $15.2M in funding for harmful algal bloom (HAB) research projects throughout U.S. coastal and Great Lakes waters. HABs can produce toxins or cause other harmful effects that can damage ecosystems, disrupt our seafood supply, impact economies, and threaten human health. Marine and fresh waters of the United States are increasingly impacted by […]
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