Water

Yellow and red cables are plugged into large black shelfs of computer machinery as a person works in the background.

Environment

Data centers are putting new strain on California’s grid. A new report estimates the impacts

A new report estimates that California’s data centers are driving increases in electricity use, water demand and pollution even as lawmakers stall on oversight.

By

Alejandro Lazo

• November 14, 2025

Water

No deal on the Colorado River despite Trump administration deadline

The federal government has often set deadlines on the Colorado River, but in recent years has rarely enforced them. Negotiations among California and the six other basin states will now continue into next year, as Arizona ramps up its rhetoric and calls for a firmer hand from the Trump Administration in the talks.

By

Rachel Becker

• November 11, 2025

The All American Canal flows past the Imperial Sand Dunes near Felicity on Dec. 5, 2022.

Water

Colorado River talks hit crunch time. What’s at stake for California water?

Western states in the Colorado River basin are racing a federal deadline to hash out the beginnings of an agreement governing the overtapped river. As the clock ticks down, two questions loom large: Just how real is this deadline, and what does it mean for California?

By

Rachel Becker

• November 10, 2025

Water

‘Emerging threat’: An invasive species is upending life in the Delta, with no help on the way

One year after the discovery that golden mussels had invaded the Delta, thick colonies coat boats and piers and threaten water supplies for cities and farms. Yet the state has no specific funding or plans to tackle harms in the heart of the invasion.

By

Rachel Becker

• November 4, 2025

An aerial view of a solar farm amongst farmland with a mountain range spread out on the horizon in the distance.

Water

California may help solar bloom where water runs dry

The state's farmers are divided over a bill that would loosen rules protecting agricultural land. The goal of a bill proposed by Assembly Democrat Buffy Wicks is to seed solar farms on fallowed fields.

By

Rachel Becker

• September 11, 2025

A blue and white sign reading "No Tunnel – One Tunnel is One Too Many!" is posted on a wooden stake in a grassy field. The sign also features the phrase "Save Our Delta" in red text at the top and a website address at the bottom. The background consists of a lush green field with a wire fence, a distant road, and a few vehicles visible under a bright blue sky. Sunlight casts shadows on the sign and the grass.

Environment

Newsom’s bid to fast-track Delta tunnel stalls again

Water wonks say the proposal to speed the multibillion Delta tunnel project could rise again. ‘This is the zombie offspring of the zombie project,’ one opponent said.

By

Rachel Becker

• September 10, 2025

Environment

‘Beyond awful’ Colorado River forecasts put water talks under pressure

California shoots pointed words at states upriver, as negotiators struggle toward sharing supplies. Without a deal, the Trump Administration will step in.

By

Rachel Becker

• August 15, 2025

Environment

Key player in California’s water wars embraces controversial pact

The State Water Resources Control Board advance a controversial, Newsom-backed agreement in a new proposal, which qualifies as a major development in the long-running debate about delta water use.

By

Rachel Becker

• July 24, 2025

Water spouts out of a chrome water fountain and flows into the attached drain, continuing down. In the background is a view of a public playground on a sunny day, out of focus.

Environment

To fight cancer-causing ‘Erin Brockovich’ toxin, California may give water districts legal cover

Water bills are climbing as utilities clean up a chemical made infamous in “Erin Brockovich.” Should lawmakers give them cover from lawsuits while work continues?

By

Ryan Sabalow

and

Brianna Vaccari, The Merced FOCUS

• July 22, 2025

A brown detection dog with a harness leans over the side of a boat, sniffing around the base of a mounted outboard motor. A person’s hand holds the dog’s leash in the upper left of the frame. In the background, there is a beige shipping container and a white pickup truck marked “California Fish and Wildlife.” The setting appears to be an outdoor inspection or training site.

Water

A new invader threatens California water supplies. Can the state stop its spread?

Officials are shoring up water systems infiltrated by the golden mussel. Dogs and human inspectors are checking boats at some lakes, but a patchwork of oversight leaves many lakes unprotected. “There's just too many boats and too many people out there," one warden said.

By

Rachel Becker

• July 15, 2025