drinking water

Under state law, every Californian has the right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible water — but a blistering audit released Tuesday shows just how far the state is from turning that promise into reality. As CalMatters water reporter Rachel Becker and I write, Acting State Auditor Michael Tilden slammed regulators at the State Water […]

It’s no quick fix. The scaled-down tunnel — which would bypass the Delta and funnel more water south — still has to clear a gauntlet of reviews, would cost at least $16 billion and could take 20 years.

As drought intensifies, the order affects many cities and growers from Fresno to the Oregon border, including 212 public water systems.

So it begins. More than 6 million water users (that is, humans) across Southern California woke up on Wednesday to find themselves under new drought restrictions.  If you’ve been following the numbers, none of this should be surprising: As CalMatters’ tracker shows, California has been in a drought for 843 days In March, the State […]

The commission, in a marathon session today, killed a proposed desalination plant in Huntington Beach that’s been debated for more than 20 years.

The giant Metropolitan Water District imposed first-ever restrictions today. Some suppliers in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties will limit watering of lawns to once a week to ease the burden on the drought-stricken state aqueduct.

Still resisting statewide water rationing for parched California, Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking local suppliers to tighten water limits.

California’s proposed limit for hexavalent chromium — the first in the nation — would raise water rates in many cities. The contaminant, linked to cancer, was made infamous by Erin Brockovich.

Even with the California drought, urban residents used 2.6% more water in January 2022 than they did in January 2020.

New data from urban areas suggests that people are ignoring the governor’s pleas for voluntary conservation during the drought. Some experts say it’s time for Newsom to issue a mandatory order.