On March 12, 2026, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced via press release and bulletin the release of its California Groundwater: Bulletin 118 – Update 2025 (2025 Update). Bulletin 118 represents “the State’s official and most comprehensive report of groundwater monitoring, conditions, and management across California.”
The 2025 Update is the third Bulletin 118 issued by DWR under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), with DWR publishing an interim update in 2016 and the first full update under SGMA in 2020. Pursuant to Water Code § 12924, DWR ...
On March 12, 2026, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued a bulletin announcing that the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Water Board) Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) reporting system is now open. That system is called the Groundwater Extraction Annual Reporting System (GEARS) and is available online. The deadline for the initial submission of groundwater extraction reports is May 1, 2026. The reporting requirements only apply to groundwater extractors in the Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins, as those are the only two basins currently under ...
On March 4, 2026, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the launch of its the Real Water Technical Assistance (RealWaterTA) initiative. The press release highlights that the goal of the RealWaterTA initiative is to refocus on “public health and compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act” largely through “align[ing] all technical assistance for drinking water and wastewater systems with tried-and-true services, such as engineering and design expertise, operational support, workforce development, and financial management.” The ...
On February 25, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom launched the California Water Plan 2028, initiating a comprehensive, multi-year effort to modernize the State's water planning framework. Dubbed the “most ambitious water plan in California history,” the initiative arrives at a critical juncture as the State continues to grapple with extreme hydrological whiplash—swinging from historic droughts to record-breaking atmospheric rivers.
For water agencies, agricultural stakeholders, and local municipalities, the launch marks a significant shift in California’s water ...
On January 9, 2026, Governor Newsom announced his 2026-2027 $348.9 billion budget proposal. Contrary to his 2025 proposal, this proposal includes a deficit. However, this proposal’s deficit is only $2.3 billion, substantially less than in 2023 and 2024, and the press release calls this projected deficit both “modest” and “solved”. The budget proposal’s deficit projection stands in contrast with the Legislative Analyst’s Office November 19, 2025 report, which predicted an $18 billion shortfall.
The budget site includes a full combined summary, summaries of ...
On January 21, 2026, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) published its Best Management Practices of the Sustainable Management of Groundwater – Land Subsidence (Subsidence BMPs). The press release details the importance of addressing subsidence, which costs Californians hundreds of millions of dollars annually, largely through damaging public infrastructure and reducing water deliveries.
Background
Subsidence is the process of land sinking. In the water context, it is generally caused by removing groundwater quicker than it is replenished, which ...
On January 15, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule titled “Updating the Water Quality Certification Regulations” (Proposed Rule). This rule implements changes to the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) Section 401 permitting process. EPA intends to narrow the scope of the States’ certification authority to the application of solely water quality-related conditions which may be applied only to the discharge, not the project as a whole.
This change, among others in the Proposed Rule, will significantly reduce the ability of States or ...
On December 11, 2025, Representative Adam Gray (D-CA-13) and Representative Jim Costa (D-CA-21) announced a legislative package entitled the End California Water Crisis Package. The bills “aim to expand California’s water storage capacity by providing funding and technical support to both develop and maintain water infrastructure projects.” They seek to accomplish their goals by “authoriz[ing] additional California water storage projects, eas[ing] permitting restrictions, and creat[ing] enforceable timelines for environmental review processes.”
Both ...
On November 17, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) (collectively, Agencies) announced a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) to revise the regulatory definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The Proposed Rule was published in the Federal Register on November 20, 2025, starting the 45-day public comment period, which closes on January 5, 2026.
This Proposed Rule represents the latest iteration of the WOTUS definition, which has seen five finalized rules and one U.S. Supreme Court decision since 2015.
Background
As the ...
As announced via press release on November 10, 2025 and then officially in the Federal Register on November 13, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed rolling back certain requirements related to reporting PFAS that were issued under President Biden’s EPA. The action aligns with the general approach EPA has taken under President Trump, which includes rolling back other PFAS regulatory action.
Background
The initial regulation, which was issued by EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), was finalized at the end of 2023, as we discussed here. As ...
California Water Views provides timely and insightful updates on the water sector in the state. We relay information on how water legislation and policy from the nation’s capital, Sacramento, and around the U.S. affect California’s water utilities, agencies, practitioners, and consumers. We also write about important events, conferences, legal cases, and other key happenings involving all things water in and around California.
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