Industry News
Industry News
This Week's News Highlights
Feature:
BLM Approves Pipeline Conversion for Mojave Groundwater Bank Project Developed with Lytton Rancheria
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved a right-of-way (ROW) grant allowing construction to begin on the conversion of the Cadiz Northern Pipeline from a natural gas pipeline to a water conveyance system, clearing a major federal hurdle for the Mojave Groundwater Bank project being developed by Cadiz Inc. in partnership with the Lytton Rancheria.
The approval authorizes the conversion and long-term operation of the 220-mile pipeline across BLM-managed lands under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. Once the grant is fully executed by Cadiz, construction on the project can begin.
BLM Approves 220-Mile Gas-to-Water Pipeline Conversion in California
The Bureau of Land Management has approved the conversion of a 220-mile former natural gas pipeline in California into a water conveyance system, allowing construction on the Cadiz Northern Pipeline project to begin.
(P&GJ) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved a right-of-way allowing Cadiz Inc. to convert a 220-mile former natural gas pipeline in California into a water conveyance system, clearing the way for construction to begin.
Policy:
Is America’s Drinking Water the Next Front in the Iran War? (PODCAST)
The New York Times, August 7, 2026
Over the past week, a growing number of municipalities across the United States have reported that their water systems were hacked. The Times has found that the attacks were most likely perpetrated by Iran.
Today, Dustin Volz, a cybersecurity and intelligence correspondent for The New York Times, explains how the hacking exposes yearslong failed efforts to shore up vulnerabilities in U.S. infrastructure, and how Iran may be seeking a new kind of leverage that could extend the war’s reach to within U.S. borders and affect something as elemental as the water we drink.
Colorado River:
Lake Mead, nation’s largest reservoir, reaches its lowest water level on record
ABC News by Matthew Glasser, August 7, 2026
The water level at Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir by storage capacity, hit a record low on Thursday.
Lake Mead’s pool elevation hit the new low at 1,040.50 feet, breaking the previous record of 1,040.58 feet set in July 2022, according to data published by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Friday.
The reservoir, formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, is located in Nevada and Arizona and supplies water to millions of U.S. residents.
Prolonged drought conditions and exceptionally low snowpack have contributed to the significant declines in water levels at several Colorado River Basin reservoirs this year.
Band-Aid, not a cure: federal Colorado River plan leaves states guessing every two years
Cal Matters by Rachel Becker, August 5, 2026
Dire water conditions, missed deadlines and uncertainty on the Colorado River are complicating critical water decisions in California.
No single state, water agency or federal official has shown the power, or the will, to break the deadlock among Colorado River basin states over how to share the dwindling supplies.
Years of fraught negotiations have failed to yield consensus even as major reservoir storage plummets to record lows — ratcheting up the tensions, and the stakes, for the states’ negotiators.
Now, key agreements for managing the river are expiring at the end of this year. These include agreements reached in 2007 that lasted nearly two decades, which took fewer than three years to craft.
This round of talks has already taken longer — and, so far, produced nothing so durable.
News release: New State of the Basin Report highlights the challenges and the path forward for the Colorado River
Drawing on recent research about ecology, water management and technology, new data on the severity of the hydrological crisis, and interviews with conservation experts, the report highlights:
Are there winners and losers in the battle over the Colorado River?
Desert News, August 5, 2026
The battle over water in the West has gone on for over a hundred years. Now, the federal government is stepping in to mediate state infighting.
The two-year stalemate over how to make cuts to the amount of water used from the Colorado River was partially put to bed last week after the Interior Department released a preferred Colorado River management plan that will set new guidelines for states after several drought-stricken years.
Upper Basin states — Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming — are celebrating the proposal. But Lower Basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada — are fuming.
Tribes:
Tribes, states, and the federal government battle for Colorado River water rights
KUNM, July 16, 2026
The largest proposed tribal water rights settlement in U.S. history – which could transform some Native American communities continues to stall. KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios talked about tribal water rights to the Colorado River with Heather Tanana, who is Navajo and an assistant law professor for the University of Denver, Heather Tanana, on New Mexico in Focus.
The Rise of Tribal Water Power in Arizona
Lake Powell, Chronicle, July 14, 2026
Navajo President Buu Nygren signs a $43 million contract in May 2025 with B4 Enterprises to launch the LeChee Water Improvements Project, marking a major step toward water independence for the Navajo Nation..Photo provided by Navajo Nation Office of the President.
Energy / Data Centers:
Central Valley farmers reluctantly turn to solar as water supplies dry up
LA Times, July 20, 2026
California’s Central Valley is one of the country’s richest farming regions, blessed with fertile soils, sunny days and a massive man-made system of irrigation canals and reservoirs.
But as climate change intensifies, droughts deepen and water restrictions kick in, growers in much of the valley are getting less water for their fields. They also face new limits on how much they can pump from underground, forcing them to leave hundreds of thousands of acres dry in the coming years. Some are turning to an answer they never thought they’d embrace: solar.
Why Solar Developers Should Evaluate Compensatory Mitigation Early
Climate:
Climatologist says incoming El Niño winter could be wettest on record in California
CBS News, August 6, 2026
The looming El Niño could bring one of the wettest winters on record to California, according to renowned climatologist Daniel Swain. In a social media post shared Thursday, Swain, a climate scientist with the California Institute for Water Resources, shared an update from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the gold standard for weather forecasting, which predicts a “genuinely extraordinary to extreme” El Niño that could impact California for months.
Swain says that the ECMWF prediction indicates 70% to 100% odds of above-average winter precipitation in the Golden State, and 70% to 100% odds of the coming winter, from December to February, being among the top 20% of wettest California winters ever recorded.
While the news of an El Niño isn’t exactly surprising for Californians, it’s concerning for many residents living along the Southern California coast, particularly after the latest round of King Tides.
In a Hurricane-Season Twist, the West Coast May Be the One to Watch
The New York Times, August 6, 2026
Two months into the Atlantic hurricane season, the United States has largely been spared, with only two storms, Arthur and Bertha, having grown strong enough to merit official names. That’s about what meteorologists expected when they said this year’s hurricane season would probably see fewer storms than most other seasons.
Off the West Coast of North America, however, things look a little different: There have been seven named storms since the season began. The most recent, Genevieve, became a Category 5 hurricane in late July, the strongest storm in the region in nearly two years.
On Wednesday, experts with the National Hurricane Center were monitoring a few clusters of thunderstorms roughly halfway between Mexico and Hawaii, each of which had some chance of becoming a named storm in the next week. Storms that form in the Pacific generally move west, away from mainland North America. So although Genevieve was especially intense, it was also mostly harmless as it moved through open waters.
Experts warn strong El Niño could bring record sea levels to California coast with flooding concerns
ABC 7 News, August 5, 2026
Experts are warning that a strengthening El Niño could trigger coastal flooding, beach erosion and some of the highest sea levels ever recorded along the California coast in the coming months.
Climate scientist Daniel Swain said that warming in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean is already underway and evolving rapidly.
“Just looking at the maps, even this week, things are changing very quickly now in recent days,” Swain said.
Swain said coastal flooding is likely to be the biggest concern. Higher sea levels and larger waves could also contribute to beach erosion and cliff failures.
‘Snow-eater’ heat waves adding to water woes plaguing the West
Courthouse News, August 5, 2026
Scientists developed a new method to better identify and understand the particular heat waves that cause abrupt snowmelt. With climate change, wildfires and heat waves, an abundant snowpack becomes a more precious resource every year. Increased temperatures earlier in the year followed by other weather-related phenomena are causing much of the western United States to experience what scientists are calling “snow-eater” heat waves.
A new study, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, analyzes the weather events using a method developed to identify the heat waves. Snow-eater heat waves are pretty much like they sound — abrupt snowmelt triggered by rain-on-snow and followed by several days of unseasonably high temperatures. But some of the “snow-eater” heat wave characteristics and impacts haven’t been broadly studied before the paper, the scientists said. Analyzing air temperature data from 1850 to 2015 and incorporating a snowmelt model, the scientists were able to estimate heat waves and their melt potential.
“Melt season snow-eater heat waves typically last three to five days, with three to five events per decade, doubling snowmelt rates,” said the scientists, including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researcher and lead author Alan Rhoades, in the study.
“Seven of 11 spring super floods are shown to coincide with snow-eater heat waves. Since the 1850’s, snow-eater heat waves have increased in area and frequency, decreased in duration, and shifted earlier in the melt season,” the scientists said.
Treatment:
Industrial Water Treatment Chemicals Market To Reach US$27.6 Billion By 2033
Water Online, August 7, 2026
According to latest research by Growth Market Reports, the global industrial water treatment chemicals market size reached USD 16.4 billion in 2024, reflecting robust demand across a spectrum of industrial sectors. The market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2025 to 2033, reaching an estimated USD 27.6 billion by 2033. This growth is primarily driven by stringent environmental regulations, increasing water scarcity, and the rising need for effective water reuse and recycling solutions in industrial processes worldwide.
The industrial water treatment chemicals market is experiencing consistent growth as industries increasingly prioritize efficient water management, environmental compliance, and sustainable manufacturing practices. Rising industrialization, stricter wastewater discharge regulations, and growing awareness of water conservation continue to shape market demand worldwide.
Clean water shouldn’t depend on where you live
Capitol Weekly (OPINION) by ELLEN WU and CHRISTINE JAMES, August 7, 2026
OPINION — Turn on the tap in San Jose, and the water is something you don’t think twice about. That’s not the case in parts of the Central Valley, where drinking water is too dangerous to drink.
This contrast shouldn’t exist: California declared a Human Right to Water in 2012. Yet hundreds of thousands of Californians lack access to safe drinking water. This disparity reflects decades of failure by the State Water Resources Control Board to stop agricultural nitrogen pollution from fertilizer overuse at the source.
Nitrogen is a key ingredient in fertilizer, but too much of it ends up in groundwater and drinking water sources as nitrate, a contaminant linked to serious health risks. For infants, nitrate exposure can cause blue baby syndrome, a potentially fatal condition.
Nitrate contamination is also linked to higher risks of colon, thyroid, and ovarian cancers in adults. Communities in the Central Valley are far more likely to rely on wells contaminated with nitrates.
Drinking water is only part of the story. Nitrogen runoff also poisons rivers and lakes, fueling toxic algal blooms that sicken children and kill fish. In the air, excess nitrogen worsens asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Scientists and state officials have warned about agricultural nitrogen pollution since the 1960s. California law clearly requires the State Water Board to regulate nitrogen pollution and protect water quality.
Utah resort effectively shuttered by the state due to water quality concerns
The Salt Lake Tribune, August 7, 2026
The Utah Division of Drinking Water ordered Sorrel River Ranch to “immediately cease operation of its surface water treatment plant” July 31, effectively shutting down the riverside resort on Highway 128.
Nathan Lunstad, the director of the Utah Division of Drinking Water, which operates under the umbrella of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, told The Times-Independent in an email that the formal Emergency Enforcement Order required Sorrel River Ranch “to immediately cease operation of its surface water treatment plant.”
Lunstad said the plant, which uses treated Colorado River water, ran for several weeks without a certified operator.