Western water news, for the people who own the water
Rulings, shortages, prices, and payment programs, dated and sourced, each with the one section general news never writes: what it means for your water. Paired with the live conditions dashboard.
Edwards Aquifer enters September within three feet of a Stage 3 trigger
On September 1 the EAA’s J-17 index well read 643.6 feet with a ten-day average of 642.9. The Stage 3 trigger, a 35 percent permit reduction, is a ten-day average below 640 feet. The San Antonio Pool is in Stage 2; the Uvalde Pool has no restrictions.
- J-17, Sep 1
- 643.6 ft (10-day 642.9)
- Stage 3 trigger
- 10-day avg < 640 ft
- San Antonio Pool
- Stage 2, 30%
- Uvalde Pool
- No stage, 0%
Metropolitan briefs its board: stored Colorado River water gets harder to withdraw once Lake Mead nears 1,025 feet
Metropolitan Water District staff walked through the new guidelines: California falls from 4.4 to 3.96 million acre feet, ICS creation is capped at 400,000 acre feet a year, and between elevations 1,025 and 1,000 feet delivery of stored water becomes subject to consultation and can be reduced or denied.
Elephant Butte drops to 1.4 percent of capacity, lowest since 1971
Elephant Butte Reservoir held 27,461 acre feet on August 27, 2026, about 1.4 percent of its 1,960,900 acre foot conservation capacity, against 74,254 acre feet a year earlier.
San Diego County Water Authority keeps selling surplus supply: Burbank deal follows a $13 million a year contract that pencils to $1,300 per acre foot
Burbank signed a long-term agreement on August 27 to buy up to 5,000 acre feet a year from the San Diego County Water Authority through 2047. Earlier in 2026 the Authority sold Western Municipal Water District 10,000 acre feet a year for $13 million annually under a 21-year deal, about $1,300 per acre foot.
Idaho reports the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer lost 600,000 acre feet this year
IDWR hydrologists told the Water Resource Board on August 26, 2026 that the ESPA had no change from 2024 to 2025 and then a net reduction of 600,000 acre feet in 2026, measured across 329 monitoring wells. The Upper Snake reservoir system sat at 18 percent.
California spot water climbs 5.9 percent in a week to $535.91 per acre foot
The Nasdaq Veles California Water Index printed 535.91 on its August 26 trade date, up 30.06 points, or 5.94 percent, from the prior week’s 505.85, in a year with full reservoirs and no snowpack.
Nevada sues Interior to overturn the new Colorado River operating rules
Three days after the Record of Decision, the State of Nevada, the Colorado River Commission of Nevada, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority filed suit in federal court. Nevada says its 300,000 acre foot allocation could be cut by up to 213,556 acre feet while the Upper Basin faces no mandatory reductions.
Interior signs 2027 to 2036 Colorado River operating rules; Lower Basin loses 1.25 million acre feet next year
Reclamation issued the Record of Decision for post-2026 Colorado River operations on August 21, 2026. For 2027, Lower Basin deliveries fall by 1.25 million acre feet: Arizona 760,000, California 440,000, Nevada 50,000.
State Water Board releases the final draft Bay-Delta Plan; comments close September 18, vote set for October 28 to 29
The final draft of the Sacramento and Delta update offers two compliance paths: voluntary Healthy Rivers and Landscapes commitments (flow plus habitat) or enforceable unimpaired-flow objectives. It targets more than 27,000 acres of habitat and $2.9 billion in restoration.
Gila River Indian Community formally objects to the post-2026 Colorado River plan
The Gila River Indian Community, holder of the second-largest published conservation agreement on the river, said the Final EIS deviates from the Law of the River and that it will challenge the guidelines in every available forum.
Reclamation raises the 2026 Central Valley Project south-of-Delta allocation to 28 percent
The Bureau of Reclamation increased 2026 CVP south-of-Delta agricultural allocations from 25 to 28 percent and municipal from 75 to 78 percent in mid August, the fourth increase of a year that began at 15 percent with a record-low snowpack.
California court pauses SGMA probation for two Tulare Lake agencies but upholds the $20 per acre foot fee
A Kings County judge temporarily blocked the State Water Board from enforcing probation against two of five Tulare Lake Subbasin agencies on a good-actor theory, while rejecting the challenge to the $20 per acre foot pumping fee. The merits hearing is October 6, 2026.
Edwards Aquifer: Uvalde Pool exits drought restrictions; San Antonio Pool snaps back to Stage 2
The EAA lifted all Critical Period Management for the Uvalde Pool effective August 11, 2026, its first unrestricted status since June 2022. Five days earlier the San Antonio Pool returned to Stage 2 (30 percent cuts) after a 13-day break at Stage 1.
Idaho Water Resource Board approves $14.3 million for two new ESPA recharge basins
On August 7, 2026 the IWRB approved $8 million for an 85-acre infiltration basin near Shelley and $6.3 million for two 32-acre basins in the Bingham Groundwater District, under a state recharge goal raised to 350,000 acre feet a year.
Lake Mead falls to an all-time record low, breaking the 2022 mark
Lake Mead reached 1,040.50 feet on August 7, 2026, below the previous record of 1,040.58 feet from July 2022 and the lowest since the reservoir filled in the 1930s. It has kept falling since.
New Mexico allocates $150 million to buy and retire Lower Rio Grande groundwater rights
To meet the May 26, 2026 Supreme Court decree cutting Lower Rio Grande depletions by 18,200 acre feet a year, New Mexico stood up a $150 million purchase program. The per acre foot price is still under study; fallowing already pays $750 to $800 per acre.
San Luis Valley "trial of the century" opens over a $150 to $500 per acre foot pumping fee
Trial opened June 29, 2026 in Division 3 Water Court over Subdistrict No. 1’s Fourth Amended Plan of Water Management, which would raise the groundwater pumping fee from $150 to $500 per acre foot. Both sides appear positioned for a Colorado Supreme Court appeal.
Idaho curtails groundwater rights junior to October 11, 1900, the largest call of the sequence
On May 14, 2026 the IDWR Director ordered curtailment of ESPA groundwater rights junior to October 11, 1900, against a predicted in-season shortfall of 181,600 acre feet. Roughly 930 rights lacked mitigation coverage; the July mid-summer order left the date unchanged.
Kansas High Plains aquifer levels rise for the first time since 2019
The Kansas Geological Survey reported an average increase of about 0.2 feet across the Kansas High Plains aquifer for 2025, the first overall rise since 2019 after five straight years of decline, driven partly by above-average rainfall.
Policy & Courts
- 2026-08-31Metropolitan briefs its board: stored Colorado River water gets harder to withdraw once Lake Mead nears 1,025 feet
- 2026-08-24Nevada sues Interior to overturn the new Colorado River operating rules
- 2026-08-21Interior signs 2027 to 2036 Colorado River operating rules; Lower Basin loses 1.25 million acre feet next year
- 2026-08-20State Water Board releases the final draft Bay-Delta Plan; comments close September 18, vote set for October 28 to 29
- 2026-08-18Gila River Indian Community formally objects to the post-2026 Colorado River plan
- 2026-08-12California court pauses SGMA probation for two Tulare Lake agencies but upholds the $20 per acre foot fee
- 2026-06-29San Luis Valley "trial of the century" opens over a $150 to $500 per acre foot pumping fee
- 2026-05-14Idaho curtails groundwater rights junior to October 11, 1900, the largest call of the sequence
Supply & Drought
- 2026-09-01Edwards Aquifer enters September within three feet of a Stage 3 trigger
- 2026-08-27Elephant Butte drops to 1.4 percent of capacity, lowest since 1971
- 2026-08-26Idaho reports the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer lost 600,000 acre feet this year
- 2026-08-13Reclamation raises the 2026 Central Valley Project south-of-Delta allocation to 28 percent
- 2026-08-11Edwards Aquifer: Uvalde Pool exits drought restrictions; San Antonio Pool snaps back to Stage 2
- 2026-08-07Lake Mead falls to an all-time record low, breaking the 2022 mark
- 2026-04-02Kansas High Plains aquifer levels rise for the first time since 2019
Frequently asked questions
How is Water Watch different from general water news?
Every brief is written from the owner side and answers one question beyond what happened: what does this mean for someone holding water in that basin. Each carries its primary sources, the dated key figures, and links into the evergreen state, basin, and guide pages so the context is one click away.
How often is Water Watch updated?
As primary sources publish: Reclamation weekly updates and 24-Month Studies, state agency orders and news releases, court rulings, and index prints. Every brief is dated to the event or release, not to when we wrote it.
Where do the figures come from?
Public primary sources wherever one exists (Reclamation, USGS, state water agencies, the Edwards Aquifer Authority, court filings, the Nasdaq NQH2O index) and named reporting where an agency release is not available. Nothing unsourced is published; see our methodology page.
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