I rarely do this, but here are my top 3 thing happening in CA Water this week:1. Newsom declared a statewide state of emergency for El Niño tod...
Published by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
I rarely do this, but here are my top 3 thing happening in CA Water this week:
1. Newsom declared a statewide state of emergency for El Niño today. Forecasters are now saying greater than 90% odds of a very strong event this winter, with a 75% chance it reaches historic strength. The proclamation moves state agencies into pre-positioning mode — staging resources, prepping infrastructure — weeks before the first storm lands. Now if we can just see those CEQA exemptions like Executive order N-4-23.
2. Sites Reservoir cleared its biggest permitting hurdle in years. After sixteen years and a cost that's climbed to $6.8 billion, the State Water Board issued a revised water right permit the Sites Project Authority says gives it "a path forward." It's still not built, still not funded to completion, and still years from holding a drop of water.
3. Calexico just became the third California city to permanently ban data centers, citing water. The city council voted unanimously this week, following Monterey Park and Coachella earlier this year. The stated reasoning wasn't zoning or noise — it was water and power draw in a region already under strain, in a community that, as one council member put it, is dealing with "one of the most polluted rivers coming across our city in the nation."
Three different rooms, one theme: California's water system is being asked to answer for decisions it didn't make. State emergency planners are bracing for water the infrastructure can't fully capture. A $6.8 billion reservoir is racing to catch up to demand it was conceived to meet decades ago. And local governments are starting to say no to new demand outright, rather than wait for the state to solve supply.
Watch that third one closely if you're in data center site selection or diligence — Calexico isn't an outlier anymore. It's the third data point in a pattern.
1. Newsom declared a statewide state of emergency for El Niño today. Forecasters are now saying greater than 90% odds of a very strong event this winter, with a 75% chance it reaches historic strength. The proclamation moves state agencies into pre-positioning mode — staging resources, prepping infrastructure — weeks before the first storm lands. Now if we can just see those CEQA exemptions like Executive order N-4-23.
2. Sites Reservoir cleared its biggest permitting hurdle in years. After sixteen years and a cost that's climbed to $6.8 billion, the State Water Board issued a revised water right permit the Sites Project Authority says gives it "a path forward." It's still not built, still not funded to completion, and still years from holding a drop of water.
3. Calexico just became the third California city to permanently ban data centers, citing water. The city council voted unanimously this week, following Monterey Park and Coachella earlier this year. The stated reasoning wasn't zoning or noise — it was water and power draw in a region already under strain, in a community that, as one council member put it, is dealing with "one of the most polluted rivers coming across our city in the nation."
Three different rooms, one theme: California's water system is being asked to answer for decisions it didn't make. State emergency planners are bracing for water the infrastructure can't fully capture. A $6.8 billion reservoir is racing to catch up to demand it was conceived to meet decades ago. And local governments are starting to say no to new demand outright, rather than wait for the state to solve supply.
Watch that third one closely if you're in data center site selection or diligence — Calexico isn't an outlier anymore. It's the third data point in a pattern.
Tags
- Technology
- GIS & Remote Sensing Technology
- IT
- Information Services
- Reservoir
- Water Resource Permitting
- California, United States