CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS
The Pure Water Antelope Valley Demonstration Facility233
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
Pleasant Valley GSA to Significantly Increase Groundwater Pumping Following an Inadequate Determination of Its Groundwater Sustainability Plan by DWR235
State Water Resources Control Board Releases Revised Draft Bay-Delta Plan Update237
RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS
District Court:
U.S. District Court Finds Certain Water Contracts with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Do Not Require New Environmental Review under the
Federal ESA and NEPA239
Center for Biological Diversity, et al., v U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, ___F.Supp.4th___, Case No. 1:20-cv-00706 (E.D. Cal. June 30, 2025).
RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS
Court of Appeal:
Toxicity by Redefinition? California’s State Water Board Clashes with CEQA and Federal Standards in a Decision by the Fifth District Court241
Camarillo Sanitary District et al. v. State Water Resources Control Board, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. F087362 (5th Dist. Aug. 5, 2025).
Fourth District Court, in Proposition 218 Case, Affirms $79 Million Refund over San Diego Water Rates243
Patz v. City of San Diego, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. E083543 (4th Dist. July 30, 2025).
Fifth District Court Finds Floodwater Does Not Become Personal Property upon Exercise of “Dominion and Control”245
Sandton Agriculture Investments III, LLC v. 4-S Ranch Partners, LLC, ___Cal.App.5th___, Case No. F086484 (5th Dist. Aug. 8, 2025).
247
Water Audit California v. Merced Irrigation District, 111 Cal.App.5th 1147 (5th Dist. 2025).
Superior Court:
Preliminary Ruling by Orange County Superior Court Seeks to Limit the U.S. Navy’s Federal Reserved Water Right249
Mojave Pistachios, et al., vs. Indian Wells Valley Water District, et al., Case No. 30-2021-01187275 (Orange County Super. Ct. 2025).
