An aerial view of the Harvey O. Banks Delta Pumping Plant, which lifts water into the California Aqueduct, in Alameda County on May 11, 2023. Photo via the California Department of Water Resources California water regulators have approved a new plan overhauling how farms and cities take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and rivers that feed it, setting up the next fight over Gov. G...
Nov 6, 2026
San Diego’s Lake Hodges Dam under repair in fall of 2022. The dam is expected to be replaced in the next decade. The dam, built as a multiple arch design, was completed in 1918, and purchased by the City of San Diego in 1925. Photo by John Gastaldo for CalMatters With an El Niño winter threatening heavy rain, the State Auditor warns that California’s aging dams “continue to pose a risk to pu...
Oct 23, 2026
An American flag waves on a flagpole in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire. Firefighters are performing mop-up activities in the burn area, though the fire continues to burn, in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 9, 2025. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters No single failure explains the devastation of the Palisades and Eaton fires that burned through Los Angeles County in January 2025, a new report c...
Oct 9, 2026
Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta, left, during a training session for crews to learn how to use remote hydrants at Clearlake Oaks on Aug. 27, 2026. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters As the Lucas Fire tore through Mendocino and Lake Counties, two portable fire hydrants sprouted from Lake County’s Keeling Park, pumping water directly from Clear Lake. It was the first test of a homegrow...
Oct 2, 2026
