Data center development is accelerating across California, bringing increased attention to the water supplies and infrastructure needed to serve these projects. That attention has prompted both developers and public agencies to address issues such as long-term reliability, infrastructure costs, drought planning, and the disclosure of project information. Pending legislation would
I was recently asked to speak at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the National Waterways Conference, a national trade group advocating in the areas of navigation, flood control, and water supply. Specifically, I was asked to speak on the effects of the 2023 Federal Court of Appeals decision in Ideker
On August 17, 2026, a unanimous panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a years-long challenge to the United States Bureau of Reclamation’s (“Reclamation”) conversion of certain federal water service contracts, granting a significant win to the municipal and irrigation contractors relying on those agreements to provide water
Friends and Colleagues,
Since its launch, The Levee Was Dry has served as a forum for commentary on flood risk and floodplain management. As the legal and policy issues shaping California’s and the United States’ water landscape continue to evolve, so too has the conversation.
We’re excited to share that
On July 28, 2025, the Director of Civil Works for the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Eddie Belk, issued guidance for analyzing induced flooding. This guidance is intended to help USACE Districts and Divisions in managing an analysis of induced flooding in planning studies (and those projects under
Several years ago, many of us were stunned to learn how much funding would run through FEMA’s BRIC program (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities). Traditionally, significant money only ran through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Program. Big funds from FEMA tended to show up only after a disaster. But
If you don’t recall, NAFSMA is the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies, and I am attending NAFSMA’s 46th annual conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Today I had the pleasure of addressing the attendees as part of the legal panel and I chose to use my time to
It’s “what?” you might ask. NAFSMA, the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies, was formed 46 years ago as a place where public agencies in the flood and stormwater space could come together, learn from each other, and partner with the Federal government to make life better and safer. I
I had the opportunity this week to attend a National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA) Mentoring Session on the Future [of] Flood Risk Data. This session, offered by NAFSMA in partnership with FEMA and including other interested parties, educated folks on several FEMA missions and discussed
Our April 26, 2023 article noted that the Principles, Requirements, and Guidelines (PR&G) are about money. The Federal government has a lot of money. Even in an era of budget cutting, it still has a lot of money, and it chooses to spend that money on a whole bunch of