January 31 came and went without the seven (7) states that form the Upper and Lower Basins of the Colorado River Compact coming to agreement on how to cede enough of their extant river allocations to meet the federal government’s (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) short-term 2023-2026 requirements.

As 2023 opens, there is some good news, some bad news, some interesting news, and some no news to report.

When the subject is golf in California, and that’s the subject of our concern, what happens at the national level has little impact. Most of what affects the game in California happens at the state, regional, and even much more so, the local level.

We haven’t reported much if at all on the following subject, but there is more at stake in California’s 2022 election than most have been led to believe

Yesterday four of California’s key water districts – Metropolitan Water District (MWD), Imperial Irrigation District (IID), Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD), and Palo Verde Irrigation District (PVID) – pledged to cede 400,000 acre-feet of their current allotments back to the Colorado River Basin.

The first Monday in October is a phrase synonymous with the beginning of the next session of the United States Supreme Court, which much like the last session, promises to be a substantive one.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency signed a partnership agreement Monday (September 19) with the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) pledging a commitment to environmental stewardship and environmental sustainability on golf courses everywhere.

All that remains of the 2022 legislative session is to see which bills Governor Newsom signs and which he vetoes.

As the worsening drought crisis continues to impact communities across the West, the Department of the Interior today announced urgent action to improve and protect the long–term sustainability of the Colorado River System, including commitments for continued engagement with impacted states and Tribes.

Today Governor Newsom released a comprehensive plan to accommodate the state’s hotter, drier future by capturing and storing more water, recycling more wastewater, desalinating seawater, and desalinating brackish groundwater.