Watch our series of short videos on the importance of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, how it works as a water hub for
California and the challenges it is facing.
Some people in California and across the West struggle to access
safe, reliable and affordable water to meet their everyday needs
for drinking, cooking and sanitation.
There are many ways to support our nonprofit mission by donating
in someone’s honor or memory, becoming a regular contributor or
supporting specific projects.
As atmospheric rivers blasted across California this year, they
brought epic amounts of rain and snow follwing a three-year
drought.
Devastating and deadly floods hit parts of the state and now all
eyes are on the potential for more flooding, particularly in
the San Joaquin Valley as the record amount of snow in the
Sierras melts with warmer temperatures.
With anticipated sea level rise and other impacts of a changing
climate, flood management is increasingly critical in California.
There is no need to wait to show
your love for the Water Education Foundation! Starting today, you
can donate to our Big Day of Giving campaign and help us reach
our fundraising goal of $15,000 by May 2.
Big Day of Giving is a 24-hour online fundraising marathon
for nonprofits. Donations will benefit our programs and
publications across California and the
West.
The Foundation’s Central Valley Tour at
the end of April is nearing capacity and while there’s still some
space on the tour, there’s another very exciting opportunity
on the horizon this summer to engage directly with
groundwater experts from California and across the world.
In an effort to protect more than 5 million Californians from a
cancer-causing contaminant, state regulators today set a new
standard that is expected to increase the cost of water for
many people throughout the state. The State Water Resources
Control Board unanimously approved the nation’s first drinking
water standard for hexavalent chromium, which is found
naturally in some California groundwater as well as water
contaminated by industries. Now water suppliers will be forced
to install costly treatment to limit the chemical in water to
no more than 10 parts per billion — equivalent to about 10
drops in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
Lake Powell could reach a four-year high this spring and summer
as snowmelt supplements the reservoir’s water levels. Lake Mead
in Nevada and Arizona and Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona have
suffered from a regional drought for years, and excessive water
usage is slowly depleting the Colorado River faster than
natural weather patterns can fill it. An above-average snowfall
and excessive precipitation last spring and this winter have
bolstered the water levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and
new data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation revealed that the
nation’s second-largest reservoir could rise by up to 50 feet
by mid-summer.
The conversation surrounding California’s water continues. The
Sites Reservoir project northwest of Sacramento has a price tag
of $4 billion and is funded by local, state and federal
dollars. The 1.5 million-acre project would divert water from
the Sacramento River into a valley near Maxwell, California,
and use it for storage. California water rights are a bit
tricky – and strict – and that’s the phase the Sites Project
Authority is in. They say things are ramping up, however. A
hearing officer has put forth a schedule for the hearings
surrounding water rights to conclude by the end of this year
and a decision could be made in early 2025. … There’s been
pushback [on the project] from environmental groups.
In much of the United States, groundwater extraction is
unregulated and unlimited. There are few rules governing who
can pump water from underground aquifers or how much they can
take. This lack of regulation has allowed farmers nationwide to
empty aquifers of trillions of gallons of water for irrigation
and livestock. Droughts fueled by climate change have
exacerbated this trend by depleting rivers and reservoirs,
increasing reliance on this dwindling groundwater. In many
places, such as California’s Central Valley, the results
have been devastating. As aquifers decline, residential wells
start to yield contaminated water or else dry up
altogether, forcing families to rely on emergency deliveries of
bottled water.
As the date of reckoning for excessive groundwater pumping in
Tulare County grows closer, lobbying by water managers and
growers has ramped up. The Friant Water Authority, desperate to
protect its newly rebuilt – yet still sinking –
Friant-Kern Canal, has beseeched the Water Resources Control
Board to get involved. Specifically, it has asked board members
to look into how the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability
Agency (GSA) has, or has not, curbed over pumping that affects
the canal. Meanwhile, the Eastern Tule groundwater agency has
been doing a bit of its own lobbying. It recently hosted all
five members of the Water Board on three separate tours of the
region, including the canal. Because the tours were staggered,
there wasn’t a quorum of board members, which meant they
weren’t automatically open to the public.
Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the
Bay Model is a giant hydraulic replica of San Francisco
Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta. It is housed in a converted World II-era
warehouse in Sausalito near San Francisco.
Hundreds of gallons of water are pumped through the
three-dimensional, 1.5-acre model to simulate a tidal ebb
and flow lasting 14 minutes.
As part of the historic Colorado
River Delta, the Salton Sea regularly filled and dried for
thousands of years due to its elevation of 237 feet below
sea level.
