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.
When a person opens a spigot to draw a glass of water, he or she
may be tapping a source close to home or hundreds of miles away.
Water gets to taps via a complex web of aqueducts, canals and
groundwater.
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contributor or supporting specific projects.
Unlike California’s majestic rivers and massive dams and
conveyance systems, groundwater is out of sight and underground,
though no less plentiful. The state’s enormous cache of
underground water is a great natural resource and has contributed
to the state becoming the nation’s top agricultural producer and
leader in high-tech industries.
A new era of groundwater management began in 2014 in California
with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The landmark law
turned 10 in 2024, with many challenges still ahead.
Time is running out to register for this month’s Water
101 Workshop in Sacramento where you’ll
go beyond the headlines and gain a deeper understanding of
how water is managed and moved across California. And come one,
come all to our annual Open
House & Reception on May 7!
California’s water managers have long looked for ways to adapt to a hotter, drier future where the impacts of climate change leave less water to meet the state’s needs.
At our annual Water 101 Workshopon March 26 in Sacramento, participants will hear from Joel Metzger, deputy director for statewide water resources planning, on efforts underway by the California Department of Water Resources to achieve a target of identifying 9 million acre-feet of additional water supply by 2040, roughly equal to the capacity of two Shasta Reservoirs.
The agenda for the workshop features some of the leading policy and legal experts in California who will detail the historical, legal and political facets of water management in the state. Seating is limited and filling up quickly, so don’t miss out!
Lake Mead is headed for an even more concerning, record-low
level near the end of 2027, according to projections from
federal forecasters released Friday. In November 2027,
the reservoir is likely to dip to 1032.76 feet above
sea level — nearly 8 feet below the previous record
low recorded in 2022, when receding levels began to reveal
skeletal remains. That’s a chilling number based on an
unseasonably warm winter and falling projections for
runoff into Lake Powell, the releases of which flow into
Lake Mead. … According to Friday’s projection, Lake
Powell could dip below so-called “minimum power pool” as soon
as January.
The warm winter has left very little snow in California’s
Sierra Nevada, and now an extreme heat wave is accelerating the
rapid melt in the mountains. The Sierra snowpack
measures 48% of average for this time of year,
according to state data, down from 73% of average in late
February. … California relies on the Sierra snowpack for
about 30% of its water, on average. But the extraordinary
warmth across the West this winter, which broke records in many
areas, brought more precipitation falling as rain instead of
snow. Scientific research has shown that human-caused climate
change is pushing average snow lines higher in the mountains
and changing the timing of runoff.
Landowners and farmers in the Tule and Tulare Lake subbasins
can now log onto the state’s groundwater reporting system
ahead of the May 1 deadline. The state Water
Resources Control Board announced that its groundwater
extraction annual reporting system, or GEARS, is open for
pumpers to begin reporting how much they pump and paying fees.
Pumpers are required to meter their wells, pay $300 per well to
register then with the state and pay $20 per acre foot of
groundwater pumped. … This is all part of the region’s
probationary designation for lacking an adequate groundwater
plan.
Arizona state lawmakers tend to vote in lockstep with their
party on water issues, but when it comes to proposed Colorado
River cuts, they may break ranks. Republicans hold majorities
in the state House and Senate. Members of each party usually
vote in blocs, but that seems likely to change. Arizona is in
the midst of Colorado River negotiations and will likely take a
serious water cut. Unlike other states in the Colorado River
Basin, the plan will need to be approved by Arizona’s 90 state
lawmakers. But some legislative districts will be hit much
harder than others. … For the time being, all Arizona
lawmakers are united in advocating for the best deal for the
state.
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.
The most recent version of the Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when
the Colorado River broke
through a series of dikes and flooded the seabed for two years,
creating California’s largest inland body of water. The
Salton Sea, which is saltier than the Pacific Ocean, includes 130
miles of shoreline and is larger than Lake Tahoe.
Drought—an extended period of
limited or no precipitation—is a fact of life in California and
the West, with water resources following boom-and-bust patterns.
During California’s 2012–2016 drought, much of the state
experienced severe drought conditions: significantly less
precipitation and snowpack, reduced streamflow and higher
temperatures. Those same conditions reappeared early in 2021
prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom in May to declare drought emergencies
in watersheds across 41 counties in California.
