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.
Learn more about our team in the office and on the Board of
Directors and how you can support our nonprofit mission by
donating in someone’s honor or memory, or becoming a regular
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.
Are you an
up-and-coming leader in the water world? The application
window is now open for our 2026 California Water
Leaders cohort, and submissions are due no later than Dec.
3, 2025.
If interested in applying, start by checking out the
program
requirementsand look at the
frequently asked questions and mandatory
dates on
the application page. Make sure you have the time to
commit to the program next year and approval from your
organization to apply.
Then sign
up here to join a virtual Q&A
session on Nov. 5 at noon with Jenn Bowles,
our executive director, and other Foundation team members to get
an overview of the program and advice on applying.
Only a few seats are left on the
bus for our Northern California
Tour on Oct. 22-24 that journeys across the
Sacramento Valley from Sacramento to Redding with visits to
Oroville and Shasta dams!
One of our most popular tours, it will not be offered in
2026 so don’t miss this opportunity for a scenic journey
through riparian woodland, rice fields, nut orchards
and wildlife refuges while learning from experts about the
history of the Sacramento River and issues associated with a
key source for the state’s water supply. Other stops include Red
Bluff Fish Passage Improvement Project, rice farms, Battle Creek,
Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District and Sacramento National Wildlife
Refuge. Only a handful of tickets are left, soclaim your
seat on the bus here!
The U.S. Department of the Interior has pulled more than $2
million in federal grants for restoration work in the Mid
Klamath Basin. The $2.1 million would have funded seven
projects along the Klamath River in Northern California. The
Mid Klamath Watershed Council said the work included wildfire
prevention, habitat restoration, and surveys of Chinook salmon.
… The Interior Department told the council in late
September that the grants no longer align with U.S. Fish and
Wildlife priorities.
October is typically the peak of Southern California’s fire
season, when Santa Ana winds paired with dry conditions after
summer allow flames to explode into major brush fires. But this
year, the region was hit by an early atmospheric river rain
storm that left the landscape drenched. And that could be good
news on the fire front — at least for a while. The storm,
classified as a weak, or Level 1, atmospheric river brought
enough moisture to Southern California’s drought-stricken
landscape to delay fire season for weeks, if not months.
California’s largest drinking water supplier named Shivaji
Deshmukh as its new general manager Tuesday, seeking to move
past turmoil at the top in time for major decisions on water
supply and costs. … The 38-member board had
preliminarily selected Deshmukh last month, as POLITICO
reported, but only formally appointed him Tuesday after
negotiating his contract. … The move comes after years of
instability at the top of the state’s — and the country’s —
largest supplier of drinking water. In January, the board voted
to fire General Manager Adel Hagekhalil, following an
investigation into claims of harassment. Hagekhalil was only
narrowly voted in by the board in 2021.
The Nature Conservancy analyzed data from more than 6,000 wells
across Nevada and found that nearly 4 in 10 are losing water,
threatening springs, wetlands, and wildlife habitats.
Researchers point to groundwater pumping as the main culprit,
whether the water is pumped for farms, cities or industry. But
climate change, rapid development, and population growth are
compounding the strain. … The report outlines several
strategies that could help stabilize groundwater levels and
provide a roadmap for neighboring Mountain West states.
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.
