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Water articles on key water topics and more!
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Executive Director Jennifer Bowles
stressed the importance of impartiality — a value she has
embraced throughout her journalism career — in explaining
the Water Education Foundation’s role as a source of water news
and information in California and the West during a podcast
interview published last week.
During the
Talk+Water podcast by the Texas + Water newsletter, Bowles talked about
serving as executive editor of the Foundation’s flagship
publication, Western Water, whose
most recent article explored how private capital is speeding
up forest restoration in the Sierra Nevada that could benefit
water quality and supplies.
Get an up-close look at some of
California’s key water reservoirs and learn about farming
operations, salmon habitat restoration, flood management and
wetlands on our Northern California Water Tour Oct. 2-4.
Each year, participants on the tour enjoy three days exploring
the Sacramento Valley during the temperate fall. Join us as we
travel through a scenic landscape along the Sacramento and
Feather rivers to learn about issues associated with storing
and delivering the state’s water supply.
World Water Week runs through
Friday, Aug. 30, and to mark the occasion the Foundation is
offering a special 30 percent discount on our beautiful
poster-size maps, layperson’s guides and other water
publications.
Use the promo code WORLDWATER19 when checking
out of our online store.
Our new Edge of Drought Tour Aug.
27-29 highlights the connection between the Santa Barbara
region’s distinctive hydrology and the lurking threat of drought
from persistent water scarcity with an up-close look at water
projects and programs across the southern Central
Coast. With the next California drought around the corner,
the variety of efforts underway to enhance the area’s limited
local water resources have potential applications across the
state.
The Santa Barbara region’s recovery
from drought often has lagged behind much of the rest of
California due to the nature of its watershed. But a variety of
efforts are underway to enhance the region’s limited local water
resources.
Our new Edge of Drought
Tour Aug. 27-29 explores the connection between the area’s
distinctive hydrology and the lurking threat of drought and
persistent water scarcity with an up-close look at water projects
and programs across the southern Central Coast.
Our event calendar is an excellent
resource for keeping up with water events in California and the
West.
Groundwater is top of mind for many water managers as they
prepare to meet next January’s deadline for submitting
sustainability plans required under California’s Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act. We have several upcoming featured
events listed on our calendar that focus on a variety of relevant
groundwater topics:
Ranchers and conservationists in the
headwaters of the Colorado River decided that to get something
done to benefit the ranches, the fish and the river, they needed
to work together. Their partnership, which could serve as a
template for similar regions across the West, is the focus of
a new article in our flagship publication, Western
Water.
The article by the Foundation’s team of veteran journalists
explores what drove the need to act, how the partnership came
together and some of the projects undertaken to improve
irrigation for ranchers and habitat for fish.
A planned indirect potable reuse
project in Carpinteria that will inject highly treated wastewater
into the local groundwater basin is just one of several drought
resiliency efforts examined as we trek across the water-scarce
Santa Barbara region on our Edge of Drought Tour Aug.
27-29.
Construction of the project, called the Carpinteria Advanced
Purification Project, is expected to begin in 2021. It is
currently undergoing engineering design and environmental
review.
New to the Foundation’s water tours
this year, our Edge of
Drought Tour Aug. 27-29 will journey through the
Santa Barbara area to examine the portfolio approach being taken
to the challenges of limited surface and groundwater supplies by
several local agencies as they work to build drought resilience
for the future.
Solutions such as ocean and brackish water desalination, advanced
purification and groundwater injection and pervious concrete
retrofitting for groundwater recharge will be explored, as
well as cloud seeding and atmospheric river research.
Understanding how atmospheric rivers
affect the location, duration and intensity of storms could help
managers in the water-short Santa Barbara area make better
decisions about operations. Some are even using cloud seeding to
increase precipitation in the region’s watershed.
During our Edge of Drought
Tour Aug. 27-29, we’ll visit an atmospheric river observatory
in Santa Barbara that specifically monitors the meteorological
phenomenon and also visit Lopez Lake to hear from the County of
San Luis Obispo on their cloud seeding efforts.
Registration opens today for the
Water Education Foundation’s 36th annual Water
Summit, set for Oct. 30 in Sacramento. This year’s
theme, Water Year 2020: A Year of Reckoning,
reflects fast-approaching deadlines for the State Groundwater
Management Act as well as the pressing need for new approaches to
water management as California and the West weather intensified
flooding, fire and drought. To register for this can’t-miss
event, visit our Water Summit
event page.
Registration includes a full day of discussions by leading
stakeholders and policymakers on key issues, as well as coffee,
materials, gourmet lunch and an outdoor reception by the
Sacramento River that will offer the opportunity to network with
speakers and other attendees. The summit also features a silent
auction to benefit our Water Leaders program featuring
items up for bid such as kayaking trips, hotel stays and lunches
with key people in the water world.
In the weekly sprint through work,
it’s easy to miss some interesting nuggets on water resource
issues in California and the West that you might want to read.
Despite Santa Barbara County’s
decision to lift a drought emergency declaration after this
winter’s storms replenished local reservoirs, the region’s
recovery often has lagged behind much of the rest of California
due to the nature of its watershed.
Our new Edge of Drought
Tour Aug. 27-29 explores this connection between the area’s
distinctive hydrology and the lurking threat of drought with an
up-close look at water projects and programs across the southern
Central Coast.
New to this year’s slate of water
tours, our Edge of
Drought Tour Aug. 27-29 will venture into the Santa
Barbara area to learn about the challenges of limited local
surface and groundwater supplies and the solutions being
implemented to address them.
Despite Santa Barbara County’s decision to lift a drought
emergency declaration after this winter’s storms replenished
local reservoirs, the region’s hydrologic recovery often has
lagged behind much of the rest of the state.
Our 36th annual
Water Summit,
happening Oct. 30 in Sacramento, will feature the theme “Water
Year 2020: A Year of Reckoning,” reflecting upcoming regulatory
deadlines and efforts to improve water management and policy in
the face of natural disasters.
The Summit will feature top policymakers and leading stakeholders
providing the latest information and a variety of viewpoints on
issues affecting water across California and the West.
Today is Summer Solstice, and
to celebrate the longest day of the year we’re offering a
special 25% discount on our beautiful
poster-size water maps, Layperson’s Guides and other water
education materials.
Don’t miss out! This summer sale runs until midnight tonight
(Friday). Use the promo code SOLSTICE2019 at
checkout to get your discount.
Our Headwaters Tour next week will
feature a new route, new stops and some new speakers who will
provide a fresh look at the Sierra Nevada watershed so vital to
California’s water supply.
Only a few seats are left for the June 27-28 tour and
registration ends soon, so
sign up here to ensure your spot!
Summer Solstice happens
Friday, and to celebrate the longest day of the
year we’re offering a special 25% discount
on our beautiful poster-size water
maps, layperson’s guides and
other water education materials.
Don’t miss out! This summer sale runs until midnight Friday. Use
the promo code SOLSTICE2019 at checkout to get
your discount.
Californians have been doing an
exceptional job reducing their indoor water use, helping the
state survive the most recent drought. With more droughts
inevitable, Californians are likely to face even greater calls to
save water in the future.
However, less water used in the home for clothes washing and
toilet flushing means less water flowing out and pushing waste
through the sewers. That has created
a host of complications (including stinking neighborhoods and
damaged treatment equipment), some of which add to the cost of
treating wastewater. It also means less recycled water for such
things as irrigating parks, replenishing groundwater or keeping
rivers vibrant for fish and wildlife.
