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.
There is no need to wait to show
your love for the Water Education Foundation! You can donate
early to our Big Day of Giving campaign and help us reach
our fundraising goal of $10,000 by May 7.
Big Day of Giving is a 24-hour online fundraising marathon
for nonprofits. Donations will benefit our programs and
publications centering on the most precious natural
resource in California and across the
West.
Mark your calendars now for our upcoming fall 2026
programs! Registration will open soon, so make sure
you’re among the first to hear by signing up for Foundation announcements!
Water Summit | October 29
Don’t miss the Water Education
Foundation’s 42ⁿᵈ annual Water
Summit in downtown Sacramento! Our premier event of
the year features leading policymakers and experts addressing
critical water issues in California and across the West.
The cities of Phoenix and Tucson are setting up a new system
for sharing water among cities, towns and other water users in
Arizona. City officials are framing it as a way to help keep
cities around the state from going dry in the face of a
shrinking Colorado River. The program, which will be called the
“Secure Water Arizona Program” or “SWAP” will create an
emergency reserve of water and connect cities that are
interested in buying and selling water from other cities and
businesses. … SWAP is designed to be a completely
voluntary program that can help cities and towns facing water
cutbacks.
Members of the House Natural Resources Committee debated
Wednesday whether to give local water contractors input into
Endangered Species Act reviews, as shrinking water supplies
across the West increasingly put agricultural and environmental
needs at odds. The Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and
Fisheries reviewed H.R.8259, the “Federal Water Projects
Consultation Improvement Act,” which would require federal
agencies to involve local contractors during ESA biological
assessments, which can dictate when and how much water flows.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.), focuses on
the Bureau of Reclamation which operates across 17 western
states. That includes the Klamath Basinin Oregon [and California], where Reclamation
is rewriting the endangered species rules that govern its dams
and pumps.
Summer 2026 is expected to bring a volatile mix of heat, severe
thunderstorms and flooding to the United States, with El Niño
developing and flexing its influence on the weather pattern.
… Flooding can also be a concern in the
Southwest and southern Rockies when the North American monsoon
ramps up and tropical moisture surges northward. … While
flooding is a concern in some parts of the country,
drought is expected to worsen in others.
Drought conditions are likely to expand across the Northwest
and Northern California. … Moisture
could start to arrive near the end of June, which is slightly
earlier than normal. That may bring some welcome relief to the
Southwest after a hot, dry start to the summer.
San Luis Obispo County is investigating the potential for
building a desalination facility as a new drinking water
source. As weather patterns change and the length of droughts
increase due to climate change, the county is interested in
pursuing a drinking water source that doesn’t rely on
rainfall. … The San Luis Obispo County Flood
Control and Water Conservation District launched an almost $1.2
million feasibility study to evaluate where a desalination
facility could be located, how it could be funded and what
communities could use the water, San Luis Obispo Public Works
Department resource management group deputy director Courtney
Howard said.
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.
