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Seize a Coveted Sponsor Spot for Oct. 30 Water Summit; Claim One of the Few Remaining Seats on October NorCal Tour

Water Summit: Exclusive Sponsorship Opportunities Available

In case you missed the news last week, you can now register for the Water Education Foundation’s 40ᵗʰ annual Water Summit to be held on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Sacramento, with the theme, Reflecting on Silver Linings in Western Water.

Announcement

Registration Now Open for Annual Water Summit
One-day conference on Oct. 30 is the Foundation's premier annual event; Grab one of the last tickets for Northern California Tour

Water Summit: October 30

You can now register for the Water Education Foundation’s 40ᵗʰ annual Water Summit! The one-day conference will feature leading policymakers and experts sharing the latest information and insights on water in California and the West. The event includes lunch and an evening reception for networking with speakers and fellow attendees from a variety of backgrounds.

The Water Summit will be held Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Sacramento, with the theme, Reflecting on Silver Linings in Western Water. Speakers and conversations will focus on the promising advances that have developed from myriad challenges faced in managing the West’s most precious natural resource.

Water News You Need to Know

Aquafornia news San Francisco Chronicle

Friday Top of the Scroll: More than half of California ‘abnormally dry,’ drought experts say

More than half of California is experiencing abnormally dry conditions or worse, according to a new report, as months without precipitation as well as evaporation caused by summer heat waves take their toll. That includes parts of the Central Valley, which are back in abnormally dry conditions for the first time since April 2023, according to the National Weather Service’s Hanford branch. … Abnormally dry conditions are not formally classified as drought, though they are a precursor. Eight percent of California — particularly in Modoc and Lassen counties in the north and San Bernardino in the south — is experiencing moderate drought, the mildest drought classification.

Related drought and heat articles:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

New California water measure aims to crack down on violators

Under California law, anyone caught diverting water in violation of a state order has long been subject to only minimal fines. State legislators have now decided to crack down on violators under a newly approved bill that sharply increases penalties. Assembly Bill 460 was passed by the Legislature last week and is among the water-related measures awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature. Other bills that were approved aim to protect the state’s wetlands and add new safeguards for the water supplies of rural communities.

Aquafornia news Times of San Diego

Proposed bill would expand EPA authority in efforts to curb border sewage

Sen. Alex Padilla joined local elected leaders Thursday to announce a bill intended to consolidate infrastructure projects in two border watersheds, including the Tijuana River. The bill, the Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act of 2024, would place projects along the Tijuana River, as well as the New River in Imperial County, under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency. … Additionally, the bill proposed Thursday would allow the EPA to manage the rivers through a water quality management plan within 180 days of its passing, require creation of a consensus list of projects and give the International Boundary and Water Commission more authority to address stormwater quality.

Related articles:

Aquafornia news Arizona Daily Star

Hedge fund’s $100M Arizona farmland buy stirs water-grab fears

A New York City-based hedge fund spent $100 million to buy farmland and water rights in Western Arizona, stirring concerns about a future “water grab” from that rural area and of corporate control over a major groundwater source. Water Asset Management LLC recently bought 12,793 acres — nearly 20 square miles — in La Paz County’s McMullen Valley Basin, County Assessor Anna Camacho said Friday. The company paid cash for the land, a county record shows. … The purchase may well have been the biggest water deal in Arizona history, Mayes said, adding it happened without a single public comment session being held to examine it.

Related articles:

Online Water Encyclopedia

Aquapedia background Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Map

Wetlands

Sacramento National Wildlife RefugeWetlands are among the world’s most important and hardest-working ecosystems, rivaling rainforests and coral reefs in productivity. 

They produce high levels of oxygen, filter water pollutants, sequester carbon, reduce flooding and erosion and recharge groundwater.

Bay-Delta Tour participants viewing the Bay Model

Bay Model

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.

Aquapedia background Colorado River Basin Map

Salton Sea

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

Lake Oroville shows the effects of drought in 2014.

Drought

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.