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Upcoming Workshops, Tours and International Conference to Focus on Groundwater
Mark National Groundwater Awareness Week by Signing Up for an Event or Tour to Deepen Your Understanding

With National Groundwater Awareness Week approaching and 2024 marking the 10ᵗʰ anniversary of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in California, these Water Education Foundation tours and events will help you gain a deeper understanding of groundwater fundamentals and the work being done to bring aquifers into balance. Seating is limited and tickets are going fast!

Announcement

Virtually Explore the Delta; Remembering Bob Johnson; Grab a Spot While They Last for Upcoming Tours & Events
Seize a Coveted Sponsorship for Our Tours & Events

Check Out Our Growing Delta Digital Library 

We’ve expanded our digital Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta library. You can now virtually visit the Delta by watching a series of short videos that show its multiple dimensions: a hub of California’s water supply, an agricultural cornucopia, a water playground and a haven for fish and other wildlife.

You can check out the video series here. You can also explore our interactive story map to the Delta.

Water News You Need to Know

Aquafornia news AP News

Monday Top of the Scroll: California proposes delaying rules aimed at reducing water on lawns, concerning environmentalists

California regulators this week proposed delaying new rules aimed at reducing how much water people use on their lawns, drawing praise from agencies that said they needed more time to comply but criticism from environmentalists who warn that the delay would damage the state’s already scarce supply. Last year, California proposed new rules that would, cumulatively, reduce statewide water use by about 14%. Those rules included lowering outdoor water use standards below the current statewide average by 2035. On Tuesday, regulators proposed delaying that timeline by five years, until 2040. The State Water Resources Control Board is scheduled to vote on the rules later this year. The state would not punish people for using too much water on their lawns. 

Related articles: 

Aquafornia news Maven's Notebook

Court upholds State Water Board’s revised flow objectives for the San Joaquin River

The Sacramento Superior Court has ruled in favor of the State Water Board’s 2018 Bay Delta Plan update, denying all 116 claims by petitioners. In December 2018, the State Water Resources Control Plan adopted revised flow objectives for the San Joaquin River and its three major tributaries, the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced rivers. The new flow objectives provide for increased flows on the three tributaries to help revive and protect native fall-run migratory fish populations. The Board also adopted a revised south Delta salinity objectives, increasing the level of salinity allowed from April to August. Several petitions were filed in several counties challenging the Board’s action.  

Related articles: 

Aquafornia news Mercury News

Largest new reservoir project in 50 years in California gains momentum

… A windswept county in the Sacramento Valley — whose entire population of 22,000 people is just one-third of Palo Alto’s — may soon be known for something else: the largest new reservoir anywhere in California in the past 50 years. Last weekend, President Biden signed a package of bills that included $205 million in construction funding for Sites Reservoir, a proposed $4.5 billion project planned for the rolling ranchlands west of the town of Maxwell, about 70 miles north of Sacramento. … The make-or-break moment for Sites is a series of hearings scheduled to run from June to November in which the State Water Resources Control Board will analyze fisheries studies and other documents and decide whether to award it the water rights to move forward.

Aquafornia news 8 News - Las Vegas

Better snowpack for Colorado River may fend off ‘whiplash’ of recent years

Snowfall this week in the Rockies has improved the water picture for the Colorado River, but one expert says she’s not counting her chickens before they’re hatched. Current information on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s website shows that snowpack levels in the Upper Colorado River Basin are at 110% of normal for this time of year. That’s an improvement over March 1 when it was at 101%. … important weeks are still ahead, even though the snowpack peak is typically measured on April 1 each year. 

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.

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.