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.
We are gearing up for an engaging Water Summit on Oct. 29 and
also prepping our 2027 California Water Leaders program. Join a
virtual Q&A on our Water Leaders program on Nov. 10. Details
below.
Water Summit | October 29
Our 42ⁿᵈ
annual Water Summit is the Foundation’s
premier event of the year and returns to Sacramento October 29
with leading policymakers and experts addressing critical water
issues in California and across the West. Capacity is
limited and filling up quickly, so register here while
seats are available!
Conversations during the Summit will revolve around this year’s
theme, Stewarding a New Era in Western
Water, with a focus on emerging topics related to
the challenges and opportunities facing water resource
management.
The mandate to identify 9 million acre-feet of
additional water supply in California by 2040
The need for clarity in the ongoing AI/data center
discourse related to water resources management
The latest developments in desalination
efforts and their implications for the arid West
Our 42ⁿᵈ annual Water
Summit, an engaging day of discussions addressing
critical water issues in California and across the West, will be
held on Thursday, Oct. 29, in Sacramento with the theme,
Stewarding a New Era in Western Water.
Speakers and conversations will highlight emerging topics related
to the challenges and opportunities facing management of the
West’s most precious natural resource.
Lively conversations will focus on topics such
as:
The mandate to identify 9 million acre-feet of additional
water supply in California by 2040
The need for clarity in the ongoing AI/data center discourse
related to water resources management
The latest developments in desalination efforts and their
implications for the arid West
A full agenda will be posted soon, and speakers
include:
Joel Metzger | Deputy Director, Statewide
Water Resources Planning, California Department of Water
Resources
Sandi Matsumoto | California Water Program
Director, The Nature Conservancy
Cannon Michael | President, Bowles
Farming
Craig Miller | General Manager, Western
Municipal Water District
Dave Pederson | General Manager, Las Virgenes
Municipal Water District
As previously announced,
the day will open with a keynote address from Tom
Gibson, the new director of California’s Department of
Water Resources. An attorney who has held several roles in
the state’s Natural Resources Agency and its various departments,
Gibson was appointed by Gov. Newsom on June 29 and sworn in on
July 6 to lead DWR and its nearly 4,000 employees.
The Scott River, which flows out of mountain
forests into a broad valley near the California-Oregon border,
provides vital habitat for salmon that swim
upstream from the ocean to spawn in the fall and winter. But
this year, portions of the river have been transformed into
stretches of dry sand and gravel, while
farmers have kept hayfields green by running their wells and
pumps. Environmental advocates are accusing regulators
at the State Water Resources Control Board of failing to do
enough to prevent the river from running dry. …
[C]ritics say the state should have ordered farmers to cut
groundwater pumping more drastically this year to save water in
the river. Farmers disagree, saying drought and other
factors are primarily to blame.
New rules for the Colorado River officially go into effect on
Thursday, but they won’t bring changes to Arizona’s water quite
yet. … Federal rules for the Colorado River and its major
reservoirs typically run on a different calendar than the rest
of the world. … So, starting Thursday, a
controversial federal plan will start changing the amount of
water sent from Lake Powell downstream to Lake Mead.
However, the amount of water delivered from Lake Mead to people
farther downstream — like cities in the Phoenix
area and huge farm districts in
California — is managed in line with the normal
calendar, from Jan. 1 to Jan. 1. So even though the amount of
water flowing into Lake Mead will be different this week,
the amount of water flowing out of it won’t change
until the beginning of 2027.
The California Supreme Court hearing on Kern River flows has
been changed from Redding to the justices’ home court in San
Francisco, according to the court’s website. The
hearing will still be held Oct. 7 at 9 a.m. The
California Attorney General’s office and Department of Fish and
Wildlife also accepted an offer from the Supreme Court
to make their own arguments in support of the
plaintiffs, Bring Back the Kern and Water Audit
California. This case has generated significant interest as
it hinges on a key statute used in numerous
conservation cases, California Fish and Game Code
5937.
Well, it’s official: we’re already observing the
strongest El Niño on record. … This Super El Niño
will no doubt significantly impact the Southwestern US
this winter, with effects from record-high sea levels
and coastal erosion to the potential for excessive
rainfall and consequent flash flooding throughout the
southern half of the country. And remember, what happens in the
ocean doesn’t stay in the ocean: we’re seeing this El Niño
impact weather patterns around the world, modifying
where precipitation—and lack thereof—occurs,
as I’ll discuss below.
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.
No portion of the West has been immune to drought during the last
century and it occurs with much greater frequency in the West
than in any other region of the country.
