Our California Water Map, recently updated, is one of our most popular products. We also offer magazines, documentaries, posters, layperson guides and more. Our catalog offers a wide array of resources to help you understand the complex issues of water in California and the Southwest.
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California’s groundwater is a great natural resource and has contributed to the state becoming the nation’s top agricultural producer and a leader in high-tech industries. Groundwater is an asset that is increasingly relied upon by municipalities, industry and agriculture and it will play an important role in the future sustainability of California’s overall water supply.
In the universe of California water, Tim Quinn is a professor emeritus. Quinn has seen — and been a key player in — a lot of major California water issues since he began his water career 40 years ago as a young economist with the Rand Corporation, then later as deputy general manager with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and finally as executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. In December, the 66-year-old will retire from ACWA.
Forecasters are usually on the mark when predicting what tomorrow’s weather will bring. But can we ever get accurate precipitation forecasts — critical for managing water supplies — weeks to months in advance?
At Water Year 2019: Feast or Famine, a one-day workshop Dec. 5 in Irvine, scientists from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Western Regional Climate Center and the California Department of Water Resources will offer insights into the latest research on improving long-range weather forecasting and what it means for water management.
Colorado River water managers have plenty to argue about. But there’s one thing on which nearly everyone who relies on the southwestern river can agree. The foundational document that divvies up the water — the Colorado River Compact — has some big flaws. Discussion on how to fix the compact’s problems is where that consensus breaks down, often with the invocation of one word: renegotiation.
Forecasters say rain might arrive by Thanksgiving to clear away the smoke and mercifully reduce fire danger. But the optimism is tempered by a grim reality. … California has warmed roughly 3 degrees Fahrenheit since 1980 during the autumn months of September, October and November. Rainfall in those months has fallen by about one-third over the same time.
There wasn’t a flake of real snow anywhere in the Sierra, but that didn’t matter to Andy Melendes, who was first in line Friday for opening day at the Alpine Meadows ski resort. … Forecasters say the dry weather, which has increased the fire danger across California, is likely to end Wednesday, but the snowfall next week is not likely to make up for the lack of precipitation this fall.
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR LOWER COLORADO RIVER AND CENTRAL VALLEY TOURS; NEW TOUR OF CENTRAL COAST ADDED
Our slate of water tours for 2019 will include a new tour along the Central Coast to view a river where a dam was removed, check out efforts to desalt ocean water, recycle wastewater and manage groundwater and seawater intrusion. We’ll also take a new route for our Headwaters Tour to check out a pilot project for thinning the forest in the Yuba River Watershed.
Wetlands are among the most important ecosystems in the world. They produce high levels of oxygen, filter toxic chemicals out of water, reduce flooding and erosion, recharge groundwater and provide a diverse range of recreational opportunities from fishing and hunting to photography. They also serve as critical habitat for wildlife, including a large percentage of plants and animals on California’s endangered species list.
As part of the historic Colorado River Delta, the Salton Sea regularly filled and dried for thousands of years due to its elevation of 232 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 drought occurs with much greater frequency in the West than in any other regions of the country.
