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Announcement

Atmospheric River Scientist Marty Ralph to Give Latest Insight on Climate Whiplash & Impacts at Water 101 Workshop
Go Beyond the Headlines & Gain a Deeper Understanding of Water at April 10 Workshop & Join Central Valley Tour in April

Image shows Marty Ralph, Director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography.Learn the importance of atmospheric rivers to California’s hydrology and the impacts of climate whiplash during a session at our Water 101 Workshop led by Marty Ralph, director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes.

The workshop, April 10 in Sacramento, is among the events, tours and publications the Water Education Foundation offers to help you get beyond the stream of recent national headlines and better understand how water is managed and moved across the Golden State:

Announcement

Go Beyond the Headlines to Gain a Deeper Understanding of Water in California
April Events Include Water 101 Workshop & Central Valley Tour

Photo of tour participants standing on top of Terminus Dam near VisaliaGo beyond the recent headlines and gain a deeper understanding of how water flows across California during our Water 101 Workshop on April 10. If you join our Central Valley Tour happening April 23-25, you can stand atop Terminus Dam where the federal government released water from Lake Kaweah in late January.

The Water Education Foundation, which celebrated its 48th birthday this week, is proud to be the only organization in California providing comprehensive, unbiased information about the most critical resource across the West. We provide myriad resources to help put issues in context and to inspire a deep understanding of and appreciation for water, including educational materials, tours of key watersheds, water news, water leadership training and events that bring together diverse voices.

Water News You Need to Know

Aquafornia news E&E News by Politico

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: Push to close dam safety center spurs backlash

… The administration is considering terminating the lease on the Army Corps of Engineers’ Risk Management Center, which current and former employees say is integral to oversight of hundreds of dams and thousands of miles of levees nationwide. … The uncertain future facing the Risk Management Center comes as the Trump administration has fired employees at other agencies — like the Bureau of Reclamation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — also integral to dam safety. Now, some dam safety experts worry the public will be at greater risk of flooding and other potentially life-threatening situations given the current trajectory.

Other federal water and public resource agency news:

Aquafornia news The New York Times

Trump administration aims to eliminate E.P.A.’s scientific research arm

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research arm, firing as many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists, according to documents reviewed by Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. The strategy is part of large-scale layoffs, known as a “reduction in force,” being planned by the Trump administration, which is intent on shrinking the federal work force. Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the E.P.A., has said he wants to eliminate 65 percent of the agency’s budget. That would be a drastic reduction — one that experts said could hamper clean water and wastewater improvements, air quality monitoring, the cleanup of toxic industrial sites, and other parts of the agency’s mission.

Other EPA news:

Aquafornia news ABC30 (Fresno, Calif.)

Recent storms spark talk of ‘Miracle March’ in Central California

The recent rain and snow are much needed for Central California’s water supply. The latest set of storms is already sparking talk of a “Miracle March.” “January was a really dry month. It was really a bust for the amount of water we got, very little snowpack,” said Steven Haugen, watermaster for the Kings River Water Association. Haugen is paying close attention to Central California’s snowpack, which he called our biggest reservoir, holding more than a million acre-feet of water. Our actual reservoirs are almost all at or above historical averages, except nearby Millerton and to the south, Castaic. Both are just below their average levels for this time of year.

Other snowpack and water supply news:

Aquafornia news KUER (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Utah approves plan to pay farmers to leave water in the Colorado River

Utah is launching a plan to pay farmers to leave some of their irrigation water in the Colorado River system. The Colorado River Authority of Utah board has approved the first round of applicants for the state’s new Demand Management Pilot Program. It includes more than a dozen projects along Colorado River tributaries in eastern and southeastern Utah. The program will use up to $4.2 million of state money to compensate farmers who temporarily forgo using some of their water in 2025 and 2026. … Utah leaders hope quantifying the water those projects save will help the state avoid mandatory cutbacks as it looks toward a renegotiated Colorado River agreement in 2026.

Other Colorado River news:

Online Water Encyclopedia

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 oxygen levels, 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.