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.
What role will desalination play in
the arid West? That topic is one of many engaging conversations
that will be explored at our Oct. 29 Water
Summit revolving around this year’s theme,
Stewarding a New Era in Western Water.
Led by Central Arizona Project’s General Manager Brenda Burman,
the panel will discuss all topics worth their
salt - from emerging desalination technologies to the
latest developments in innovative desalination programs to the
regulatory challenges and opportunities that face the region.
The panel of accomplished speakers will provide deep
insight on desalination’s implications for water management
in the West.
The Water Summit is the Foundation’s premier event of
the year and returns to Sacramento on Oct. 29
with leading policymakers and experts addressing critical water
issues in California and across the West. Capacity is
limited and registration closes soon, so grab your ticket
here while they’re still available!
Our 2026Colorado River Water
Leaders cohort completed its seven-month
program recently with policy recommendations to
strengthen ”assigned water” programs across the Colorado
River Basin.
“Assigned water” has become a key tool for conserving Colorado
River water and helping to stabilize Lake Mead to prevent
shortages. Originally developed as “Intentionally Created
Surplus” within the 2007 Interim Guidelines, it gives users the
ability to store conserved water earmarked for their own future
use.
The cohort was tasked with assessing existing assigned water
programs and identifying opportunities across the Colorado River
Basin. Following seven months of learning, collaboration and
discussion with leading Colorado River experts who served as
mentors, the cohort developed recommendations focused on:
Greater transparency in water accounting
Stronger relationships and communication among interested
parties
Arizona has filed to join a lawsuit against the federal
government over its new plan for managing the Colorado River.
The federal plan would cut Colorado River supplies for
Arizona, California and Nevada by about 20% through 2028, and
could cut them by about 40% after that. The lawsuit,
originally filed by Nevada in August, argues that the plan is
too harmful to water users in those states. Arizona
would take the largest cuts under the new federal
plan, and state officials have openly criticized
it. … The lawsuit is not the so-called “nuclear
option” that could bring Colorado River matters before the
Supreme Court. That would likely require one state to sue
another. Arizona has laid out its case to sue if it
determines that upstream states are not sending a
legally-required amount of water downstream, but has
not yet done so.
Following a years-long process that included multiple
workshops, hearings and extensive public input, the State Water
Resources Control Board today released final proposed
amendments to the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta Watershed (Bay-Delta Plan) before considering
the plan for adoption at the end of the month. The proposed
amendments focus on the Sacramento River watershed, Delta
eastside tributaries (including the Calaveras, Cosumnes, and
Mokelumne Rivers), and Delta (referred to as the
Sacramento/Delta). Today’s draft includes
clarifications and minor revisions to the Aug. 18
version that were made based on written comments the
board received during its final written comment period, which
concluded Sept. 18. Oral comments will still be heard before
the board votes whether to adopt the plan at its Oct.
28-29 meeting.
San Diego County on Monday will introduce a former U.S.
diplomat as its first Pollution Crisis Chief, tapping
Bridget Premont to lead its response to the Tijuana
River sewage and pollution crisis as a new study
estimates the crisis could cost the region $7.9 billion over
the next two decades if it is not fixed. Premont will be
introduced at a 1 p.m. news conference at the San Diego County
Administration Center, according to the county.
… According to the county, Premont will coordinate with
federal, state and local agencies to prioritize
planning for local and cross-border infrastructure
upgrades. She will also pursue federal and state
funding, coordinate real-time emergency response when sewage
discharges spike and chair a Sewage Crisis Interdepartmental
Task Force.
A historically strong El Niño is overwhelmingly
predicted to bring a wet winter to California. But new
data suggests the Sierra Nevada snow outlook is more
complicated, and not a guaranteed bonanza. A Chronicle analysis
of three major seasonal forecasting systems points to about
17% less snowfall than normal near Tahoe and Donner
Summit in November and December, followed by roughly
28% more than normal from January through
March. The potential late season boost is even more
pronounced in the Central Sierra, near
Yosemite, where forecast models suggest snowfall
levels nearly 40% above normal from January to
March.
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.
