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.
The biennial program, which will run from March to September
next year, selects about a dozen rising
stars from the seven states that rely on the river
– California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New
Mexico – Mexico and tribal nations.
The seven-month program is designed for working professionals who
explore issues surrounding the iconic Southwest
river, deepen their water knowledge, and build leadership
and collaborative skills.
Listen to
a recording of our virtual Q&A session
where executive director Jenn Bowles and other Foundation staff
provided an overview on the program and tips on applying.
Registration for our first water tour of 2026 along the lower
Colorado River is now open and the bus will fill up quickly! You
can also find more information below on next year’s programming
calendar packed with engaging tours, workshops and conferences.
And don’t forget that current Foundation member organizations
receive access to coveted sponsorship options for our
tours and events, which are all prime networking
opportunities for the water professionals in attendance! Contact
Nick Gray for more information.
Lower Colorado River Tour | March 11-13
Be sure to catch the return of our
annual Lower Colorado
River Tour as we take you from Hoover Dam to
the U.S.-Mexico border and through the Imperial and
Coachella valleys to learn about the challenges and opportunities
facing the “Lifeline of the Southwest.”
Following the river as it winds through Nevada, Arizona and
California, the tour explores infrastructure, farming
regions, wildlife refuges and the Salton Sea. Experts discuss
river issues, such as water needs, drought management, endangered
species and habitat restoration.
In anticipation of high demand, space is limited to two
tickets per organization so reserve your spot soon while
tickets last. Get more tour
details and register here!
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Friday released a sweeping
report outlining five alternatives for managing the Colorado
River after current rules expire in 2026. The 1,600-page report
marks a pivotal moment in negotiations among seven states, 30
tribal nations, Mexico, and a host of stakeholders who rely on
the river’s dwindling supply. … California, which draws
4.4 million acre-feet annually from the Colorado River, faces
potential cuts of up to 3.9 million acre-feet per year under
some scenarios, according to the Bureau’s analysis. That could
hit Southern California cities and Imperial Valley agriculture
hardest.
It’s a rare site to see the U.S. Drought Monitor Map show
California without a drought, or even abnormally dry
conditions. That hasn’t happened for a
quarter-century. … State Climatologist Michael
Anderson said the state doesn’t use the U.S. Drought Monitor as
an “indicator, and it’s not an official drought-free
declaration.” … “As we’ve seen in past years,
California can go quickly from wet to dry conditions, and we
are expecting dry conditions to return through the rest of
January. This will have an impact on statewide rain and
snowfall averages, which are expected to decrease,” Anderson
said.
The world’s oceans absorbed more heat in 2025 than any year on
record, providing the fuel for extreme weather
that killed thousands of people across the globe, according to
researchers of a study published Friday in Advances in
Atmospheric Sciences. … Record-breaking rainfall
highlighted what scientists call “the escalating risks
associated with rapidly intensifying storm systems in a warming
climate.” These disasters are connected to warming oceans in a
direct way. Warmer water means more evaporation, which puts
more moisture into the air. When storms form over these
supercharged oceans, they carry that extra water and dump it as
extreme rainfall.
… With its 70 miles of coastline and 40 miles of bay shore,
Marin is one of the counties most vulnerable to sea
level rise in the Bay Area. … It will cost an
estimated $17 billion to protect Marin County from the 2 feet
of sea level rise expected toward the end of the century,
according to a recent study, and federal grants for climate
change projects have disappeared. The county has to balance
both long-term and immediate needs that are increasingly
overlapping, such as $25 million to fix an aging
levee in San Rafael that was damaged during the recent
flooding.
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.
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.
