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.
Tom Gibson, new director of
California’s Department of Water Resources, will serve as the
keynote speaker for our 42ⁿᵈ annual Water
Summit on Oct. 29.
Guided by this year’s theme, Stewarding a New Era in
Western Water,Gibson and
other leading policymakers and experts will address emerging
topics related to the challenges and opportunities facing water
resource management in California and the West.
Gibson,
an attorney who has held several roles in the state’s Natural
Resources Agency and its various departments, was appointed by
Gov. Newsom on June 29 and sworn in on July 6 to lead DWR and its
nearly 4,000 employees.
Mark your calendars! Registration will be opening soon for two
exciting Water Education Foundation events this fall.
Water Summit | Oct. 29
Join us for our premier event of
the year, bringing together leading policymakers and experts from
all sectors to discuss the most pressing water issues facing
California and the West.
One of the world’s top climate models puts a bull’s-eye on the
California coast as El Niño strengthens, with a greater
than 90% chance of above-normal precipitation from December
through February. There’s at least a 70% chance of
well-above-normal precipitation. That outlook is from the
European Center for Medium-Range Forecasts, which on Wednesday
released its first full supercomputer forecast that includes 51
model simulations of winter. … In California, a
run-of-the-mill storm this winter may be a few degrees warmer
than in a typical year as mild, tropical air is directed toward
the state. That means pushing the snow line up hundreds
of feet higher in the Sierra Nevada.
New big data centers in Tucson must now comply to a host of new
rules and restrictions, after the City Council voted 6-1 on
Wednesday to approve an ordinance governing their construction
and operation. The regulations pay specific attention to noise,
public notice, land use andwater and energy use.
… Large-scale data centers will have to prove
they have access to enough water and energy to make their
projects work. They would also have to disclose the
energy mix, including how much renewable energy the project
would use. Also, the builders of these developments would be
required to follow the city’s rules specifically users of large
amounts of water and noise ordinances. A large-water-use
ordinance is in the works at City Hall.
No silver bullets to eradicate golden mussels were revealed at
a symposium on the invasive species held Wednesday by the Water
Association of Kern County and Kern County Farm Bureau. But
participants got a solid overview of what water districts have
learned so far – what’s worked, what to look out for and how
big the bill is expected to be Agricultural water districts in
Kern have spent about $9 million combined trying to keep
the rapidly reproducing, pipe clogging little mollusks
at bay, according to Stacy Kuwahara, Assistant County
Administrative Officer. She said she expects those
costs to balloon to $36 million a year –
conservatively.
At this point, it’s old news to say that the Colorado
River is in crisis. … But on nearby Lake Havasu,
the water’s not just fine; it’s perfect for an endless
summertime party. … The discord is a side effect of the
complex series of compacts, court decisions, federal laws and
other regulations that guide policy along the Colorado
River. … Because Lake Havasu must maintain a
certain elevation to keep water flowing into the [Colorado
River] aqueduct, which provides water to some of the most
powerful water users in the Colorado River system, the lake’s
surface elevation typically stays between 445 feet and its
maximum of 450 feet. Water is also diverted from the lake for
the Central Arizona Project, which carries river water to
Phoenix and Tucson.
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.
