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.
Are you an emerging leader ready to
make a greater impact on California water policy and management?
Applications are now being accepted for the Water Education
Foundation’s 2027
California Water Leaders cohort, with submissions
due Dec. 3.
Designed for rising professionals in California’s water
community, the program offers participants an unparalleled
opportunity to deepen their understanding of water issues, expand
their professional network and develop leadership skills
alongside a cohort of peers from across the state.
Visit the
application page, paying close attention
to frequently asked questions and mandatory
program dates to ensure you can fully
participate.
Confirm that you have your organization’s support and can
commit the time necessary to partipating in the program.
Interested in learning more? Join our executive director, Jenn
Bowles, and other members of the Foundation team for
a virtual Q&A session at 12:30 p.m. on Nov.
10. We’ll provide an overview of the program and
share tips for submitting a strong application. Sign up here.
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!
For all the concerns about a historic El Niño fueling epic
storms striking California this winter, there is still
a surprising amount of debate among experts about how
bad it will actually be. Scientists are highly
confident about the risk of coastal seawater flooding and beach
erosion — fueled by rising sea levels and strong surf — with
king tides coming around Thanksgiving, Christmas and Martin
Luther King Jr. Day. But when it comes to predicting
the power of winter storms, there is far less
consensus. … On Thursday, the National
Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said that El Niño
is continuing to strengthen, with temperatures continuing to
increase on the sea surface. There is virtually a 100% chance
that this El Niño will be classified as “very strong.” …
Some experts caution that very strong El Niños aren’t a
100% bet on massive floods for California.
Major reforms to Arizona’s groundwater management are likely
now that Democrats have won control of the Legislature. Senate
President-Elect Priya Sundareshan proposed a massive overhaul
of Arizona’s rules on groundwater management in January 2025,
but the legislation died without even getting a committee
hearing. The Rural Groundwater Management Act
would have allowed rural communities to create their own water
management programs and set conservation goals –
shutting down what Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office described as a
“free-for-all in rural Arizona on unprotected, vulnerable
groundwater aquifers.” Sundareshan and state Rep. Chris Mathis
worked with local leaders in rural Arizona on the legislation.
Now, with a second term for Hobbs and Democratic majorities in
both chambers starting in January, Sundareshan will
have another chance.
Ignoring overwhelming community opposition, a dire
warning of “catastrophic risk” by a key state agency
and the likelihood of litigation, the Republican majority on
Fresno County’s highest elected body greenlit an
unprecedented hard-rock mine near California’s second-longest
river. Following a special meeting that lasted nearly
5 hours, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Thursday
gave multi-national mining company CEMEX its thumbs-up
to blast and drill a 300-foot-deep pit 3.5 miles
outside the Fresno city limits for the next 63 years.
The company already mines near the San Joaquin
River using traditional alluvial methods.
… Julie Vance, Central Region manager for the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife, raised concerns about
land ownership, water rights and potential impacts to both
salmon restoration and nesting birds.
… [T]he Salton Sea also sits atop one of the world’s
largest reserves of geothermal energy. The
super-heated brine thousands of feet beneath the lakebed
contains critical minerals such as battery-grade
lithium, earning it the nickname “Lithium Valley.”
Three major development projects to extract geothermal power
and lithium in the area are currently moving from proposals to
active construction, with full-scale production targeted in the
coming years. A proposed permitting reform
bill may soon fast track that development.The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs
Act aims to streamline both clean energy and
fossil fuel projects by cutting red tape. … As
votes to open the bill for debate echoed through the Senate
chamber on Nov. 9, the policy deliberation over legal
hurdles and permit timelines gave way to a much simpler reality
back in California’s Imperial Valley. For those living around
the drying Salton Sea, the potential passage of the Senate bill
signals a fundamental shift in who bears the risk of America’s
energy transition.
Other Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act news:
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.
