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.
Some people in California and across the West struggle to access
safe, reliable and affordable water to meet their everyday needs
for drinking, cooking and sanitation.
There are many ways to support our nonprofit mission by donating
in someone’s honor or memory, 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.
Only a few seats are left on the
bus for our Northern California
Tour on Oct. 16-18 that explores the Sacramento
Valley from Sacramento to Redding with visits to Oroville and
Shasta dams!
Don’t miss this scenic journey through riparian woodland, rice
fields, nut orchards and wildlife refuges while learning
from experts about the history of the Sacramento River.
Grab your
ticket here before they’re gone!
Visit Shasta & Oroville Dams; Learn about Park Fire Impacts
Firsthand during NorCal Tour
Only a few seats are left on the
bus for our Northern California
Tour October 16-18 that journeys across the
Sacramento Valley from Sacramento to Redding with visits to
Oroville and Shasta dams!
Don’t miss this scenic journey through riparian woodland, rice
fields, nut orchards and wildlife refuges while learning
from experts about the history of the Sacramento River.
Grab your
ticket here before they’re gone!
Over the last month, salmon have gathered in clear pools in the
Salmon River as they have returned to their spawning grounds.
This undammed river, a tributary of the Klamath River near the
California-Oregon border, is one of the last remaining
strongholds of a type of salmon that is increasingly at risk of
extinction: spring-run chinook. The salmon population here has
sharply declined in the last decade. But the recent removal of
four dams on the Klamath is bringing new hope among biologists,
environmental activists and Indigenous leaders that the fish
could begin to recover. … Biologists expect that with
the dams now removed and the Klamath flowing freely, all types
of native fish will benefit …
Monday marked the end of the Imperial Irrigation District’s
49-day Deficit Irrigation Program. Since the Imperial
Irrigation District approved and implemented this
additional water conservation program – expected to yield
170,000 acre-feet of water this year (and as much as
500,000 AF over the next two years) – the Salton Sea’s rate of
decline increased 50% relative to the recent average rate,
exposing thousands of additional acres of lakebed, Pacific
Institute and Alianza Coachella Valley said in a joint press
release. … Since August 12, 2024, the surface elevation
of the Salton Sea has fallen by about 10 inches and the Sea has
shrunk by about 3,500 acres, exposing even more dust-emitting
playa, degrading the health of the surrounding communities.
The pipes are in, the filters are primed and the water is
almost ready to flow at the Soquel Creek Water District’s Pure
Water Soquel facility in Live Oak. Although the faucets won’t
be turned on until early next year, the new facility’s nearly
three-year construction effort was capped off Thursday at a
ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by district officials and
featuring keynote addresses from a slough of regional, state
and federal dignitaries. A decade in the making, the roughly
$180 million facility is an integral part of the district’s
effort to bring the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin–the
sole freshwater resource for its 40,600 customers–into
sustainability by 2040.
Our 40ᵗʰ annual Water
Summit, an engaging day of discussions addressing
critical water issues in California and across the West, will
be held on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Sacramento with the
theme, Reflecting on Silver Linings in Western
Water. Speakers and conversations will highlight
the promising advances in managing the West’s most precious
natural resource. Karla Nemeth, director
of California’s Department of Water Resources, will kick off
the day with an opening keynote. See how our speaker list
is growing and how you can register
here.
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.
