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Water articles on key water topics and more!
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The Water Education Foundation is gearing up to mark its 40th
anniversary on Oct. 26, 2017 as a widely respected nonprofit that
provides factual information on water issues in California and
across the West.
Starting today, follow us on Twitter or Facebook
as we countdown to our celebration with historical snippets and
photos each Thursday (#tbt, aka throwback Thursday)
using the hashtag #40YearsStrong
The Water Education Foundation is the California coordinator of
Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), an international,
award-winning nonprofit water education program and publisher.
California Project WET works with
water agencies, water research scientists, professors of teacher
education and after-school program directors to provide
high-quality professional development trainings for K-12
educators working in and out of the classroom.
Restoration practitioners, Delta landowners, regulators and
others are invited to attend a free July 25 workshop to help test-run and
develop a user’s guide to Delta restoration based on the
Delta Landscapes Project.
The Delta Landscapes Project (funded by the California Department
of Fish & Wildlife) seeks ways to achieve better restoration
results by understanding how the natural systems in the Delta
originally functioned during the early 1800s, before the
California Gold Rush and subsequent landscape-level changes.
Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply originates
high in the Sierra Nevada. Thus, the state’s water supply is
largely dependent on the health of Sierra forests, which are
suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought, wildfires and
widespread tree mortality.
Join us as we head into the Sierra foothills and the mountains to
examine water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic
impacts downstream and throughout California.
Learn about land subsidence problems caused by groundwater
pumping in the San Joaquin Valley and what is being done to
monitor the critical conditions at a free
briefing Aug. 16 at Fresno State.
Land subsidence caused by groundwater pumping has resulted in
subsidence rates in excess of 1 foot per year in some parts of
the region, putting state and federal aqueducts and flood control
structures at risk of damage.
The Summer 2017 California Project WET Gazette is “live” on the
Water Education Foundation website.
Water is flowing forth from the Sierra Nevada, as a record
setting snowpack begins to melt into a record setting flow of
liquid propelled downhill by gravity. How to better capture,
store and release more of this water from abundant storm years
has been a big topic of discussion among California water
managers and water user groups over our past decade of multi-year
droughts, punctuated by a great deluge of precipitation in a
single water year.
Our annual Bay-Delta
Tour, June 14-16, has only a handful of seats remaining.
This comprehensive look at the hub of California’s water systems
is an amazing opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes
understanding of efforts to maintain water supplies,
water quality, farming, levee integrity, habitat for endangered
species, and many other topics. You’re accompanied by experts
every step of the way and granted access to facilities that are
generally closed to the public.
Speakers from the California Department of Water Resources,
NASA/JPL, and the U.S. Geological Survey will be on tap at a
free briefing Aug. 16 in Fresno, Land
Subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley.
Land subsidence caused by groundwater pumping has been a problem
for decades in the San Joaquin Valley, but an increased reliance
on aquifers during the last decade has resulted in subsidence
rates in excess of 1 foot per year in some parts of the region.
Aquafornia, the Water Education
Foundation’s aggregate of the top water news of the day, is
available as a free resource.
We post all water news pertaining to California and the
watersheds it depends on, including the Colorado River basin. We
also post the latest entries from our blog, Western Water on Tap.
One of the most frequently discussed animals in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is fish. From the anadromous life
cycle of the salmon to the controversial and little-understood
Delta smelt to invasive species such as the largemouth bass, few
animals have a larger impact on water policy and infrastructure
in the Delta than the dozens of native and introduced fish found
there, especially those species considered endangered.
Land subsidence caused by groundwater pumping has been a problem
for decades in the San Joaquin Valley, but an increased reliance
on aquifers during the last decade has resulted in subsidence
rates in excess of one foot per year in some parts of the region.
This subsidence has destroyed thousands of public and private
groundwater well casings in the San Joaquin Valley and now this
subsidence is putting state and federal aqueducts and flood
control structures at risk of damage.
The Water Education Foundation is well known
for its colorful, poster-sized maps that tell the story of our
most valuable resource.
The California Water
Map features natural and manmade water resources throughout
the state, including the wild and scenic rivers system, federally
funded projects, state-funded projects, locally funded projects
and saline or alkaline lakes. It was given a new look in 2016 and
remains our most popular item.
Water is expensive – and securing enough money to ensure
reliability and efficiency of the state’s water systems and
ecosystems is a constant challenge.
In 2014, California voters approved Proposition 1, authorizing a
$7.5 billion bond to fund water projects throughout the state.
This included investments in water storage, watershed protection
and restoration, groundwater sustainability and drinking water
protection.
In the Spring 2017 issue of the Water Education Foundation’s
Western Water, Writer Gary Pitzer delves into the
challenges and opportunities for new water storage around the
state.
Our annual Bay-Delta Tour
is our most popular tour. Last year it sold out with nearly 100
participants! Don’t miss your opportunity to reserve a seat for
this year’s June 14-16 tour. And remember, Monday (May 15) is the
deadline for an early-bird discount on tickets.
Times are changing in the water world with a finite supply of
water, climate change producing more drought conditions and
constant water demands for agricultural, residential and
environmental needs. Data – statistics collected for reference or
analysis – is one way to make water management more efficient
through better information for agencies and stakeholders who can,
in turn, facilitate the transformation.
Donate here
today to help support our mission of educating people on
water – our most precious natural resource – in
California and across the Southwest.
Minimum donation is $15 but if you give $100 or more, we’ll send
you our one-of-a-kind California water
map!
The Big Day of Giving is the annual online giving challenge,
first launched in 2014 in the Sacramento region to help
nonprofits. The Water Education
Foundation, based in midtown Sacramento, is
participating for the first time.
Thank you for any amount! We are grateful for the support!
The Big Day of Giving, or BDOG, is the annual online giving
challenge, first launched in 2014 in the Sacramento region.The
Water
Education Foundation, based in midtown Sacramento, will
be participating in BDOG for the first time on Thursday, May
4!
Last year’s Big Day of Giving celebration raised $7 million for
nonprofit organizations in the greater Sacramento area and
highlighted the good work happening here in our community!
Help us meet our fundraising goal of $20,000 during the BDOG
online campaign! Visit this link
to schedule your online donation in support of the
Foundation today for processing on May 4, 2017 or you can
visit the same link
on May 4th!
Mapping water use, engaging under-represented communities and
showcasing integrated water projects will be on tap for the
upcoming Santa Ana River Watershed Conference, which will be held
on May 25 in Ontario, Calif.
Working together to make a finite resource
infinite will be the focus of the one-day event,
convened by the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) and
coordinated by the Water Education Foundation. Up to 300
attendees from across the watershed and California are
expected to attend the event at the Ontario Convention Center.