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Topic: Flood Management

Overview April 24, 2014

Flood Management

Devastating floods are almost annual occurrences in the West and in California. With the anticipated sea level rise and other impacts of a changing climate, particularly heavy winter rains, flood management is increasingly critical in California. Compounding the issue are man-made flood hazards such as levee stability and stormwater runoff.

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Aquafornia news May 24, 2022 Noozhawk

Report examines history of debris flows in southern Santa Barbara County

The bulldozers are back at Randall and East Valley roads this month, working on the final phase of the Montecito’s newest debris basin — a giant bowl designed to trap boulders and fallen trees and help protect the downstream homeowners on San Ysidro Creek from catastrophic debris flows. When it is finished in late August, the $10 million Randall Road basin will be the fifth on Montecito’s deadly creeks.

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Aquafornia news May 23, 2022 Napa Valley Register

New signs near Napa Creek celebrate Napa’s urban beavers

Those who regularly cross the Napa Creek footbridge from Clinton Street to Coombs Street in downtown Napa might be unaware of the beavers that live below. The thick-furred, aqueous mammals are nocturnal, after all, and tend to go about their wood-gnawing, dam-building business when people aren’t around to watch them. They also haven’t been in the Downtown Napa area for all that long, though the increasing presence of them around the city of Napa in recent years has often been heralded as a sign of environmental success connected to the millions spent on flood control projects over the past few decades. 

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Aquafornia news May 23, 2022 San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board

News release: San Francisco Bay Water Board names Eileen White as new executive officer

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board announced the appointment of Eileen White as its executive officer, succeeding Michael Montgomery. Her first day is July 11. White most recently served as director of East Bay Municipal Utility District’s Wastewater Department, where she recently led the development of EBMUD’s Integrated Master Plan for its main wastewater treatment plant, along with EBMUD’s Climate Action Plan, to guide operations, investments and priorities for decades to come. White managed a workforce of 280 people.

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Aquafornia news May 23, 2022 Mercury News

North Coast trail plan complicated by US rail ruling

A ruling by federal regulators has put a damper on plans to turn 300 miles of rail line from Humboldt County to Marin County into the Great Redwood Trail. The Surface Transportation Board issued a decision Tuesday that it will not prioritize trail use … Maintaining the rail line along the Eel River is financially infeasible because of landslides and other risks, but the North Coast Railroad Co. wants to take over that portion of the line. … U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman and state Sen. Mike McGuire … issued statements saying they weren’t surprised by the decision, but that they are taking steps to ensure the “toxic coal train” doesn’t become a reality on the North Coast.

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Aquafornia news May 19, 2022 Public Policy Institute of California

Blog: The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta

The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta lies at the confluence of two of the state’s largest rivers. Forty percent of California’s runoff flows into the Delta, which—together with the San Francisco Bay—forms one of the West Coast’s largest estuaries. The Delta watershed supplies water to roughly 30 million residents and more than 6 million acres of farmland. Water exported from the Delta goes to the Bay Area, the southern San Joaquin Valley, the Central Coast, and Southern California (first figure). 

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Aquafornia news May 18, 2022 Grist

Congress is routing climate policy through the Army Corps of Engineers

Even as President Biden’s signature climate change bill languishes in the Senate, Congress is poised to spend billions of dollars on ambitious new projects that would help the U.S. adapt to climate change. A bill that would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to build infrastructure to protect against climate impacts is quietly sailing through Congress, demonstrating bipartisan support for measures to protect against flooding and sea-level rise. … The bill also allows the Corps to undertake drought response efforts in the West …

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Aquafornia news May 17, 2022 CNN

Opinion: Orange County fire magnifies a stunning truth about climate change

I don’t think these disasters will convince us to curb fossil fuel pollution. Let me explain. First, available social science doesn’t support the notion that climate disasters lead to widespread changes in public opinion. A 2021 study from the journal Climate Change found hurricanes provide a modest nudge in favor of support for reducing carbon dioxide pollution. Wildfires and floods, the other disasters studied, did not sway people.
-Written by John D. Sutter, CNN contributor, National Geographic Explorer and MIT science journalism fellow. 

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Aquafornia news May 13, 2022 San Jose Mercury News

California to open first new state park in 13 years

At a scenic spot where two rivers meet amid sprawling almond orchards and ranchlands between San Jose and Modesto, California’s state park system is about to get bigger. On Friday, as part of his revised May budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom is scheduled to announce that the state is acquiring 2,100 acres near the confluence of the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers to become a new state park — an area rich with wildlife and brimming with possibilities to reduce flood risk and restore some of California’s lost natural heritage.

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Aquafornia news May 13, 2022 The Santa Barbara Independent

Blog: Floodplain restoration: In response to climate change, California is looking to nature’s patterns

Water policy in the Western U.S. has always been a contentious issue. Changes in water management, however, are slowly happening. For example, an increasing number of dams are being deconstructed where environmental, safety, and Indigenous-cultural impacts outweigh the benefits of hydropower, flood control, irrigation, or recreation…. More recently, the issues of water wastage and flood control from dam removal are being offset by allowing rivers to return to more natural flow patterns.

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Aquafornia news May 12, 2022 Valley Water News

Blog: A groundbreaking effort to protect the San Francisco Bay from sea-level rise

Sea levels in San Francisco Bay have risen nearly 8 inches in the last 100 years and continue to rise. The sea level in this area could rise as much as 3 feet over the next 50 years, and this project will help protect future generations. In December 2021, Valley Water and its partners broke ground on the first portion of the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Phase 1 Project. … Once completed, this project will help reduce coastal flood risk for about 5,500 residents, commuters and businesses within the vicinity of Alviso and North San José.

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Aquafornia news May 9, 2022 California WaterBlog

Blog: Five “f”unctions of the Central Valley floodplain

The Yolo Bypass is one of two large flood bypasses in California’s Central Valley that are examples of multi-benefit floodplain projects (Figure 1; Serra-Llobet et al., 2022). Originally constructed in the early 20th century for flood control, up to 75% of the Sacramento River’s flood flow can be diverted through a system of weirs into the Yolo Bypass and away from nearby communities (Figure 2; Salcido, 2012; Sommer et al., 2001). During the dry season, floodplain soils in the bypass support farming of seasonal crops (mostly rice). Today, the bypass is also widely recognized for its ecological benefits.

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Aquafornia news May 9, 2022 Insurance Journal

Blog: Secrecy over condition of U.S. dams tied to security concerns, missing data

Americans wondering whether a nearby dam could be dangerous can look up the condition and hazard ratings of tens of thousands of dams nationwide using an online database run by the federal government. But they won’t find the condition of Hoover Dam, which impounds one the nation’s largest reservoirs on the border of Nevada and Arizona. Nor is there any condition listed for California’s Oroville Dam, the country’s tallest, which underwent a $1 billion makeover after its spillway failed.

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Aquafornia news May 9, 2022 The Press/Stacker

Blog: See how many historic sites in California are at risk of flooding

Rising sea levels. Runoff from rapidly melting snow and ice. Rivers and streams overflowing their banks. As climate change continues to wreak havoc on the environmental norms humans widely take for granted, the frequency and severity of extreme weather has increased on a global scale. Floods, the most common and fatal natural disasters in the U.S., continue to get more destructive. Catastrophic flooding events once thought to occur every 100 years could become annual happenings. And the nation’s floodplains are projected to grow by roughly 45% by the end of the century. 

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Aquafornia news May 6, 2022 The Nature Conservancy

Blog: Hamilton City

Rivers in California’s Central Valley like to go their own way: they expand, contract, meander and regenerate soil in the process. The historic movement of rivers is what made Central Valley soil so fertile. Naturally flowing rivers recharge and save water for people and nature, providing habitat for many species including four distinct runs of chinook salmon.  Before the early 20th century, the Sacramento River had one of the biggest salmon runs in North America …

Related article: 

  • California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Endangered California Salmon Returned To Safer Waters After More Than A Century
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Aquafornia news May 4, 2022 San Francisco Chronicle

Repair costs for San Francisco’s Stern Grove balloon to $20 million, 5 times initial estimates

The cost to repair flood-damaged Stern Grove in San Francisco ballooned to $20 million, according to a recent report from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission — five times more than the $4 million city officials initially estimated. The concert venue’s hillside was washed out after an air release valve failed during maintenance of a 54-inch diameter water line last August.

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Aquafornia news May 4, 2022 Desert Research Institute

New research: Study develops framework for forecasting contribution of snowpack to flood risk during winter storms

In the Sierra Nevada, midwinter “rain-on-snow” events occur when rain falls onto existing snowpack and have resulted in some of the region’s biggest and most damaging floods. Rain-on-snow events are projected to increase in size and frequency in the coming years, but little guidance exists for water resource managers on how to mitigate flood risk during times of rapidly changing snowpack. Their minute-by-minute decisions during winter storms can have long-lasting impacts to people, property, and water supplies.

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Aquafornia news May 3, 2022 Mercury News

Opinion: Expand and restore Bay wetlands to fight climate change

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from the world’s scientific community leaves no doubt that we must take urgent action on climate change while we still have a chance to prevent the most destructive impacts to the globe’s communities and ecosystems. This report must spur every one of us to look at actions we can take in our region to rapidly reduce emissions and prepare our communities to adapt. … One of the most effective nature-based solutions is the expansion and restoration of coastal wetlands.
-Written by Carin High, co-chair of the Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge; and Arthur Feinstein, vice-chair of the Sierra Club California Conservation Committee and Chair of the Sierra Club’s Bay ALIVE! Campaign. 

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Aquafornia news April 29, 2022 San Bernardino Sun

Prado Dam patriotic mural near Corona loses legal protection, but could be repainted

A colorful, widely visible, but graffiti-marred mural on a flood-control dam near Corona that celebrated the nation’s bicentennial no longer enjoys the protection of a court order. But officials say a plan is in the works to replace the patriotic image on Prado Dam, which was originally created with toxic lead paint. The fate of the mural near the 91 and 71 freeways has been uncertain since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the dam, announced plans to begin removing the gigantic painting in spring 2015.

Related article: 

  • Monterey Weekly: Long-needed Pajaro levee upgrade gets funding, but there is one more step.
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Aquafornia news April 27, 2022 ABC7 San Francisco

California drought: First-of-its-kind project prepares South San Francisco park for drier times CA’s continued drought

You could say that Orange Memorial Park in South San Francisco is about to turn deep green. … [Colma Creek is] an historic, natural waterway that was heavily cemented for flood control in the early days of the area’s development. For decades, the creek has carried runoff from the surrounding watershed straight into San Francisco Bay, along with a significant amount of trash. But that’s about to change.

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Aquafornia news April 26, 2022 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

News release: Reclamation announces virtual public negotiations for Truckee Canal extraordinary maintenance repayment contract

The Bureau of Reclamation today announced virtual public negotiation sessions for a repayment contract with the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District for extraordinary maintenance on the Truckee Canal. The extraordinary maintenance will restore safe long-term operation of the Truckee Canal and includes lining 3.5 miles of the canal and improvements to two check structures. The canal is owned by Reclamation as part of the Newlands Project and operated and maintained by the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District since 1926.

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Aquafornia news April 26, 2022 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

News release: Miguel Rocha named Reclamation’s chief of dam safety

Miguel Rocha, P.E., was selected as the Bureau of Reclamation’s chief of dam safety. Rocha will oversee the Dam Safety Program, which evaluates existing dams for safety concerns and implements proactive solutions for dams across Reclamation. In this new role, Rocha oversees responsibility for Reclamation’s 360 high hazard potential dams. Failure or improper operation of a high hazard potential dam could result in loss of life or significant economic loss.

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Aquafornia news April 26, 2022 San Francisco Chronicle

Bigger ‘bomb cyclones’ could deluge Bay Area in coming decades, climate study finds

Extreme storms like the massive bomb cyclone that drenched the San Francisco Bay Area last October are likely to become more powerful in the coming decades as climate change alters atmospheric conditions. The Bay Area could see between 26% and 37% more water from these mega-storms by the end of the century, according to a new study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory commissioned by the city. … Even though each mega-storm could pack more rain, other climate change studies suggest water will overall be more scarce. 

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Aquafornia news April 25, 2022 California WaterBlog

Blog: The Putah Creek fish kill: Learning from a local disaster

In November 2021, salmon entering Putah Creek were part of a large fish kill in the lower creek. The event took everyone familiar with the creek by surprise and prevented successful migration of the creek’s fall salmon. Only 4 or 5 adult Chinook salmon made it upstream to suitable spawning habitat. The result was particularly tragic as it followed on the heels of the restoration of a salmon run in the creek, as well as habitat for other fishes.

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Aquafornia news April 25, 2022 KCRA Sacramento

Sea level rise is a threat to all Californians, whether they live near the coast or not

Sea level rise is one of the many threats we face as Earth’s climate changes. … The worry there is obvious for coastal communities in California. But the sea-level rise is something that could affect all Californians because of where that rising seawater would end up: the Central Delta. … The Delta’s complex network of waterways is home to a diverse ecosystem. It also serves 750,000 acres of farmland with fresh water. Drinking water is also sent through the Delta to the State Water Project system in Southern California.

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Aquafornia news April 25, 2022 High Country News

Why rural communities struggle to bring in much-needed federal grants

When overlaid with data about flood and wildfire risk, Headwaters’ analysis reveals areas with stark capacity barriers, often exacerbated by historical injustices, as well as high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. … In theory, the $47 billion the infrastructure bill designates for climate resilience can help communities prepare for floods, fires, storms and droughts. But Headwaters’ analysis suggests that areas with low capacity might not submit requests in the first place.

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Aquafornia news April 22, 2022 San Francisco Chronicle

California’s radical plan to defend homes from sea level rise: move them

As Gleason Beach’s last homes cling to the edge of the bluff, Highway 1 itself is threatened at several other points along Sonoma County’s 55-mile coastline. Now, after decades of studies and debates, Gleason Beach has become the guinea pig for California’s foray into a bold and controversial strategy: to remove buildings and infrastructure from the coast and relocate them farther inland. The $26 million project, headed by Caltrans, involves moving nearly a mile of roadway several hundred feet inland and erecting a new, 850-foot concrete bridge.

Related articles:

  • Knee Deep Times: Retreat by any other name
  • ABC 10 San Diego: Climate Change brings the more droughts, more floods and sea-level rise to San Diego
  • KPBS: Southern California wetlands may help slow climate change
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Aquafornia news April 22, 2022 Associated Press

California hikes costs for flood protections in farm country

Climate change is worsening the already significant threat of flooding in California’s farm country, and state officials said Thursday that as much as $30 billion may be needed over three decades to protect the region, an increase from five years ago. Every five years, flood protection plans are updated for the Central Valley, where about 1.3 million people live at risk in floodplains. State officials released a draft of the latest update that calls for investing in levees, maintenance and multi-benefit projects that recharge aquifers and support wildlife while enhancing flood protection.

Related article: 

  • California Department of Water Resources: Central Valley Flood Protection Plan Update Released
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Aquafornia news April 20, 2022 Napa Valley Register

Napa’s flood control district could lose out on millions in state reimbursement funding for Napa River projects

Napa County has joined an effort to raise an early alarm about flood control agencies potentially losing out on millions of dollars if the state doesn’t take action to extend a deadline.  Specifically, a loss of access to reimbursement funds would happen if the funding from Proposition 1E — a $4.09 billion bond measure for flood control projects passed by California voters in 2006 — is allowed to expire by its current deadline of July 1, 2023. The funds come by way of a state program, managed by the California Department of Water Resources, that pays back agencies their costs for federally-required flood control projects.

Related articles: 

  • Santa Cruz Sentinel: To fix Pajaro River levees officials ask locals to foot part of bill
  • KEYT: $5.5 million flood control project finishes construction of bypass channel under Highway 101 in Santa Barbara
  • San Francisco Examiner: ‘Living sea wall’ may help protect S.F. from rising waters
  • EOS here: Understanding the importance of salt marshes
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news April 19, 2022 Associated Press

California gives rivers more room to flow to stem flood risk

Between vast almond orchards and dairy pastures in the heart of California’s farm country sits a property being redesigned to look like it did 150 years ago, before levees restricted the flow of rivers that weave across the landscape. The 2,100 acres (1,100 hectares) at the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers in the state’s Central Valley are being reverted to a floodplain. 

Related article: 

  • Public Policy Institute of California: Blog - California’s rivers could help protect the state from flood and drought
  • Western Water rewind: California Spent Decades Trying to Keep Central Valley Floods at Bay. Now It Looks to Welcome Them Back
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news April 18, 2022 The Fresno Bee

Natomas CA levee project gets millions, could get more money

Hundreds of millions of new federal dollars are headed to the region to help fund the massive Natomas levee project. President Joe Biden has signed legislation that includes $157 million for an existing project in the Natomas Basin, as well as $17.9 million to begin construction in West Sacramento. In addition, Biden’s budget proposal for fiscal 2023, the 12 month period that begins Oct. 1, includes another $172 million for the levee project and $79.7 million to help the West Sacramento project.

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Aquafornia news April 18, 2022 Mercury News

San Francisco Bay restoration bolstered by $53 million federal influx

Despite being the largest estuary on the West Coast and supporting both a highly diverse ecosystem and a multi-billion dollar economy, the San Francisco Bay Estuary was not getting its fair share of federal funding for restoration, according to local lawmakers and environmental organizations. That changed this year after Congress and President Joe Biden approved more than $50 million in funding to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for projects to restore lost wetlands, improve water quality, address pollution and bolster sea-level rise defenses throughout San Francisco Bay.

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Aquafornia news April 15, 2022 WaterWorld

Study maps financial risks for Calif. water resilience planning

A new study warns that the benefits of California’s Water Resilience Portfolio Initiative might not be evenly distributed without proper structure to the agreements. Partnerships between water utilities, irrigation districts and other stakeholders in California will play a critical role in funding new infrastructure under the Water Resilience Portfolio Initiative announced in 2020 by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom. 

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Aquafornia news April 15, 2022 Mercury News

San Jose: $545 million project breaks ground to improve flood protection along south San Francisco Bay shoreline

San Francisco Bay is famous worldwide for the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and many of the tech companies that ring its edges. … It’s also an increasingly serious threat to millions of residents and hundreds of billions of dollars of bay front property — from neighborhoods to freeways to airports — as seas continue their slow but relentless rise. On Thursday, state, federal and local leaders broke ground on the latest effort to reduce that risk, kicking off a $545 million project to protect San Jose’s shoreline against winter flooding and rising sea levels from climate change.

Related article: 

  • Napa Valley Register: State of the salt marshes - Since completion in 2016, Napa River Salt Marsh Restoration Project tracks steady progress
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Tour March 16, 2022 - 7:30am - March 18, 2022 - 6:30pm Nick Gray

Lower Colorado River Tour 2022
Field Trip - March 16-18

The lower Colorado River has virtually every drop allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.

Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
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Western Water November 19, 2021 Alastair Bland California Water Map WESTERN WATER-California Spent Decades Trying to Keep Central Valley Floods at Bay. Now It Looks to Welcome Them Back By Alastair Bland

California Spent Decades Trying to Keep Central Valley Floods at Bay. Now It Looks to Welcome Them Back
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Floodplain restoration gets a policy and funding boost as interest grows in projects that bring multiple benefits to respond to climate change impacts

Land and waterway managers labored hard over the course of a century to control California’s unruly rivers by building dams and levees to slow and contain their water. Now, farmers, environmentalists and agencies are undoing some of that work as part of an accelerating campaign to restore the state’s major floodplains.

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Western Water November 19, 2021 By Alastair Bland

SIDEBAR: Creating A Floodplain Buffet for Salmon Smolts

Biologists have designed a variety of unique experiments in the past decade to demonstrate the benefits that floodplains provide for small fish. Tracking studies have used acoustic tags to show that chinook salmon smolts with access to inundated fields are more likely than their river-bound cohorts to reach the Pacific Ocean. This is because the richness of floodplains offers a vital buffet of nourishment on which young salmon can capitalize, supercharging their growth and leading to bigger, stronger smolts.

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Tour October 14, 2021 - 2:30pm - 5:30pm Nick Gray Jenn Bowles

Northern California Tour 2021
A Virtual Journey - October 14

This tour guided participants on a virtual exploration of the Sacramento River and its tributaries and learn about the issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.

All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.

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Aquafornia news December 21, 2020 Army Corps of Engineers

Blog: Sacramento District quick to adapt in face of COVID

USACE Sacramento District has a proven track record of facing challenges head-on. When 2020 brought with it the Novel Coronavirus, the District responded quickly to address the needs of a rapidly changing work environment…This year marked the start of major construction on the [American River Common Features] project, and the pandemic hit just as crews were mobilizing, meaning both USACE and its contractors faced unexpected public impacts.

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Tour May 20, 2021 - 2:30pm - 5:30pm Nick Gray Learn About Infrastructure and Environmental Restoration During Lower Colorado River Tour

Lower Colorado River Tour 2021
A Virtual Journey - May 20

This event explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour. 

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Western Water February 27, 2020 Layperson's Guide to Climate Change and Water Resources California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Can Carbon Credits Save Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Islands and Protect California’s Vital Water Hub?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: An ambitious plan would use carbon credits as incentives to convert Delta islands to wetlands or rice to halt subsidence and potentially raise island elevations

Equipment on this tower measures fluctuations in greenhouse gas emissions for managed wetlands on Sherman Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.The islands of the western Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are sinking as the rich peat soil that attracted generations of farmers dries out and decays. As the peat decomposes, it releases tons of carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas – into the atmosphere. As the islands sink, the levees that protect them are at increasing risk of failure, which could imperil California’s vital water conveyance system.

An ambitious plan now in the works could halt the decay, sequester the carbon and potentially reverse the sinking.

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Western Water November 21, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Can a New Approach to Managing California Reservoirs Save Water and Still Protect Against Floods?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Pilot Projects Testing Viability of Using Improved Forecasting to Guide Reservoir Operations

Bullards Bar Dam spills water during 2017 atmospheric river storms.Many of California’s watersheds are notoriously flashy – swerving from below-average flows to jarring flood conditions in quick order. The state needs all the water it can get from storms, but current flood management guidelines are strict and unyielding, requiring reservoirs to dump water each winter to make space for flood flows that may not come.

However, new tools and operating methods are emerging that could lead the way to a redefined system that improves both water supply and flood protection capabilities.

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Western Water October 24, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Understanding Streamflow Is Vital to Water Management in California, But Gaps In Data Exist
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: A new law aims to reactivate dormant stream gauges to aid in flood protection, water forecasting

Stream gauges gather important metrics such as  depth, flow (described as cubic feet per second) and temperature.  This gauge near downtown Sacramento measures water depth.California is chock full of rivers and creeks, yet the state’s network of stream gauges has significant gaps that limit real-time tracking of how much water is flowing downstream, information that is vital for flood protection, forecasting water supplies and knowing what the future might bring.

That network of stream gauges got a big boost Sept. 30 with the signing of SB 19. Authored by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), the law requires the state to develop a stream gauge deployment plan, focusing on reactivating existing gauges that have been offline for lack of funding and other reasons. Nearly half of California’s stream gauges are dormant.

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Western Water October 10, 2019 California Groundwater Map Gary Pitzer

Recharging Depleted Aquifers No Easy Task, But It’s Key To California’s Water Supply Future
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: A UC Berkeley symposium explores approaches and challenges to managed aquifer recharge around the West

A water recharge basin in Southern California's Coachella Valley. To survive the next drought and meet the looming demands of the state’s groundwater sustainability law, California is going to have to put more water back in the ground. But as other Western states have found, recharging overpumped aquifers is no easy task.

Successfully recharging aquifers could bring multiple benefits for farms and wildlife and help restore the vital interconnection between groundwater and rivers or streams. As local areas around California draft their groundwater sustainability plans, though, landowners in the hardest hit regions of the state know they will have to reduce pumping to address the chronic overdraft in which millions of acre-feet more are withdrawn than are naturally recharged.

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Western Water September 12, 2019 Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

Could “Black Swan” Events Spawned by Climate Change Wreak Havoc in the Colorado River Basin?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Scientists say a warming planet increases odds of extreme drought and flood; officials say they’re trying to include those possibilities in their plans

Runoff from what some describe as an "epic flood" in 1983 strained the capacity of Glen Canyon Dam to convey water fast enough.  The Colorado River Basin’s 20 years of drought and the dramatic decline in water levels at the river’s key reservoirs have pressed water managers to adapt to challenging conditions. But even more extreme — albeit rare — droughts or floods that could overwhelm water managers may lie ahead in the Basin as the effects of climate change take hold, say a group of scientists. They argue that stakeholders who are preparing to rewrite the operating rules of the river should plan now for how to handle these so-called “black swan” events so they’re not blindsided.

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Western Water August 22, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

How Private Capital is Speeding up Sierra Nevada Forest Restoration in a Way that Benefits Water
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: A bond fund that fronts the money is expediting a headwaters restoration project to improve forest health, water quality and supply

District Ranger Lon Henderson with Tahoe National Forest points toward an overgrown section of forest within the Blue Forest project area. The majestic beauty of the Sierra Nevada forest is awe-inspiring, but beneath the dazzling blue sky, there is a problem: A century of fire suppression and logging practices have left trees too close together. Millions of trees have died, stricken by drought and beetle infestation. Combined with a forest floor cluttered with dry brush and debris, it’s a wildfire waiting to happen.

Fires devastate the Sierra watersheds upon which millions of Californians depend — scorching the ground, unleashing a battering ram of debris and turning hillsides into gelatinous, stream-choking mudflows. 

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Announcement July 10, 2019

Explore a Scenic But Challenged California Landscape on Our Edge of Drought Tour
August 27-29 Tour Examines Santa Barbara Region Prone to Drought, Mudslides and Wildfire

Pyramid LakeNew to this year’s slate of water tours, our Edge of Drought Tour Aug. 27-29 will venture into the Santa Barbara area to learn about the challenges of limited local surface and groundwater supplies and the solutions being implemented to address them.

Despite Santa Barbara County’s decision to lift a drought emergency declaration after this winter’s storms replenished local reservoirs, the region’s hydrologic recovery often has lagged behind much of the rest of the state.

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Tour March 11, 2020 - 7:30am - March 13, 2020 - 6:30pm Nick Gray New Experience Announced for Lower Colorado River Tour: Topock Gorge Boat Trip Get a 'Hard Hat' Tour of Hoover Dam and Visit Lake Mead on Lower Colorado River Tour Take the Pulse of the ‘Lifeline of the Southwest’ on the Lower Colorado River Tour

Lower Colorado River Tour 2020
Field Trip - March 11-13

This tour explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour. 

Silverton Hotel
3333 Blue Diamond Road
Las Vegas, NV 89139
View map
  • Dan Bunk & Mike Bernardo Presentation
  • Seth Shanahan Presentation
  • Chuck Cullom Presentation
  • Vineetha Kartha Presentation
  • Tina Shields Presentation
  • Kevin Hempe Presentation
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Western Water February 28, 2019 California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Flood Management Gary Pitzer

Southern California Water Providers Think Local in Seeking to Expand Supplies
WESTERN WATER SIDEBAR: Los Angeles and San Diego among agencies pursuing more diverse water portfolio beyond imports

The Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad last December marked 40 billion gallons of drinking water delivered to San Diego County during its first three years of operation. The desalination plant provides the county with more than 50 million gallons of water each day.Although Santa Monica may be the most aggressive Southern California water provider to wean itself from imported supplies, it is hardly the only one looking to remake its water portfolio.

In Los Angeles, a city of about 4 million people, efforts are underway to dramatically slash purchases of imported water while boosting the amount from recycling, stormwater capture, groundwater cleanup and conservation. Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014 announced a plan to reduce the city’s purchase of imported water from Metropolitan Water District by one-half by 2025 and to provide one-half of the city’s supply from local sources by 2035. (The city considers its Eastern Sierra supplies as imported water.)

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Western Water January 17, 2019 Layperson's Guide to the Central Valley Project San Joaquin River Restoration Map Gary Pitzer

Key California Ag Region Ponders What’s Next After Voters Spurn Bond to Fix Sinking Friant-Kern Canal
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Subsidence chokes off up to 60% of canal’s capacity to move water to aid San Joaquin Valley farms and depleted groundwater basins

Water is up to the bottom of a bridge crossing the Friant-Kern Canal due to subsidence caused by overpumping of groundwater. The whims of political fate decided in 2018 that state bond money would not be forthcoming to help repair the subsidence-damaged parts of Friant-Kern Canal, the 152-mile conduit that conveys water from the San Joaquin River to farms that fuel a multibillion-dollar agricultural economy along the east side of the fertile San Joaquin Valley.

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Announcement October 31, 2018

Can El Niño Tell Us Anything About What’s Ahead for Water Year 2019?
Learn what is and isn't known about forecasting Water Year 2019 at Dec. 5 workshop in Irvine

Nimbus Dam winter releasesJust because El Niño may be lurking off in the tropical Pacific, does that really offer much of a clue about what kind of rainy season California can expect in Water Year 2019?

Will a river of storms pound the state, swelling streams and packing the mountains with deep layers of heavy snow much like the exceptionally wet 2017 Water Year (Oct. 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2017)? Or will this winter sputter along like last winter, leaving California with a second dry year and the possibility of another potential drought? What can reliably be said about the prospects for Water Year 2019?

At Water Year 2019: Feast or Famine?, a one-day event on Dec. 5 in Irvine, water managers and anyone else interested in this topic will learn about what is and isn’t known about forecasting California’s winter precipitation weeks to months ahead, the skill of present forecasts and ongoing research to develop predictive ability.

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Western Water October 5, 2018 Douglas E. Beeman Douglas E. Beeman

What Would You Do About Water If You Were California’s Next Governor?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Survey at Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit elicits a long and wide-ranging potential to-do list

There’s going to be a new governor in California next year – and a host of challenges both old and new involving the state’s most vital natural resource, water.

So what should be the next governor’s water priorities?

That was one of the questions put to more than 150 participants during a wrap-up session at the end of the Water Education Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento.

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Western Water September 21, 2018 Colorado River Basin Map California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Despite Risk of Unprecedented Shortage on the Colorado River, Reclamation Commissioner Sees Room for Optimism
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Commissioner Brenda Burman, in address at Foundation’s Water Summit, also highlights Shasta Dam plan

Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda BurmanThe Colorado River Basin is more than likely headed to unprecedented shortage in 2020 that could force supply cuts to some states, but work is “furiously” underway to reduce the risk and avert a crisis, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman told an audience of California water industry people.

During a keynote address at the Water Education Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento, Burman said there is opportunity for Colorado River Basin states to control their destiny, but acknowledged that in water, there are no guarantees that agreement can be reached.

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Western Water August 24, 2018 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

When Water Worries Often Pit Farms vs. Fish, a Sacramento Valley Farm Is Trying To Address The Needs Of Both
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: River Garden Farms is piloting projects that could add habitat and food to aid Sacramento River salmon

Roger Cornwell, general manager of River Garden Farms, with an example of a refuge like the ones that were lowered into the Sacramento River at Redding to shelter juvenile salmon.  Farmers in the Central Valley are broiling about California’s plan to increase flows in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems to help struggling salmon runs avoid extinction. But in one corner of the fertile breadbasket, River Garden Farms is taking part in some extraordinary efforts to provide the embattled fish with refuge from predators and enough food to eat.

And while there is no direct benefit to one farm’s voluntary actions, the belief is what’s good for the fish is good for the farmers.

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Tour April 11, 2018 - April 13, 2018

Lower Colorado River Tour 2018

Lower Colorado River Tour participants at Hoover Dam.

We explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.

Hampton Inn Tropicana
4975 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89118
View map
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Western Water April 6, 2018 California Water Bundle Gary Pitzer

Statewide Water Bond Measures Could Have Californians Doing a Double-Take in 2018
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Two bond measures, worth $13B, would aid flood preparation, subsidence, Salton Sea and other water needs

San Joaquin Valley bridge rippled by subsidence  California voters may experience a sense of déjà vu this year when they are asked twice in the same year to consider water bonds — one in June, the other headed to the November ballot.

Both tackle a variety of water issues, from helping disadvantaged communities get clean drinking water to making flood management improvements. But they avoid more controversial proposals, such as new surface storage, and they propose to do some very different things to appeal to different constituencies.

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Western Water February 9, 2018 Layperson's Guide to Climate Change and Water Resources Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, On the Road in the Central Valley, Don't-Miss Water Reads Gary Pitzer

‘Ridiculously Resilient Ridge,’ Climate Change and the Future of California’s Water
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Climate scientist Daniel Swain

Daniel SwainEvery day, people flock to Daniel Swain’s social media platforms to find out the latest news and insight about California’s notoriously unpredictable weather. Swain, a climate scientist at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, famously coined the term “Ridiculously Resilient Ridge” in December 2013 to describe the large, formidable high-pressure mass that was parked over the West Coast during winter and diverted storms away from California, intensifying the drought.

Swain’s research focuses on atmospheric processes that cause droughts and floods, along with the changing character of extreme weather events in a warming world. A lifelong Californian and alumnus of University of California, Davis, and Stanford University, Swain is best known for the widely read Weather West blog, which provides unique perspectives on weather and climate in California and the western United States. In a recent interview with Western Water, he talked about the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, its potential long-term impact on California weather, and what may lie ahead for the state’s water supply. 

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Aquapedia background December 1, 2017 Layperson's Guide to Flood Management

Atmospheric Rivers

A massive 1986 Northern California flood near Marysville, north of Sacramento, caused the south levee of the Yuba River to breach, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.Atmospheric rivers are relatively narrow bands of moisture that ferry precipitation across the Pacific Ocean to the West Coast and are key to California’s water supply.

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Tour February 27, 2019 - 7:30am - March 1, 2019 - 6:30pm Nick Gray

Lower Colorado River Tour 2019

This three-day, two-night tour explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour. 

Best Western McCarran Inn
4970 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
View map
  • Warren Turkett
  • Dan Bunk
  • Seth Shanahan
  • Deanna Ikeya
  • Doyle Wilson
  • Gerald Filipiak
  • Sarah Bartlett
  • Tina Shields
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Tour October 10, 2018 - October 12, 2018 New Stop Announced for Northern California Tour: Salmon Rearing Structures in the Sacramento River

Northern California Tour 2018

This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries through a scenic landscape as participants learned about the issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.

All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Tour participants got an on-site update of repair efforts on the Oroville Dam spillway. 

  • David Guy
  • Christopher Williams
  • Carson Jeffres
  • Curt Aikens
  • Kelly Peterson
  • Mark Oliver
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Western Water November 14, 2017 Gary Pitzer

Better Forecasting Is Key to Improved Drought and Flood Response

Marysville flooding

In a state with such topsy-turvy weather as California, the ability of forecasters to peer into the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean and accurately predict the arrival of storms is a must to improve water supply reliability and flood management planning.

The problem, according to Jeanine Jones, interstate resources manager with the state Department of Water Resources, is that “we have been managing with 20th century technology with respect to our ability to do weather forecasting.”

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Western Water February 15, 2017 Gary Pitzer

Crews Race to Stabilize Vulnerable Oroville Dam Spillway
Crews dumping "super" sand bags, filling four gouges in the hillside as storm expected tonight

Work crews repairing Oroville Dam’s damaged emergency spillway are dumping 1,200 tons of rock each hour and using shotcrete to stabilize the hillside slope, an official with the Department of Water Resources told the California Water Commission today.

The pace of work is “round the clock,” said Kasey Schimke, assistant director of DWR’s legislative affairs office.

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Aquapedia background December 29, 2016 Layperson's Guide to Flood Management

ARkStorm

Sacramento's K Street during the 1862 flood that inundated the Central Valley.ARkStorm stands for an atmospheric river (“AR”) that carries precipitation levels expected to occur once every 1,000 years (“k”). The concept was presented in a 2011 report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) intended to elevate the visibility of the very real threats to human life, property and ecosystems posed by extreme storms on the West Coast.

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Aquapedia background September 12, 2016

Runoff

Snowmelt and runoff near the California Department of Water Resources snow survey site in the Sierra Nevada east of Sacramento.Runoff is the water that is pulled by gravity across land’s surface, replenishing groundwater and surface water as it percolates into an aquifer or moves into a river, stream or watershed.

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Aquapedia background September 7, 2016

Hydrographs

A hydrograph illustrates a type of activity of water during a specific time frame. Salinity and acidity are sometimes measured, but the most common types are stage and discharge hydrographs. These graphs show how surface water flow responds to fluxes in precipitation.

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Aquapedia background August 30, 2016 Seven Oaks Dam

Prado Dam

Prado Dam in Southern CaliforniaPrado Dam – built in 1941 in response to the Santa Ana River’s flood-prone past – separates the river into its upper and lower watersheds. After the devastation of the deadly Los Angeles Flood of 1938 that impacted much of Southern California, it became evident that flood protection was woefully inadequate, prompting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct Prado Dam.

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  • Layperson's Guide to Flood Management
Aquapedia background August 30, 2016 Dams

Seven Oaks Dam

Completed in 1999, the Seven Oaks Dam is a 550-feet-high earthen dam on the Santa Ana River.

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  • Layperson's Guide to Flood Management
Aquapedia background August 25, 2016

One Hundred Year Flood

Risk Assessment, Not a Timeline

Contrary to popular belief, “100-Year Flood” does not refer to a flood that happens every century. Rather, the term describes the statistical chance of a flood of a certain magnitude (or greater) taking place once in 100 years. It is also accurate to say a so-called “100-Year Flood” has a 1 percent chance of occurring in a given year, and those living in a 100-year floodplain have, each year, a 1 percent chance of being flooded.

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  • Layperson's Guide to Flood Management
Aquapedia background September 10, 2014

El Niño/La Niña

California’s seasonal weather is influenced by El Niño and La Niña – temporary climatic conditions that, depending on their severity, contribute to weather that is wetter or drier than normal.

El Niño and La Niña episodes typically last nine to 12 months, but some events may last for years. While their frequency can be quite irregular, El Niño and La Niña events occur on average every two to seven years. Typically, El Niño occurs more frequently than La Niña, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Publication August 19, 2014

New Director’s Packet

Newly elected to your local water board? Or city council? Or state Legislature? This packet of materials provides you with the valuable background information you need – and at a special price!

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Publication August 18, 2014

Water & the Shaping of California
Published 2000 - Paperback

The story of water is the story of California. And no book tells that story better than Water & the Shaping of California.

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Publication August 18, 2014

Water & the Shaping of California
Published 2000 - hardbound

The story of California is the story of water. And no book tells that story better than Water & the Shaping of California.

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Video May 29, 2014

Overcoming the Deluge: California’s Plan for Managing Floods (DVD)

This 30-minute documentary, produced in 2011, explores the past, present and future of flood management in California’s Central Valley. It features stories from residents who have experienced the devastating effects of a California flood firsthand. Interviews with long-time Central Valley water experts from California Department of Water Resources (FloodSAFE), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Central Valley Flood Management Program and environmental groups are featured as they discuss current efforts to improve the state’s 150-year old flood protection system and develop a sustainable, integrated, holistic flood management plan for the Central Valley.

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Video May 27, 2014

Stormwater Management: Turning Runoff into a Resource

20-minute DVD that explains the problem with polluted stormwater, and steps that can be taken to help prevent such pollution and turn what is often viewed as a “nuisance” into a water resource through various activities.

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Video May 22, 2014

Delta Warning

15-minute DVD that graphically portrays the potential disaster should a major earthquake hit the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. “Delta Warning” depicts what would happen in the event of an earthquake registering 6.5 on the Richter scale: 30 levee breaks, 16 flooded islands and a 300 billion gallon intrusion of salt water from the Bay – the “big gulp” – which would shut down the State Water Project and Central Valley Project pumping plants.

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Video May 21, 2014

Water on the Edge (60-minute DVD)

Water truly has shaped California into the great state it is today. And if it is water that made California great, it’s the fight over – and with – water that also makes it so critically important. In efforts to remap California’s circulatory system, there have been some critical events that had a profound impact on California’s water history. These turning points not only forced a re-evaluation of water, but continue to impact the lives of every Californian. This 2005 PBS documentary offers a historical and current look at the major water issues that shaped the state we know today. Includes a 12-page viewer’s guide with background information, historic timeline and a teacher’s lesson.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

San Joaquin River Restoration Map
Published 2012

This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, features a map of the San Joaquin River. The map text focuses on the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, which aims to restore flows and populations of Chinook salmon to the river below Friant Dam to its confluence with the Merced River. The text discusses the history of the program, its goals and ongoing challenges with implementation. 

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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to the State Water Project
Updated 2013

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the State Water Project provides an overview of the California-funded and constructed State Water Project.

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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water Management
Published 2013

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication that provides background information on the principles of IRWM, its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water management approach.

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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to Flood Management
Updated 2009

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Flood Management explains the physical flood control system, including levees; discusses previous flood events (including the 1997 flooding); explores issues of floodplain management and development; provides an overview of flood forecasting; and outlines ongoing flood control projects. 

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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to California Water
Updated 2021

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to California Water provides an excellent overview of the history of water development and use in California. It includes sections on flood management; the state, federal and Colorado River delivery systems; Delta issues; water rights; environmental issues; water quality; and options for stretching the water supply such as water marketing and conjunctive use. New in this 10th edition of the guide is a section on the human need for water. 

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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project
Updated 2021

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project explores the history and development of the federal Central Valley Project (CVP), California’s largest surface water delivery system. In addition to the project’s history, the guide describes the various CVP facilities, CVP operations, the benefits the CVP brought to the state and the CVP Improvement Act (CVPIA).

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Publication April 17, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to the Delta
Updated 2020

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Delta explores the competing uses and demands on California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Included in the guide are sections on the history of the Delta, its role in the state’s water system, and its many complex issues with sections on water quality, levees, salinity and agricultural drainage, fish and wildlife, and water distribution.

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Maps & Posters April 17, 2014 California Water Bundle

California Water Map
Updated December 2016

A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect gift for the water wonk in your life.

Our 24×36 inch California Water Map is widely known for being the definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts – including federally, state and locally funded projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects, wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado River.

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Aquapedia background February 14, 2014

Floodplains in California

With the dual threats of obsolete levees and anticipated rising sea levels, floodplains—low areas adjacent to waterways that flood during wet years—are increasingly at the forefront of many public policy and water issues in California.

Adding to the challenges, many floodplains have been heavily developed and are home to major cities such as Sacramento. Large parts of California’s valleys are historic floodplains as well.

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Aquapedia background February 14, 2014 Layperson's Guide to Flood Management Layperson's Guide to Climate Change and Water Resources

Flooding

Yuba City flooded in 1955.

Flooding inundates a neighborhoodWhen people think of natural disasters in California, they typically think about earthquakes. Yet the natural disaster that residents are most likely to face involves flooding, not fault lines. In fact, all 58 counties in the state have declared a state of emergency from flooding at least three times since 1950. And the state’s capital, Sacramento, is considered one of the nation’s most flood-prone cities. Floods also affect every Californian because flood management projects and damages are paid with public funds.

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Aquapedia background February 14, 2014 Layperson's Guide to Flood Management

Flood Management

Sacramento River flood control measures

Devastating floods are almost an annual occurrence in the West and in California. With the anticipated sea level rise and other impacts of a changing climate, particularly heavy winter rains, flood management is increasingly critical in California. Compounding the issue are human-made flood hazards such as levee instability and stormwater runoff.

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Aquapedia background February 14, 2014

Flood Forecasting

Flood Forecasting

Flood forecasting allows flood control managers to predict, with a high degree of accuracy, when local flooding is likely to take place.

Forecasts typically use storm runoff data, reservoir levels and releases to predict the rise in river levels.

In Northern California the National Weather Service, in cooperation with the state’s California-Nevada River Forecast Center in Sacramento, forecasts flooding.

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Aquapedia background February 11, 2014

Yolo Bypass

Yolo Bypass

Yolo Bypass occupies a historic floodplain between Davis and Sacramento, California.

With the city of Sacramento and other area communities prone to flooding, the 59,000-acre Yolo Bypass helps offset that risk while also providing habitat for wildlife. Managed by California’s Department of Water Resources and a part of the Sacramento River Flood Control System, bypass boundaries are defined by constructed levees. The huge floodway is three-miles wide in some parts.

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Aquapedia background February 11, 2014

State Liability, Flood Protection and the Paterno Decision

Liability for levee failure in California took a new turn after a court ruling found the state liable for hundreds of millions of dollars from the 1986 Linda Levee collapse in Yuba County. The levee failure killed two people and destroyed or damaged about 3,000 homes.

The collapse also had long-term legal ramifications.

The Paterno Decision

California’s Supreme Court found that, “when a public entity operates a flood management system built by someone else, it accepts liability as if it had planned and built the system itself.”

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Aquapedia background February 3, 2014 Oroville Dam Shasta Dam Hoover Dam Layperson's Guide to the Central Valley Project Layperson's Guide to the State Water Project

Dams

Folsom Dam on the American River east of Sacramento

Dams have allowed Californians and others across the West to harness and control water dating back to pre-European settlement days when Native Americans had erected simple dams for catching salmon.

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Western Water Magazine July 1, 2013

Adjusting to the New Reality: Climate Change in the West
July/August 2013

This printed issue of Western Water This issue of Western Water looks at climate change through the lens of some of the latest scientific research and responses from experts regarding mitigation and adaptation.

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Western Water Magazine May 1, 2013

Meeting the Co-equal Goals? The Bay Delta Conservation Plan
May/June 2013

This issue of Western Water looks at the BDCP and the Coalition to Support Delta Projects, issues that are aimed at improving the health and safety of the Delta while solidifying California’s long-term water supply reliability.

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Western Water Magazine January 1, 2013

Viewing Water with a Wide Angle Lens: A Roundtable Discussion
January/February 2013

This printed issue of Western Water features a roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.

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Western Water Magazine July 1, 2012

How Much Water Does the Delta Need?
July/August 2012

This printed issue of Western Water examines the issues associated with the State Water Board’s proposed revision of the water quality Bay-Delta Plan, most notably the question of whether additional flows are needed for the system, and how they might be provided.

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Western Water Magazine May 1, 2012

Levees and Flood Protection: A Shared Responsibility
May/June 2012

This printed issue of Western Water discusses several flood-related issues, including the proposed Central Valley Flood Protection Plan, the FEMA remapping process and the dispute between the state and the Corps regarding the levee vegetation policy.

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Western Water Excerpt May 1, 2012 Gary PitzerRita Schmidt Sudman

Levees and Flood Protections: A Shared Responsibility
May/June 2012

Levees are one of those pieces of engineering that are never really appreciated until they fail. California would not exist as it does today were it not for the extensive system of levees, weirs and flood bypasses that have been built through the years.

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Western Water Magazine January 1, 2008

A Significant Challenge: Adapting Water Management to Climate Change
January/February 2008

This printed copy of Western Water examines climate change – what’s known about it, the remaining uncertainty and what steps water agencies are talking to prepare for its impact. Much of the information comes from the October 2007 California Climate Change and Water Adaptation Summit sponsored by the Water Education Foundation and DWR and the November 2007 California Water Policy Conference sponsored by Public Officials for Water and Environmental Reform.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 2005

It Can Happen Here: Assessing California’s Flood Risk
November/December 2005

This issue of Western Water examines the extent to which California faces a disaster equal to or greater than the New Orleans floods and the steps being taken to recognize and address the shortcomings of the flood control system in the Central Valley and the Delta, which is of critical importance because of its role in providing water to 22 million people. Complicating matters are the state’s skyrocketing pace of growth coupled with an inherently difficult process of obtaining secure, long-term funds for levee repairs and continued maintenance.

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Western Water Excerpt November 1, 2005 Gary PitzerRita Schmidt Sudman

It Can Happen Here: Assessing California’s Flood Risk
Nov/Dec 2005

Is the devastating flooding that occurred in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast an ominous warning to California? That’s the question policymakers are facing as they consider how to best protect lives, property and the integrity of the state’s water supply from the forces of raging floodwaters.

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Western Water Magazine September 1, 2004

Flood Management 2004: A System in Peril
September/October 2004

This issue of Western Water analyzes northern California’s extensive flood control system – it’ history, current concerns, the Paterno decision and how experts are re-thinking the concept of flood management.

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Western Water Excerpt September 1, 2004 Gary PitzerRita Schmidt SudmanGlenn Totten

Flood Management 2004: A System in Peril
Sept/Oct 2004

Some time in the next month or two, slight, temporal changes in the upper atmosphere will augur the beginning of the rainy portion of California’s Mediterranean climate. The high pressure and sunny days should gradually give way to rain and snow, replenishing the vast reservoir that is the state’s precious water supply.

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Western Water Excerpt March 1, 1997 Rita Schmidt Sudman

Perspective on the New Year’s Floods
March/Apr 1997

For many of us in northern California, some of the hope and optimism that fills each New Year’s eve was shattered on New Year’s Day 1997 when rain from a series of huge tropical storms began dumping what would eventually be a total of 25 inches of rain over the region in eight days. People were riveted to their televisions as the disaster, which took 9 lives, unfolded.

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