California has been the nation’s
leading agricultural and dairy state for the past 50 years. The
state’s 80,500 farms and ranches produce more than 400 different
agricultural products. These products generated a record $44.7
billion in sales value in 2012, accounting for 11.3 percent of
the US total.
Breaking down the state’s agricultural role in the country,
California produces 21 percent of the nation’s milk supply, 23
percent of its cheese and 92 percent of all grapes. The state
also produces half of all domestically-grown fruits, nuts and
vegetables, including some products, such as almonds, walnuts,
artichokes, persimmons and pomegranates, of which 99 percent are
grown in California.
Overall, about 3 percent of employment in the state is directly
or indirectly related to agriculture.
[Scott] Park, his wife, Ulla, their son, Brian, and his wife,
Jamie, operate one of the first farms in California to be
certified as regenerative organic, rotating a variety of crops
on 1,700 acres in the Sacramento Valley with minimal tillage
and no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Brise Tencer,
executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation
… noted that while the term regenerative agriculture means
different things to different people, it typically is used to
describe practices that are climate-friendly, healthy for soils
and protective of biodiversity. Organic agriculture, which has
a clear, legal definition that is verifiable and enforceable,
shares many of the same principles and goals of regenerative
farming, she said. “Organic agriculture is grounded in
principles that collaborate with nature, foster healthy soils
and contribute to clean water, biodiversity
and thriving farm communities,” Tencer said. Also, like
regenerative standards, organic standards require growers to
maintain and improve soil health.
On a corner lot in Leimert Park in dusty South Los Angeles, not
far from Obama and Crenshaw Boulevards, sits a curiosity that’s
wildly different from all the neighboring grassy yards.
Abundant and lush, it looks like a mash-up between a country
idyll and something dreamed up by Dr. Seuss. Run by a
gardening wizard named Jamiah Hargins, this wee farm in the
front yard of his bungalow provides fresh produce for 45 nearby
families, all while using a tiny fraction of the water required
by a lawn. … The project has expanded to three front
yard microfarms growing in adjoining neighborhoods and
transformed into a nonprofit organization. …The mini farms
bring environmental benefits, thanks to irrigation and
containment systems that capture and recycle rain. That allows
the farms to produce thousands of pounds of food without using
much water.
… By most measures, the Imperial Valley is not a great
place to grow food. Yet carrots, cauliflower, sweet onions,
honeydew, broccoli, and alfalfa all grow here, incongruous
crops that spread across half a million acres of cultivated
land. … Given the lack of rain in the region, Ronald
Leimgruber says he has “about seven” different irrigation
projects on his farm, where he grows an array of crops,
including carrots, lettuce, watermelon, and hay. Leimgruber, a
third-generation farmer whose grandparents helped build the All
American Canal, estimates he has spent millions of dollars on
various water conservation techniques over the years. Some of
that spending was subsidized by the federal government; some
came out of his own pocket. He’s not sure it was worth it,
especially because the government does not fund the upkeep of
new systems.
Campbell Soup Company and Kind Snacks announced projects that
would advance regenerative agriculture practices for key
ingredients with financial support from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Campbell’s received $3.4 million through USDA’s
Regional Conservation Partnership Program to increase adoption
of sustainable practices and reduce water consumption among
tomato growers in California. Separately, Kind, a subsidiary of
Mars Inc., said it will unlock more than $300,000 for
regenerative agriculture in almonds through USDA’s Partnership
for Climate-Smart Commodities Program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun construction on a
new 59,000-square-foot Agricultural Research and Technology
Center at the University of California, Davis. … The center,
dubbed ARTC, will include laboratories, greenhouses and
capacity for scientists exploring ways agriculture can adapt to
climate change, water scarcity, emerging pests and increasing
global demand, the release said. The two-story ARTC will house
four research units: crops pathology and genetics, invasive
species and pollinator health, national tree fruit, nuts and
grapes clonal germplasm repository and sustainable water
systems.
Imagine Sonoma County without Crane melons, Bernier garlic, or
Russian River pinot noir. Local farms shape the landscape,
economy, and culture. But their future is uncertain, and what
happens next depends on consumer choices and local support.
Farming isn’t easy. In 2024, Sonoma County farmers face climate
change, water shortages, labor gaps, and costly new technology.
Unpredictable weather — droughts, floods, wildfires — threatens
crops and disrupts practices. Managing water is crucial, as
farmers juggle conservation and irrigation. Labor shortages
push up costs and slow down operations. While tech can boost
efficiency, it often requires heavy investment and specialized
skills. These challenges demand resilience and innovation from
the farming community. Farming has been essential since humans
first cultivated crops.
Facing a future with less water, the country’s largest
agricultural water district is turning from growing nuts,
vegetables, fruit and beef to a new crop: solar power.
Westlands Water District, which supplies some of California’s
driest farmland, is making plans to convert some 200 square
miles of it — an area roughly the size of Detroit — into what
would be the largest solar installation in the world. Under
pressure, Westlands, more usually known for its ties to former
President Donald Trump and for fighting aggressively for every
extra drop of water it can get, is diversifying both
economically and politically.
Flocks of birds have returned to the shallow waters along
Highway 99 south of Yuba City where fields of rice grew weeks
before, a sure sign that harvest is over and winter is near.
Like most crops throughout the state, by this point in the
year, the rice fields of Montna Farms have been harvested and
stored. Testing of the farm’s medium grain rice has come back
at a typical, high quality, said Jon Munger, Montna Farms vice
president of operations. But it remains to be seen whether this
summer’s heat wave in the Sacramento Valley affected the
quality of rice planted and harvested later in the season.
Facing a future with less water, the country’s largest
agricultural water district is turning from growing nuts,
vegetables, fruit and beef to a new crop: solar power.
Westlands Water District, which supplies some of California’s
driest farmland in the Central Valley, is making plans to
convert some 200 square miles of it — an area roughly the size
of Detroit — into what would be the largest solar installation
in the world. The move marks both an economic and political
diversification for a district usually better known for its
ties to former President Donald Trump and for fighting
aggressively for every extra drop of water it can get.
… [Jared Lorraine, president and CEO of Nichols Farms] said
he sees pistachio production reaching 2 billion pounds within
the next 10 years. However, that’s not without some challenges.
“In the coming years, California’s agriculture industry is
going to face water limits under the requirements of the
state’s [Sustainable Groundwater Management Act] regulations,”
he said. “I see it potentially reaching a 2-billion-pound
industry, but I think SGMA is really going to slow that pace
down, just [based] off of what the numbers look like.” The
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was passed in 2014 and
requires local agencies to adopt groundwater sustainability
plans for high- and medium-priority groundwater basins, and
they must meet those sustainability goals within 20 years of
implementing the plans. Lorraine said about 5 million acres of
pistachios are irrigated within the San Joaquin Valley. He
estimates about 20% of those acres will be taken out of
production due to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
With Colorado and the southwest looking at an increasingly
hotter and drier future, researchers with Colorado State
University in the Grand Valley are looking into how alternative
hay crops respond to drought and whether they can use less
water than the thirsty alfalfa grown throughout the region. On
Tuesday, The Water for Colorado Coalition hosted several tours
along the Colorado River corridor looking at different water
conservation projects. The last stop was at the CSU Western
Colorado Research Center where Dr. Perry Cabot, a research
scientist with CSU, is conducting trials on alternative forage
or hay crops.
… For the first paper, published in June in the journal
Energy & Environmental Science, William Tarpeh and his
co-authors – including first author Dean Miller, a Stanford PhD
candidate in chemical engineering – used wastewater from a Palo
Alto treatment plant to test a process for converting nitrate
into ammonia. For the second paper, published in October in the
same journal, Tarpeh’s team tested another process that
produces high-purity ammonia from agricultural runoff.
… Tarpeh and his colleagues created an
“electrocatalyst-in-a-box” – an electrically driven process
that both extracts nitrate from wastewater and converts that
nitrate into ammonia. For the second paper, Tarpeh’s team used
a two-step process of electrodialysis and nitrate reduction to
take nitrate and ammonia from wastewater and convert them
together into high-purity ammonia. They successfully
concentrated ammonia about 12 times compared to the nitrate and
ammonia in the original wastewater, Tarpeh said.
… In Pinal County, … water shortages mean that farmers no
longer have access to the Colorado River, formerly the
lifeblood of their cotton and alfalfa empires. The booming
population of the area’s subdivisions face a water reckoning as
well: The state has placed a moratorium on new housing
development in parts of the county, as part of an effort to
protect dwindling groundwater resources. Over
the past four years, Arizona has become a poster child for
water scarcity in the United States. Between decades of
unsustainable groundwater pumping and a once-in-a-millenium
drought, fueled by climate change, water sources in every
region of the state are under threat. As groundwater aquifers
dry up near some of the most populous areas, officials have
blocked thousands of new homes from being built in and around
the booming Phoenix metropolitan area.
San Diego County is home to more than 5,000 small farms, but
fewer than 2% are owned or operated by Black, Indigenous, or
people of color, according to the 2022 Agricultural Census. For
many marginalized communities, historical inequities have
limited access to land and farming opportunities.
… Byron Nkhoma, a Zimbabwean farmer in Ramona, leases
land to grow vegetables under his operation, Hukama Produce.
Since starting in 2015, he has faced two ownership changes,
raising concerns about the stability of his lease. … Nkhoma
applies sustainable farming practices, such as drip irrigation
and composting, to improve soil health. Through CALE, Hukama
Produce receives technical support for conservation, grant
writing, and tenure-building strategies.
The value of farmland in parts of the San Joaquin Valley,
California’s agricultural heartland, has fallen rapidly this
year as commodity prices lag and implementation of the state’s
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act casts a shadow on the
future of farming in the region. In 2014, when SGMA was
adopted, the value of farmland without reliable surface water
access began to decline. But within the past several months,
those values have plummeted, according to appraisers, realtors
and county assessors. “It’s very dramatic,” said Janie Gatzman,
owner of Gatzman Appraisal in Stanislaus County, who until last
month served as president of the California chapter of the
American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.
… The sharp drop in land values this year—a decade
after SGMA was adopted—came as implementation of the law ramped
up. This year, state regulators intervened for the first time.
… Rice farmers in the Central Valley flood their fields when
the growing season ends, generally around November, and keep
them flooded until February to help the leftover vegetation
decompose. They plant their crop after the fields dry out in
late spring. The program pays rice farmers in the birds’ flight
path to flood their fields a bit earlier in the fall and leave
them flooded later in the spring. This creates habitat when the
migratory birds need it the most, as they fly southward in the
late summer and early fall and pass through again on their way
north in the spring. Daniel Karp, a researcher at UC Davis who
studies conservation in working landscapes and is not involved
in BirdReturns, sees the program as a rare conservation win.
… While it’s far from a complete solution, “it’s this weird
rare circumstance where you have a large industrial-scale
intensive agricultural system that can simultaneously support
wildlife,” Karp said.
The powerful and politically right-leaning Westlands Water
District recently teamed up with left-leaning Democratic
assemblymember Esmeralda Soria on renewable energy. Her
bill, AB 2661, was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last month
and will allow Westlands in western Fresno County to
oversee the generation, storage and transmission of solar
energy. Within Westlands, about 130,000 acres – a little
more than one-third the footprint of the City of Los Angeles –
has been taken out of agricultural production and is available
for solar development under the renewable energy project,
called the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan (VCIP,) said Jose
Gutierrez, assistant general manager of Westlands.
… Imperial Valley farmers agreed to leave many hay fields
unwatered for seven weeks this year in exchange for cash
payments from a federally funded program designed to alleviate
the water shortage on the Colorado River. Many farmers decided
that the payments — $300 per acre-foot of water conserved —
would pencil out for them this year, in part because hay prices
have recently fallen. But while the three-year deal is helping
to save water in the river’s reservoirs, some people in the
Imperial Valley say they’re concerned it’s also accelerating
the decline of the Salton Sea and worsening environmental
problems along its retreating shores. With less water running
off fields and into the sea, growing stretches of dry lakebed
are being exposed to desert winds that kick
up lung-damaging dust. At the same time, the lake is
growing saltier as it shrinks, bringing changes to a habitat
that is a vital stopover for migratory birds.
… almonds are a thirsty crop, which can be problematic under
water shortages in California. So Kind Snacks, a producer of
snack bars and cereal, is delving into the nuts and bolts of
almond farming. Last year, it launched a three-year pilot
program, the Almond Acres Initiative, to test regenerative
agriculture and new technologies in partnership with one of its
top suppliers, Ofi. With a year of promising progress
under their belt, the organizations are expanding the Central
Valley project to include a second, drier site. Undaunted by
dust and dehydration, they’re hoping to make our favorite nut a
little better for everyone.
California’s reputation as a hothouse of progressive politics
is being tested in a string of U.S. House contests that are
again expected to play into which party controls the chamber
next year. …In the 13th District, Republican Rep. John Duarte
is facing Adam Gray, the Democrat he defeated two
years ago by one of the closest margins in the country, 564
votes. Duarte often is listed among the House’s most vulnerable
Republicans, given that narrow victory. Both candidates
have been stressing bipartisan credentials. Duarte, a
businessman and major grape and almond farmer, says his
priorities include curbing inflation and crime and securing
adequate supplies water for farmers, a
perennial issue in the valley. Gray, a former legislator, has
criticized state water management and puts water and
agriculture at the top of his issues list. He also
says he wants improvements in infrastructure, renewable energy
and education.
With their orchards, vineyards and high-value crops, California
farmers have embraced drip and other forms of microirrigation,
making such systems the leading method used to water their
crops. Despite increased adoption of drip, the traditional and
more low-tech method of flooding the ground and using gravity
to deliver water to crops remains popular in the Golden
State—and not just for field crops. Less popular in California
are sprinkler systems, even though they remain the most widely
used irrigation method in the nation. There’s a reason
microirrigation has taken off. Drip systems, in general,
improve irrigation efficiency, said Khaled Bali, an irrigation
water management specialist at the University of California
Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier.
With improved irrigation efficiency, farmers can produce higher
yields per unit of applied water, he added.
To meet budgetary shortfalls for water rights and water quality
programs that require participation by farmers and ranchers,
the California State Water Resources Control Board has approved
rate increases, including for groundwater recharge projects.
The state water board adopted increases for the new 2024-25 fee
schedule at its Sept. 18 meeting. The higher fees come as
California water users and local agencies work to balance
critically overdrafted aquifers under the state’s Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA. Alexandra Biering, senior
policy advocate for the California Farm Bureau, and others
representing agriculture and water districts emphasized that
higher fees for groundwater recharge permits would prevent
participation by some water users.
The only head-to-head debate in California’s high-stakes
U.S. Senate race between Rep. Adam B. Schiff and former
Dodger Steve Garvey was dominated Tuesday by contentious
exchanges on a host of national political issues — from
immigration to the economy, expanding conflict in the Middle
East, reproductive healthcare and global warming. … Later in
the debate, Feinstein came up again, on the issue of
environmental regulations — and whether Schiff would ease
water restrictions on
farmers. Schiff said he would not “support
eviscerating” regulations, but would do what Sen. Feinstein
did, which is “look for those opportunities where we can have a
win, both for our farms, our cities and our environment.”
Garvey said environmentalists in the state need to work with
farmers, and that he is a “consensus builder” who can help make
that happen.He called water the “platinum issue in California,”
and one Schiff doesn’t know how to fix.
Water managers in two Tulare County groundwater agencies are
scrambling to keep their farmers out of state clutches as much
as possible, even knowing the solution will be painful. “As
long as we don’t saddle our landowners with another fee and a
report to fill out, that’s our goal,” said attorney Alex
Peltzer, who represents Lower Tule River Irrigation District
and Pixley groundwater sustainability agencies. “That is our
attitude and it is doable. It’s going to be unpopular and tough
to do, but it’s possible. We think we can help manage
landowners into a soft landing.” The only way to get
there, though, is to significantly reduce pumping – and fast.
The Almond Alliance offered its support for a $14 billion
disaster relief legislation introduced by U.S. Reps. David G.
Valadao, R-Calif., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., which offers
support for farmers and rural communities impacted by natural
disasters in 2023 including floods, droughts and wildfires. The
bipartisan Agriculture Disaster Relief Supplemental
Appropriations Act proposes $14 billion in disaster relief
funding to the agriculture secretary’s office for 2023 disaster
expenses, according to a news release. It incorporates
provisions from past relief programs, including drought
definitions and direct payments and ensures simultaneous
payment administration for all producers.
Land owners can now officially submit proposals to Madera
County to convert their ag land to less water intensive uses
under a new program adopted by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday
using $10 million in state funds. The money comes from
the state’s Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program, which aims
to reduce reliance on groundwater by putting cropland to other
uses such as solar energy, water recharge basins, wildlife
habitat and recreation, to name a few. Any landowners in
Madera County can submit proposals since this state funding
came to the county, not the county’s groundwater sustainability
agency.
The California Water Institute at Fresno State announces its
first formal partnership with Sustainable Conservation on a
$498,423 grant-funded project from the California Department of
Food and Agriculture aimed at enhancing aquifer replenishment
in the San Joaquin Valley. … Dr. Sangeeta Bansal,
assistant professor of soil health at Fresno State and
co-principal investigator of the project, will study the
effects of cover crops on soil health and the outcomes of
on-farm recharge including nutrient cycling and soil hydraulic
function.
You’ve heard the news: Farmers and ranchers use roughly 80% of
the water in Colorado and much of the American West. So doesn’t
it make sense that if growers and producers could just cut a
bit of that, say 10%, we could wipe out all our water
shortages? We probably couldn’t water our lawns with wild
abandon, but still, wouldn’t that simple move let everyone
relax on these high-stress water issues? Not exactly. To do so
would require drying up thousands of acres of productive
irrigated lands, causing major disruptions to rural farm
economies and the agriculture industry, while wiping out vast
swaths of open space and habitat that rely on the industry’s
sprawling, intricate irrigation ditches, experts said.
More than 80 acres of wetlands and salt marsh have been
restored at the San Dieguito Lagoon. Much of the area, which
sits between Del Mar and Solana Beach near Interstate 5, had
been used for agriculture. Restoring the wetlands involved
removing enough soil to fill 333 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Invasive plants were also removed and replaced with native
ones. The project restored habitat for several endangered bird
species. “What was here before was rows and rows of always — it
seemed to be — dried out tomato plants,” said Solana Beach
Mayor Lesa Heebner. “To see it go from that to this, is a
stunning transformation.” The tomato plants have been replaced
by a marsh, where cranes wade in the water and other birds dive
for fish. Officials said birdwatchers have already spotted
coastal California gnatcatchers and light-footed Ridgway’s
rails, two species with dwindling populations.
Today, Reps. Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) and David G. Valadao (CA-22)
introduced the Agriculture Disaster Relief Supplemental
Appropriations Act. The bill provides an additional $14 billion
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to assist
agriculture producers impacted by losses caused by natural
disasters in 2023. … “Natural disasters like drought and
flooding have caused devastating losses for Central Valley
producers over the last two years,” said Rep.
Valadao. “These extreme weather events negatively affect
the security of our nation’s food supply, prices for consumers,
and jobs throughout our community. My legislation provides USDA
with the funding necessary to assist farmers in California and
across the country who have been impacted by natural disasters.
Producers in the Central Valley have had a difficult and
uncertain couple of years, and I’ll continue working to ensure
they have the resources and support they need to grow the food
that feeds the world.”
Seeking to prevent the California State Water Resources Control
Board from stepping in to regulate groundwater in critically
overdrafted subbasins, local agencies are working to correct
deficiencies in their plans to protect groundwater. With
groundwater sustainability agencies formed and groundwater
sustainability plans evaluated, the state water board has moved
to implement the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act,
or SGMA. … Under probation, groundwater extractors in
the Tulare Lake subbasin face annual fees of $300 per well and
$20 per acre-foot pumped, plus a late reporting fee of 25%.
SGMA also requires well owners to file annual groundwater
extraction reports.
Catastrophic weather events wreaked havoc on U.S. agriculture
last year, causing nearly $22 billion in crop and rangeland
losses, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
California accounted for $1.14 billion of that figure,
including nearly $880 million in damages from severe storms and
flooding. The figures represent a significant shift from
previous years, when drought and wildfires were California’s
biggest challenges. Since then, atmospheric rivers, Tropical
Storm Hilary and other weather events battered our farming
communities. - Written by Matthew Viohl, director of federal
policy for the California Farm Bureau
Water, the essence of life, is an indispensable resource
intricately woven into the fabric of our daily existence. From
the food on our plates to the gadgets in our hands, water
silently plays a pivotal role in the creation of almost
everything we encounter. In a world where water scarcity is a
looming concern, it is essential to explore the profound impact
of water in the production of goods and services that shape our
lives as well as the food we feed our families. -Written by Mike Wade, executive director of the
California Farm Water Coalition
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries through a scenic landscape while learning 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.
Water Education Foundation
2151 River Plaza Drive, Suite 205
Sacramento, CA 95833
The 3ʳᵈ International Conference, Toward Sustainable Groundwater in Agriculture: Linking Science & Policy took place from June 18 – 20. Organized by the Water Education Foundation and the UC Davis Robert M. Hagan Endowed Chair, the conference provided scientists, policymakers, agricultural and environmental interest group representatives, government officials and consultants with the latest scientific, management, legal and policy advances for sustaining our groundwater resources in agricultural regions around the world.
The conference keynote address was provided by Mark Arax, an award-winning journalist and author of books chronicling agriculture and water issues in California’s Central Valley. Arax comes from a family of Central Valley farmers and is praised for writing books that are deeply profound, heartfelt and nuanced including The Dreamt Land, West of the West and The King of California. He did a reading from his latest book The Dreamt Land and commented on the future of groundwater in the Valley during his keynote lunch talk on June 18.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
1333 Bayshore Hwy
Burlingame, CA 94010
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand 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 some 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.
Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip South
7830 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89123
This special Foundation water tour journeyed along the Eastern Sierra from the Truckee River to Mono Lake, through the Owens Valley and into the Mojave Desert to explore a major source of water for Southern California, this year’s snowpack and challenges for towns, farms and the environment.
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries through a scenic landscape while learning 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.
Water Education Foundation
2151 River Plaza Drive, Suite 205
Sacramento, CA 95833
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape while learning 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.
Water Education Foundation
2151 River Plaza Drive, Suite 205
Sacramento, CA 95833
This tour traveled along the San Joaquin River to learn firsthand
about one of the nation’s largest and most expensive river
restoration projects.
The San Joaquin River was the focus of one of the most
contentious legal battles in California water history,
ending in a 2006 settlement between the federal government,
Friant Water Users Authority and a coalition of environmental
groups.
Hampton Inn & Suites Fresno
327 E Fir Ave
Fresno, CA 93720
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand 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 some 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
This tour ventured through California’s Central Valley, known as the nation’s breadbasket thanks to an imported supply of surface water and local groundwater. Covering about 20,000 square miles through the heart of the state, the valley provides 25 percent of the nation’s food, including 40 percent of all fruits, nuts and vegetables consumed throughout the country.
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
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.
This tour guided participants on a virtual journey deep into California’s most crucial water and ecological resource – the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The 720,000-acre network of islands and canals support the state’s two major water systems – the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. The Delta and the connecting San Francisco Bay form the largest freshwater tidal estuary of its kind on the West coast.
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.
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
This 2-day, 1-night tour offered participants the opportunity to
learn about water issues affecting California’s scenic Central
Coast and efforts to solve some of the challenges of a region
struggling to be sustainable with limited local supplies that
have potential applications statewide.
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 Oroville Dam spillway
repairs.
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
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
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.
Participants of this tour snaked along the San Joaquin River to
learn firsthand about one of the nation’s largest and most
expensive river restoration projects.
The San Joaquin River was the focus of one of the most
contentious legal battles in California water history,
ending in a 2006 settlement between the federal government,
Friant Water Users Authority and a coalition of environmental
groups.
Groundwater replenishment happens
through direct recharge and in-lieu recharge. Water used for
direct recharge most often comes from flood flows, water
conservation, recycled water, desalination and water
transfers.
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.
California agriculture is going to have to learn to live with the
impacts of climate change and work toward reducing its
contributions of greenhouse gas emissions, a Yolo County walnut
grower said at the Jan. 26 California Climate Change Symposium in
Sacramento.
“I don’t believe we are going to be able to adapt our way out of
climate change,” said Russ Lester, co-owner of Dixon Ridge Farms
in Winters. “We need to mitigate for it. It won’t solve the
problem but it can slow it down.”
From the Greek “xeros” and Middle Dutch “scap,”
xeriscape was coined
in 1978 and literally translates to “dry scene.”
Xeriscaping, by extension, is making an environment which can
tolerate dryness. This involves installing drought-resistant and
slow-growing plants to reduce water use.
Irrigation is the artificial supply
of water to grow crops or plants. Obtained from either surface or groundwater, it optimizes
agricultural production when the amount of rain and where it
falls is insufficient. Different irrigation
systems are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but in
practical use are often combined. Much of the agriculture in
California and the West relies on irrigation.
Excess salinity poses a growing
threat to food production, drinking water quality and public
health. Salts increase the cost of urban drinking water and
wastewater treatment, which are paid for by residents and
businesses. Increasing salinity is likely the largest long-term
chronic water quality impairment to surface and groundwater in California’s Central
Valley.
California’s severe drought has put its water rights system under
scrutiny, raising the question whether a complete overhaul is
necessary to better allocate water use.
(Read the excerpt below from the July/August 2015 issue along
with the editor’s note. Click here
to subscribe to Western Water and get full access.)
Introduction
California’s severe drought has put its water rights system under
scrutiny, raising the question whether a complete overhaul is
necessary to better allocate water use.
This issue looks at remote sensing applications and how satellite
information enables analysts to get a better understanding of
snowpack, how much water a plant actually uses, groundwater
levels, levee stability and more.
This 3-day, 2-night tour, which we do every spring,
travels the length of the San Joaquin Valley, giving participants
a clear understanding of the State Water Project and Central
Valley Project.
Located just north of Fresno, the
Friant Dam helps deliver water as it runs towards the Merced River, though its
environmental impacts have caused controversy.
This printed issue of Western Water examines
agricultural water use – its successes, the planned state
regulation to quantify its efficiency and the potential for
greater savings.
This Western Water looks at proposed new measures to deal with
the century-old problem of salinity with a special focus on San
Joaquin Valley farms and cities.
The Reclamation Act of 1902, which could arguably be described as
a progression of the credo, Manifest Destiny, transformed the
West. This issue of Western Water provides a glimpse of the past
100 years of the Reclamation Act, from the early visionaries who
sought to turn the arid West into productive farmland, to the
modern day task of providing a limited amount of water to homes,
farms and the environment. Included are discussions of various
Bureau projects and what the next century may bring in terms of
challenges and success.
30-minute DVD that traces the history of the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation and its role in the development of the West. Includes
extensive historic footage of farming and the construction of
dams and other water projects, and discusses historic and modern
day issues.
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.
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.
This beautiful 24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Klamath River Watershed. The
map text explains the many issues facing this vast,
15,000-square-mile watershed, including fish restoration;
agricultural water use; and wetlands. Also included are
descriptions of the separate, but linked, Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement and the Klamath Hydroelectric Agreement,
and the next steps associated with those agreements. Development
of the map was funded by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
This beautiful 24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including
the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text
explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson
rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery
restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many
of these issues.
This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, illustrates the
water resources available for Nevada cities, agriculture and the
environment. It features natural and manmade water resources
throughout the state, including the Truckee and Carson rivers,
Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake and the course of the Colorado River
that forms the state’s eastern boundary.
Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch
poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural
hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants,
rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation.
Excellent for elementary school classroom use.
With irrigation projects that import water, farmers have
transformed millions of acres of land into highly productive
fields and orchards. But the dry climate that provides an almost
year-round farming season can hasten salt build up in soils. The
build-up of salts in poorly drained soils can decrease crop
productivity, and there are links between drainage water from
irrigated fields and harmful impacts on fish and wildlife.
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).
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the State Water Project provides
an overview of the California-funded and constructed State Water
Project.
The State Water Project is best known for the 444-mile-long
aqueduct that provides water from the Delta to San Joaquin Valley
agriculture and southern California cities. The guide contains
information about the project’s history and facilities.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater is an in-depth,
easy-to-understand publication that provides background and
perspective on groundwater. The guide explains what groundwater
is – not an underground network of rivers and lakes! – and the
history of its use in California.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law, recognized as
the most thorough explanation of California water rights law
available to non-lawyers, traces the authority for water flowing
in a stream or reservoir, from a faucet or into an irrigation
ditch through the complex web of California water rights.
The 20-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Marketing provides
background information on water rights, types of transfers and
critical policy issues surrounding this topic. First published in
1996, the 2005 version offers expanded information on
groundwater banking and conjunctive use, Colorado River
transfers and the role of private companies in California’s
developing water market.
Order in bulk (25 or more copies of the same guide) for a reduced
fee. Contact the Foundation, 916-444-6240, for details.
The Water Education Foundation’s second edition of
the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is
hot off the press and available for purchase.
Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview covers the
history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental
relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers — and a
vast watershed that hosts one of the nation’s oldest and
largest reclamation projects.
There are two constants regarding agricultural water use –
growers will continue to come up with ever more efficient and
innovative ways to use water and they will always be pressed to
do more.
It’s safe to say the matter will not be settled anytime soon,
given all the complexities that are a part of the water use
picture today. While officials and stakeholders grapple to find a
lasting solution to California’s water problems that balances
environmental and economic needs, those who grow food and fiber
for a living do so amid a host of challenges.
Land retirement is a practice that takes agricultural lands out
of production due to poor drainage and soils containing high
levels of salt and selenium (a mineral found in soil).
Typically, landowners are paid to retire land. The purchaser,
often a local water district, then places a deed restriction on
the land to prevent growing crops with irrigation water (a source
of salt). Growers in some cases may continue to farm using rain
water, a method known as dry farming.
Evaporation ponds contain agricultural drainage water and are
used when agricultural growers do not have access to rivers for
drainage disposal.
Drainage water is the only source of water in many of these
ponds, resulting in extremely high concentrations of salts.
Concentrations of other trace elements such as selenium are also
elevated in evaporation basins, with a wide degree of variability
among basins.
Such ponds resemble wetland areas that birds use for nesting and
feeding grounds and may pose risks to waterfowl and shorebirds.
The Coachella Valley in Southern California’s Inland Empire is
one of several valleys throughout the state with a water district
established to support agriculture.
Like the others, the Coachella Valley Water District in Riverside
County delivers water to arid agricultural lands and constructs,
operates and maintains a regional agricultural drainage system.
These systems collect drainage water from individual farm drain
outlets and convey the water to a point of reuse, disposal or
dilution.
