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Topic: Oroville Dam

Overview April 24, 2014

Oroville Dam

Oroville Dam is the centerpiece and largest water storage facility of the State Water Project. Located about 70 miles north of Sacramento at the Feather River confluence, Oroville Dam creates a reservoir that can hold 3.5 million acre-feet of water.

Features such as a fish barrier dam and pool at Oroville Dam made the SWP one of the first major water projects built with environmental protections as a major consideration.

Besides storing water, the dam also protects downstream residents from the floodprone Feather River—the main feeder of the SWP— and provides major water recreation facilities such as boating, fishing and camping.

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Aquafornia news March 15, 2023 The Los Angeles Times

Opinion: Why rain-on-snow floods from atmospheric rivers could get much worse

California’s latest atmospheric rivers are sending rainfall higher into the mountains and onto the state’s crucial snowpack. The rain alone is a problem for low-lying areas already dealing with destructive flooding, but the prospect of rain on the deep mountain snow has triggered widespread flood warnings. When rain falls on snow, it creates complex flood risks that are hard to forecast. Those risks are also rising with climate change. For much of the United States, storms with heavy rainfall can coincide with seasonal snow cover. When that happens, the resulting runoff of water can be much greater than what is produced from rain or snowmelt alone. The combination has resulted in some of the nation’s most destructive and costly floods, including the 1996 Midwest floods and the 2017 flood that damaged California’s Oroville Dam.
-Written by Keith Musselman, an assistant professor in geography, mountain hydrology and climate change at the University of Colorado Boulder. ​

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Aquafornia news March 13, 2023 Mercury News

Oroville Dam floodgates opened as storms fill massive reservoir

In another sign that the drought is ending across much of California, state water officials opened the floodgates at Oroville Dam on Friday to let water out of the state’s second-largest reservoir to reduce the risk of flooding to downstream communities. … At noon, water began cascading down the huge concrete spillway for the first time in four years. On Friday, Oroville reservoir was 75% full — or 115% of its historical average for early March. It has risen 180 feet since Dec. 1, and continued to expand steadily with millions of gallons of water pouring in from recent storms.

Related articles: 

  • The Sacramento Bee: Central Coast reservoir spills for first time in 18 years 
  • Sacramento Bee: As California gets drenched, officials opening Oroville Dam spillway for first time in 4 years
  • SFist: Some Bay Area Reservoirs Overflowing Amid Recent Rain
  • KRCR – Redding: DWR slightly increases release rate for Oroville Dam
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 10, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Friday Top of the Scroll: California lowering dam water levels, warns of flood threat as storm hits

With back-to-back storms to hit California in the coming days, state officials are scrambling to make strategic releases from key reservoirs in hopes of preventing a repeat of the flooding that killed nearly two dozen people in January. At least 10 rivers are forecast to overflow from the incoming “Pineapple Express” storm, which is expected to drop warm, heavy, snow-melting rain as it moves from the Central Coast toward the southern Sierra beginning Thursday night into Saturday. Among them are rivers that flooded at the start of the year, when nine atmospheric river storms pummeled the state. The waterways include the Cosumnes River near Sacramento, where more than a dozen levee breaches sent floodwaters onto roadways and low-lying areas, trapping drivers and contributing to at least three deaths along Highway 99.

Related articles: 

  • Courthouse News Service: Reservoir releases underway as California braces for atmospheric rivers
  • CalMatters: California storms create paradox – Too much water in reservoirs, too soon
  • CBS – San Francisco: Millions face atmospheric river flood threat; Evacuations warnings issued in Santa Cruz County
  • Sacramento Bee: California releases water from filling reservoirs. Is the drought over?
  • Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom: Governor Newsom Requests Presidential Emergency Declaration to Support Storm Response
  • NPR: California braces for atmospheric rivers which will likely cause more flooding
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Pineapple Express storm slams into Bay Area flooding roads, toppling trees
  • ABC – Sacramento: California Winter Storm - How much water is being release from Folsom Dam
  • CNN: Rain rates in California during newest storm may reach 1 inch per hour
  • ABC 30 – Fresno: Fresno Irrigation District working to handle water coming from atmospheric river
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 8, 2023 Ag Alert

Despite storms, water challenges persist

As still more storms dumped new snow onto California’s burgeoning snowpack, water managers, farmers and environmentalists gathered in Sacramento last week to discuss long-term challenges to secure a more certain water future. The fresh snowfall contrasted with challenging water realities discussed at the 61st California Irrigation Institute Annual Conference. With a theme of “One Water: Partnering for Solutions,” the event focused on addressing impacts of climate change, including warming conditions and frequent droughts that severely diminish the snowpack and state water supplies. The gathering emphasized solutions that some speakers said could be aided through partnerships among different water interests.

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Aquafornia news March 7, 2023 Mercury News

Opinion: Newsom made the right call on delaying Delta water flows

Over the past 10 years, California has seen two of the most severe droughts in a millennium separated by two of the wettest years on record. This erratic weather, volatile even by California standards, shattered heat records, killed millions of trees, fueled explosive wildfires and caused significant flooding. As California’s changing climate pushes us deeper into uncharted climate waters, past records are becoming a less reliable tool for predicting current and future weather patterns. That’s why Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent decision to delay the release of 700,000 acre-feet of water, enough to supply nearly 7 million people for a year, from state reservoirs into the Sacramento-San Joaquin-River Delta was the right call. Snowpack from early storms can be lost to dry, hot weather later this spring.
-Written by Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council. ​

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Aquafornia news March 7, 2023 Mercury News

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: Atmospheric river storm this week will bring heavy rain, raise flood concerns with huge Sierra Nevada snowpack

The winter of 2023 isn’t finished yet. Not by a long shot. An atmospheric river storm is likely to hit Northern California late Thursday into Friday, meteorologists and climate scientists said Monday, bringing high chances of heavy rain in the Bay Area, 1 to 3 feet of new snow at higher elevations in the Sierra, and an increased risk of flooding as the warm rain hits the state’s massive snowpack. Details about the storm, a classic “pineapple express” event barreling in more than 2,000 miles from Hawaii, are still not certain. … [Forecasters] said that the latest storm by itself won’t likely be enough to cause major melting of the immense Sierra snowpack — which on Monday was 192% of its historic average, the most snow in 30 years — because the deep snow can absorb a fair amount of rain.

Related articles: 

  • Los Angeles Times: California forecasters warn of approaching atmospheric river 
  • Sacramento Bee: Sacramento braces for atmospheric river storm as more rain and snow hit Northern California
  • Record Net: Warm storm into the weekend could bring flood risk to San Joaquin County
  • USA Today: Dramatic photos show aftermath of historic snowfall, winter storms blanketing California
  • CalMatters: Opinion - California’s record winter storms could spawn disastrous floods
  • KSBY – Central Coast: Coldest winter on the Central Coast and Los Angeles since 1978-79
  • Washington Post: Storms keep hammering California and this could soon become a problem
  • KRCR – Redding: Why does it keep snowing in the Northstate? A look at Redding’s historical snow trends
  • Scientific American: ‘Pretty Epic’ Mountain Snowfall Stuns Californians
  • Sacramento News and Review: Got Snow? The huge Sierra snow-pack is creating new and future problems
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 3, 2023 AP News

Half of California freed from drought thanks to rain, snow

Tremendous rains and snowfall since late last year have freed half of California from drought, but low groundwater levels remain a persistent problem, U.S. Drought Monitor data showed Thursday. The latest survey found that moderate or severe drought covers about 49% of the state, nearly 17% of the state is free of drought or a condition described as abnormally dry. The remainder is still abnormally dry. “Clearly the amount of water that’s fallen this year has greatly alleviated the drought,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “It has not ended the drought completely but we’re in a very different place than we were a year ago.” California’s latest drought began in 2020 and no relief appeared in sight heading into this winter.

Related articles: 

  • Los Angeles Times: Winter storms ease drought conditions in California, report shows
  • Mercury News: Drought is now over in more than half of California, including the Bay Area, feds say 
  • Sacramento Bee: Most of California exits drought after latest storms. Interactive map shows where
  • San Francisco Chronicle: California reservoir levels - Here’s where they are after winter storms
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Map shows stunning improvement in California drought
  • Ojai Valley News: Rain drowns drought | Lake Casitas now 50.2% full
  • Forbes: Parts Of California Out Of Drought—But Experts Still Warn Drought Conditions Will Remain
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 2, 2023 Newsweek

California reservoir water levels before and after winter storm

After another week of severe winter weather, levels in California’s recovering water reservoirs have continued to rise, signaling good news for the state’s summer water supplies. This follows weeks of considerable rain and snowfall in California since the start of 2023. … At the beginning of this water year, which started on October 1, 2022, the state’s largest water reservoir, Lake Shasta, was a third full, at 33 percent. It was at 60 percent as of March 1 and rising, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. That puts it at 84 percent of where it would usually be usually at this time of year.

Related articles: 

  • Redding Record Searchlight: Lake Shasta rises only 8 feet in February, despite snow and rain
  • ABC 7 – Los Angeles: Parts of California now drought-free after back-to-back storms drench state, report shows
  • Reuters: Drought in California
  • Center for Western Weather and Extremes: Drought attribution studies and water resources management
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 21, 2023 The Wall Street Journal

Will California’s excess snow become useable water this year?

After three of the driest years in California history, recent storms brought some of the wettest and snowiest weeks on record to parts of the state. Snowpack accumulated during winter is vital to the state’s water system because the natural form of water storage melts during the spring and fills reservoirs that can then distribute water downstream where needed. The Sierra Nevada snowpack supplies about 30% of California’s water needs when it melts. How fast that happens can greatly impact the state’s water supply system.

Related articles: 

  • CNN: Lake Oroville: Before-and-after photos show remarkable recovery at California’s most beleaguered reservoir
  • Press Democrat: Just because North Bay reservoirs are full, it doesn’t mean the drought is over, experts say
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 17, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Newsom seeks to waive environmental protections in delta

As January’s drenching storms have given way to an unseasonably dry February, Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking to waive environmental rules in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in an effort to store more water in reservoirs — a move that is drawing heated criticism from environmental advocates who say the action will imperil struggling fish populations. …The agencies are requesting an easing of requirements that would otherwise mandate larger flows through the estuary. The aim is to hold back more water in Lake Oroville while also continuing to pump water to reservoirs south of the delta that supply farmlands as well as Southern California cities that are dealing with the ongoing shortage of supplies from the shrinking Colorado River.

Related articles: 

  • SJV Sun: After flushing stormwater, Newsom signs order to boost water flow to Valley
  • LA Times: Editorial – Newsom’s drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
  • CBS – Sacramento: California water debate reignites following January’s massive precipitation
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 16, 2023 The Associated Press

Thursday Top of the Scroll: California debates what to do with water from recent storms

Weeks after powerful storms dumped 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow on California, state officials and environmental groups in the drought-ravaged state are grappling with what to do with all of that water. State rules say when it rains and snows a lot in California, much of that water must stay in the rivers to act as a conveyer belt to carry tens of thousands of endangered baby salmon into the Pacific Ocean. But this week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked state regulators to temporarily change those rules. He says the drought has been so severe it would be foolish to let all of that water flow into the ocean and that there’s plenty of water for the state to take more than the rules allow while still protecting threatened fish species.

Related articles: 

  • Natural Resources Defense Council: Blog: A ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ Card for Stealing the Delta’s Water
  • State Water Contractors: News release: State Water Contractors respond to Governor Newsom’s water resilience order
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 15, 2023 CalMatters

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: Newsom waives environmental laws to store more water

Facing an onslaught of criticism that water was “wasted” during January storms, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday suspended environmental laws to give the go-ahead to state officials to hold more water in reservoirs. The governor’s executive order authorized the State Water Resources Control Board to “consider modifying” state requirements that dictate how much water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is allowed to flow into San Francisco Bay.  In January, after floodwaters surged into the bay, farm groups, Central Valley legislators and urban water providers complained that people and farms were being short-changed to protect fish. … Environmental activists say Newsom’s order is another sign that California is shifting priorities in how it manages water supply for humans and ecosystems.

Related articles: 

  • CA Department of Water Resources: DWR, Reclamation Submit Request to Adjust Water Right Permit Conditions to Conserve Storage
  • San Francisco Baykeeper: Letter to State Water Board
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 14, 2023 The Hill

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: Newsom signs order to protect California’s water supply from extreme weather

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order on Monday to safeguard his state’s water supplies from the effects of extreme weather. The order will help expand California’s capacity to capture storm runoff during wet years by accelerating groundwater recharge projects, according to the governor’s office. While a string of storms earlier this winter resulted in California’s wettest three weeks on record, the Golden State is already experiencing an unseasonably dry February, according to Newsom’s order…. In addition, the order directs state agencies to provide recommendations on California’s drought response by the end of April — including provisions that may no longer be necessary.

Related articles: 

  • Courthouse News Service: Newsom signs executive order to increase statewide stormwater capture
  • Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom: Governor Newsom Signs Order to Build Water Resilience Amid Climate-Driven Extreme Weather
  • California Globe: Gov. Newsom Signs New Executive Order To Help Retain Water Against Extreme Weather Events
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 13, 2023 Newsweek

Monday Top of the Scroll: California reservoir levels before and after rain seen from space

In the wake of the deluge of rain that battered California at the start of the year, many of the state’s most important reservoirs and lakes have seen water levels rise. The increase in water levels between last fall and now at two key California reservoirs—Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta—can be seen clearly in photographs taken from space by NASA’s Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite and by the OLI-2 sensor on Landsat 9. … As of January 29, 2023, when the most recent picture was taken, Lake Shasta’s water levels stood at 986.93 feet above sea level, according to the California Department of Water Resources, amounting to around 56 percent of its capacity, and 87 percent of the average water levels for this time of year. On November 18, when the first picture was taken, the lake’s water levels were measured at 917.95 feet above sea level, around 31 percent of the lake’s capacity.

Related articles: 

  • Los Angeles Times: Dramatic photos show Lake Oroville’s rise after epic storms
  • Yale Environment 360: California Reservoirs Refilled by Winter Deluges, Satellite Images Show
  • Fox 26 News – Fresno: Valley remains in moderate drought despite impressive rain amount this winter
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 10, 2023 KCRA - Sacramento

Friday Top of the Scroll: Here’s a look at California water supply conditions

The first week of February brought only modest amounts of rain and snow but despite that, California’s snowpack and many of the state’s largest reservoirs are in good shape. According to data tracked by California’s Department of Water Resources, the statewide snowpack is at 135% of the average peak. Typically the snowpack peaks in late March to early April. … As of midday Thursday, Lake Shasta is at 58% of capacity, which is 86% of the average for this date. Lake Oroville is at 67% of capacity. That is 113% of the average for today’s date. Shasta and Oroville are the two largest surface water storage facilities in the state. Water storage will gradually increase at both sites in the coming weeks and months as the Sierra snowpack melts off.

Related articles: 

  • Spectrum News 1: LADWP - Eastern Sierra snowpack reading is 264% of normal
  • Sacramento Bee: Did California drought conditions improve with latest rain? Interactive map shows latest
  • Newsweek: California Reservoir Overspills for First Time in Over a Decade After Rain
  • ABC 10 – Sacramento: Another mild weekend storm on tap for Northern California
  • Tahoe Daily Tribune: Lake Tahoe may receive some snow to start weekend
  • Bakersfield Californian: Corps of Engineers officially asks for ‘deviation’ to begin process of filling Isabella Lake
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Tour October 12, 2022 - 7:30am - October 14, 2022 - 6:30pm Nick Gray Northern California Tour Explores Water Resources Across Sacramento Valley to Shasta Dam

Northern California Tour 2022
Field Trip - October 12-14

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
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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.

  • Read more
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.

  • Read more
Announcement September 11, 2019

Northern California Tour to Include Update on Camp Fire Impacts to Paradise Water System
Paradise Irrigation District general manager will discuss the challenges to recovery on Oct. 2-4 tour

The deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history had a severe impact on the water system in the town of Paradise. Participants on our Oct. 2-4 Northern California Tour will hear from Kevin Phillips, general manager of Paradise Irrigation District, on the scope of the damages, the obstacles to recovery and the future of the water district.

The Camp Fire destroyed 90 percent of the structures in Paradise, and 90 percent of the irrigation district’s ratepayer base. The fire did not destroy the irrigation district’s water storage or treatment facilities, but it did melt plastic pipes, releasing contaminants into parts of the system and prompting do-not-drink advisories to water customers.

  • Read more
Tour October 2, 2019 - 7:30am - October 4, 2019 - 6:30pm Nick Gray Northern California Tour Explores Water Resources Across Sacramento Valley to Shasta Dam

Northern California Tour 2019
Field Trip - October 2-4

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.

  • David Guy Presentation
  • Willie Whittlesey Presentation
  • Kevin Phillips Presentation
  • Mark Oliver Presentation
  • Read more
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
  • Read more
Announcement July 20, 2017

Visit Oroville Dam and its Damaged Spillway in October on Northern California Water Tour
Meet with top officials coordinating repair efforts; learn what led to the crisis

In 2017, it is likely that no other water story grabbed as many headlines in California and across the country as the flood incident at Oroville Dam, the centerpiece of the State Water Project and its largest water storage facility.

On our upcoming Northern California Tour, we will spend time at the Oroville Dam visitor’s center and meet with California Department of Water Resources staff. You’ll see drone footage from February’s flood incident, learn the engineering background on what led to it, and hear about plans to stabilize the spillway before the next winter storms and to finalize repairs by 2018.

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Western Water Excerpt May 15, 2017 Jenn Bowles

Enhancing California’s Water Supply: The Drive for New Storage
Spring 2017

One of the wettest years in California history that ended a record five-year drought has rejuvenated the call for new storage to be built above and below ground.

In a state that depends on large surface water reservoirs to help store water before moving it hundreds of miles to where it is used, a wet year after a long drought has some people yearning for a place to sock away some of those flood flows for when they are needed.

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Western Water April 26, 2017 Gary Pitzer

Legislative Committee Spotlights Need for Improved Dam Oversight

California Natural Resources Agency Secretary John Laird said Tuesday that the February crisis with the broken spillway at Oroville Dam offers an “important opportunity” to assess the safety of the more than 1,400 dams in the state.

“We really want to use the focus on this to look at the issue of dam safety in California,” he said during a hearing of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. “We have the best inspection program of the 50 states but it is clear we can do better.”

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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.

  • Read more
Tour October 21, 2015 - October 23, 2015 Images from the Northern California Tour

Northern California Tour 2015
Field Trip (past)

This 3-day, 2-night tour traveled the length of the Sacramento Valley, a major source of water for California.

  • Draft Itinerary
  • Tour Brochure - Learn More
  • Presentation: Butte County and SGMA
  • Presentation: Iron Mountain. Superfund Site
  • Presentation: Sacramento Valley
  • Read more
Tour October 22, 2014 Images from the Northern California Tour

Northern California Tour 2014
Field Trip (past)

The 2014 tour took place October 22-24.

This 3-day, 2-night tour travels the length of the Sacramento Valley, a major source of water for California.

  • Curt Aikens, Yuba County Water Agency
  • Curtis Anderson, DWR, maps
  • Curtis Anderson, DWR, Integrating Water Management
  • Thad Bettner, Glenn Colusa ID
  • Peter Buck, SAFCA, Habitat Mitigation
  • Peter Buck, SAFCA
  • Jeff Davids Sac Valley Groundwater
  • Michelle Dooley, DWR, Groundwater
  • Steve Emmons, USFWS
  • Ron Ganzfried, USBR, Shasta Enlargement
  • David Guy, NCWA, Overview
  • David Guy, NCWA, Informational Posters
  • Diana Jacobs, Sacramento River Preservation Trust
  • Kisanuki and Brown, Clear Creek
  • David Vogel, Natural Resources Scientists Inc.
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Video May 27, 2014

A Climate of Change: Water Adaptation Strategies

This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an excellent overview of climate change and how it is already affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are underway to plan and adapt to climate.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Water Cycle Poster

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.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

California Water Map, Spanish

Spanish language version of our California Water Map

Versión en español de nuestro mapa de agua de California

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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 California Water Map

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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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 11, 2014 All Things Drought Dams Layperson's Guide to the State Water Project

Oroville Dam

Oroville Dam, a key part of California's State Water Project.Oroville Dam is the centerpiece of the State Water Project (SWP) and its largest water storage facility.

Located about 70 miles north of Sacramento at the confluence of the three forks of the Feather River, Oroville Dam is an earthfill dam (consisting of an impervious core surrounded by sands, gravels and rockfill materials) that creates a reservoir that can hold 3.5 million acre-feet of water.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 2008

Dealing with the ‘D’ Word: The Response to Drought
November/December 2008

This printed copy of Western Water examines California’s drought – its impact on water users in the urban and agricultural sector and the steps being taken to prepare for another dry year should it arrive.

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Water Academy

  • Agriculture
  • Background Information
  • Bay-Delta
  • Dams, Reservoirs and Water Projects
    • California Aqueduct
    • Central Valley Project
    • Folsom Dam
    • Friant Dam
    • Hetch Hetchy
    • Hoover Dam
    • Infrastructure
    • Lake Mead
    • Lake Powell
    • Oroville Dam
    • San Luis Dam
    • Shasta Dam
    • State Water Project
  • Environmental Issues
  • Leaders and Experts
  • Regions
  • Rivers
  • Water Issues
  • Water Quality
  • Water Supply and Management
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The Water Education Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)3 organization, federal tax ID #942419885.

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