Since World War II and a booming state population that
increasingly sought out the great outdoors to relax, the state’s
water-based recreational activities have continued to grow more
popular and diverse, occurring in a multitude of sources –
from swimming pools and spas to beaches, reservoirs, natural
lakes and rivers.
Public water supply projects, such as the State Water Project,
have helped to provide additional recreational opportunities for
Californians. In some cases, reservoir releases can contribute to
downstream recreation benefits by improving fisheries or by
creating whitewater rafting opportunities that would not be
possible in the absence of reservoir regulation. However, there
are conflicting values and needs for the same river system.
Officials gathered in a small metal hangar at the south end of
the Salton Sea on Thursday to celebrate $72 million in funding
for restoration efforts at the Salton Sea, marking the first
major investment by the federal government in restoration
efforts at the sea. The $72 million is part of a total of $250
million in funding for the Salton Sea approved as part of the
Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. … The historic
announcement explicitly links cuts of Colorado River water
supply to the rapidly dwindling Salton Sea, something IID
officials have sought for years. … [California Natural
Resources Secretary Wade] Crowfoot called the funding the first
major federal investment at the Salton Sea, after years of
state and local officials calling for more federal action on
the sea. The federal government is one of the biggest
landowners around the sea.
Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho is adding
environmental violations to his lawsuit against the city of
Sacramento over what he calls its failure to act regarding the
homelessness crisis. … Ho said debris, harmful chemicals
and human waste from homeless encampments pollute the river,
putting the city in violation of state wildlife statutes.
“Would anybody now swim in the American River? Would anybody
want to fish in the American River? Would anybody even want to
kayak in the American River anymore?” Ho said. “And the
answer’s no. Shame on the city.” Critics, including
homeless advocates, say Ho’s claims are false. They cite a 2021
study by the Central Valley Water Board that found birds,
especially Canada geese, are the largest and most consistent
source of contamination in this section of the river.
In 2023, Fodor’s was very worried about Lake Tahoe’s tourism
problems. During the pandemic, droves of tourists sought
outdoor recreation and left behind a trail of trash–all of
which threatened the iconic transparent waters that make the
area famous. Locals were fed up. Environmentalists were fed up.
And even leaders in the area’s tourism industry admitted crowds
were too much. So, how is Lake Tahoe doing today after landing
on last year’s No List? The latest news isn’t great. On July 5,
2023, the region made headlines when the League to Save Lake
Tahoe found more than 8,000 pounds of trash during a
post-holiday beach cleanup–more than twice as much as in 2022.
A week later, the scientific journal Nature published a study
that found Lake Tahoe has more microplastics than the infamous
Pacific Ocean trash heaps, “which are at present considered
some of the greatest plastic-accumulation zones in the
world.”
There is no water. There is no power. There is no Wi-Fi.
There is no parking. But there also are no neighbor hassles.
Red Rock Island, a 6-acre outcropping that is touted as the
last private island on San Francisco Bay, is going on the
market this week for $25 million, according to its listing
agent. Though the island has been for sale before and has been
considered for every possible isolated use, from a rocky top
Playboy Club to a wind farm, this is the first time it has been
included on a multiple listing service, a database that allows
brokers to see other agents’ listings.
Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells are among the roadside
outposts inside Death Valley National Park, while Dante’s View
draws tourists at sunset and Hell’s Gate greets visitors
arriving from the east. In the summer, it is so hot here, along
California’s southeastern spine, that some of the roughly 800
residents — nearly all of them park employees — bake brownies
in their cars. A large, unofficial thermometer in recent years
has ticked up to 130 degrees, making it a destination for
travelers, and the park has endured some of the highest
temperatures ever recorded on Earth.
The Solano County supervisors this week accepted the Cache
Slough Public Access Recreation Action Plan – a document that
offers few options to expand public access opportunities. The
board action on Tuesday was part of the consent calendar so
there was no comment from the supervisors. An agreement was
reached in 2021 between Solano County and the state Department
of Water Resources and other state agencies with the goal of
enhancing public recreation opportunities – and
particularly more land access to the waterways – in the Cache
Slough region.
As a longtime fan of photographer George Rose’s work,
particularly his keen eye on the vines in his stunning
large-format 2019 book Wine Country Santa Barbara County, I was
excited to hear about his upcoming photography show at the
Wildling Museum in Solvang. On view November 18 through July 8,
2024, California’s Changing Landscape: The Way of Water is the
title of his photo exhibition … Between drought and then
record-setting rain and snowstorms filling reservoirs, he was
able to capture California’s landscapes in a stunning array of
circumstances.
The sun had risen above the asthmatic haze of California’s San
Joaquin Valley, and the disaster tourists would soon be
arriving at the edge of Tulare Lake to take their selfies. It
was a Saturday, two days before Memorial Day. County health
authorities had warned the public to stay out of the
contaminated water, an unwholesome brew of pesticides and
animal waste. … Though I had no interest in tangling
with Johnny Law, I recognized this unusual spring for what it
was: a once-in-a-generation opportunity to travel, by way of
the federally navigable waters that all Americans have a stake
in, 200-plus miles from the heart of these floods, a natural
disaster by any measure, to the man-made disaster that is the
Delta of San Francisco Bay.
Grand Canyon river runners enjoyed the best camping beaches in
years this season, and a riverside vegetation restoration
project got a boost, both the result of the first planned
springtime flood on the Colorado River since 2008. The Bureau
of Reclamation opened the bypass tubes at Glen Canyon Dam in
April to unleash 40,000 cubic feet of water per second for 79
hours, more than doubling peak flow from previous days. It’s
part of an environmental mitigation program that began in the
1990s after passage of the federal Grand Canyon Protection Act,
with the aim of occasionally churning up sand from the riverbed
to restore sandbars and beaches that the pre-dam river would
have remade naturally with annual floods.
As you walk along the Tijuana River Valley, it’s hard not to
smell the pungent smell of sewage, effluent flowing its way
down the valley toward the Pacific Ocean. It’s been a problem
for decades as Tijuana’s sewage infrastructure has failed to
keep up with a city that seemingly grew to two million
residents overnight. The system constantly spews untreated raw
sewage that eventually makes its way north of the border. In
1999, the International Wastewater Treatment plant was built in
the valley just north of the border to help control the
problem.
During the more than 40 years I have resided in San Diego
County, trash and sediment accumulation, along with toxic and
wastewater contamination of the Tijuana River and our
binational coastal waters, have been a persistent health
concern for South San Diego and Tijuana residents. I have been
actively involved in trying to bring attention to and address
these issues since the 1990s, when I first represented the area
in the state Legislature. As a full-time Imperial Beach
resident since 2009, I long to see skilled surfers and
frolicking families enjoy our beach waters again. -Written by Denise Ducheny, a former California state
senator. She lives in Imperial Beach.
The Reedley College Wildland Fire Program has been operating
for three years now. The program gives students hands-on
experience that will help them be successful in their future
careers. This year, the program has partnered with the Kings
River Conservancy to help restore, maintain, and clean the
Kings River. … Currently, they are primarily focused on
reopening different areas of the Kings River for public use.
Earlier this year, the Kings River saw record-breaking water
levels from winter storms flood the river and its surrounding
areas.
Water quality data shows bacteria levels in the ocean along
South Bay beaches have been hundreds of times over what’s
considered safe for human health this past week. The
culprit, per usual, is sewage flowing from Mexico into the
Tijuana River which empties into the Pacific Ocean just south
of San Diego’s southernmost cities. But the people who manage
wastewater infrastructure in the U.S.-Mexico border say respite
is nigh. Next month, Tijuana’s wastewater agency is set to
restore a ruptured sewage main that snapped in half last
August. When that happens, sewage has only two places to go:
The Tijuana River or an overworked treatment plant on the U.S.
side of the border.
The California coastline is a geologically sculpted masterpiece
jagging and jutting for 1,100 head-turning miles. It starts
with the Tortilla Wall poking into the sea at the U.S.-Mexico
border and angles northwest to what some describe as
California’s loneliest beach – a wild stretch of yellow grassy
dunes, hard sand and chunks of driftwood at Pelican State Beach
this side of Oregon. … [Obi Kaufmann's] book describes
it as 2,416 acres of habitat for 662 plant species, 42
butterflies, 195 birds, five bumblebees, 30 ant species, 24
mammals, 13 reptiles and six amphibians. Kaufmann writes
that the Half Moon Bay coast has an evolutionarily significant
unit of coho and steelhead salmon; the tiny tidewater goby
found in the brackish water of lagoons, estuaries and marshes;
and the red-legged frog.
[A] planned bicycle lane has the dog community in an
uproar. City engineers are finishing designs for a
three-mile bike lane along the L.A. River in the Sepulveda
Basin. The lane would take out a sliver of the 6-acre dog park,
according to city officials. … The dog owners want the
bike path moved to the south side of the river, where there is
empty land and baseball fields. More than 2,000 people signed a
petition asking City Councilmember Imelda Padilla to change the
route. River advocates and neighborhood councils have joined
in, criticizing the cost and location of the $58.4-million bike
lane and greenway project. … The city last month also
released the latest version of the “Vision Plan” for the basin,
a planning document that seeks to transform the 2,000-acre
flood-plain area over 25 years.
A Northern California man said he was attacked by otters at
Serene Lakes in Placer County, and now he is pushing for state
wildlife officials to improve safety. Matt Leffers has visited
his family’s cabin on the shores of Serene Lakes for 30 years
and he often goes swimming, but he said nothing could have
prepared him for what happened in the water on Sept. 3, 2023:
otters attacking him. … Peter Tira, a spokesperson for
the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told KCRA 3
that he was aware of another otter attack over the summer at
Feather River. He also said there were some otters that
attacked dogs in the Redding area. Tira said river otter
attacks on people are very rare, but he added that they are a
predator species.
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 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
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 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.
Deep, throaty cadenced calls —
sounding like an off-key bassoon — echo over the grasslands,
farmers’ fields and wetlands starting in late September of each
year. They mark the annual return of sandhill cranes to the
Cosumnes River Preserve,
46,000 acres located 20 miles south of Sacramento on the edge of
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
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
Deep, throaty cadenced calls —
sounding like an off-key bassoon — echo over the grasslands,
farmers’ fields and wetlands starting in late September of each
year. They mark the annual return of sandhill cranes to the
Cosumnes River Preserve,
46,000 acres located 20 miles south of Sacramento on the edge of
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
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
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.
A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this 24×36
inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson River, and
its link to the Truckee River. The map includes Lahontan Dam and
Reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming areas in the basin.
Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and geography, the
Newlands Project, land and water use within the basin and
wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan Basin
Area Office.
This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explains how
non-native invasive animals can alter the natural ecosystem,
leading to the demise of native animals. “Unwelcome Visitors”
features photos and information on four such species – including
the zerbra mussel – and explains the environmental and economic
threats posed by these species.
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.
