The Sacramento River is California’s
largest river, providing 35 percent of the state’s developed
water supply. The river helps support the valley’s millions of
acres of irrigated agriculture and is home to wildlife and a
range of aquatic species, including rearing habitat for 70
percent of all salmon caught off the California coast.
Once called “the Nile of the West,” the Sacramento River drains
the inland slopes of the Klamath Mountains, the Cascade Range,
the Coast Ranges and the western slopes of the northern Sierra
Nevada. The river stretches some 384 miles from its headwaters
near Mount Shasta to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
In appreciation of the critical role the Sacramento-San Joaquin
River Delta plays in California’s economy and environment,
Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, is recognizing the last week of
September as Delta Week. “The Delta is a cherished watershed
and the very lifeblood of California’s water system,” Dodd said
in a news release. … Dodd’s Senate Concurrent Resolution 119
established Delta Week, which this year kicks off Sunday. As
part of the annual tradition, it will be preceded on Saturday
by Coastal Cleanup Day, which offers Californians a chance to
participate in local waterway cleanup events.
As part of the Floodplain Forward Coalition, there are
significant efforts to re-imagine and better use our system of
flood control levees and bypasses, the farmlands in the
historic floodplain, and oxbows and other features within the
river to benefit salmon, birds, and agriculture while ensuring
the flood protection system functions well when needed. By
reactivating Sacramento River floodplains and allowing bypasses
to connect to the river more frequently and for longer
durations, the Sacramento Valley can better mimic historical
flood patterns and reintegrate natural wetland productivity
into the river ecosystem needed to promote salmon recovery
while simultaneously improving flood protection and enhancing
water security.
Central Valley water districts subject to a state plan that
diverts flows from the San Joaquin River tributaries downstream
for fish are working to achieve a more holistic approach for
the fishery through voluntary agreements, while also
challenging the state’s flows-only approach in court. Central
to the issue is a plan adopted in 2018 by the California State
Water Resources Control Board that requires affected water
users to leave unimpaired flows of 30% to 50% in three San
Joaquin tributaries—the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers.
The work is the first phase of the state’s water quality
control plan update for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento–San
Joaquin Delta, known as the Bay-Delta plan.
Officials with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) said
maintenance work on Oroville Dam’s main spillway was expected
to start this week as construction staging equipment and
materials make their way to the worksite. Maintenance work is
expected to be performed on localized sections of the spillway
to address areas of deteriorated concrete and sealant
identified during annual inspections, DWR officials said. …
Other planned work includes the replacement of a “joint sealant
at select chute slab and wall joints that degrade over time due
to the spillway’s environment.” Officials also will inspect
51,000 feet of piping that supports the spillway’s drainage
system.
On Thursday, August 10, Butte Creek turned orange. The culprit:
a failed PG&E canal that caused orange sediment to flood
the creek potentially creating deadly conditions for native
fish currently inhabiting the watershed including threatened
spring-run Chinook salmon. Salmon are a keystone species, and
their health is intricately connected with the rest of the
ecosystem. Native fish across California are consistently
vulnerable to safe and responsible operation of hydroelectric
infrastructure such as dams and canals. In some cases, basins
like Butte Creek are managed by water-moving infrastructure,
guiding flows from the nearby Feather River watershed to Butte
Creek.
Last winter, Sacramento faced a three-week series of
atmospheric rivers that brought flooding across the Valley and
downed trees and branches. As the region gets closer to another
rainy season, Sacramento’s utility department is preparing by
shoring up critical flood control infrastructure across the
city. The maintenance is similar to work done in years past,
according to a news release, and to work done in March. Work
will begin Sept. 18 at a ditch near Winters Street, before
moving to Strawberry Creek, the 5-B detention basin in North
Natomas, Lower and Upper Morrison creeks and ditches near the
Sacramento Northern Bike Trail.
Friends of the River (FOR) and the California Sportfishing
Protection Alliance (CSPA), along with a coalition of tribes
and environmental organizations, on August 31 submitted a
protest against the water rights application and petitions of
the Sites Project Authority for the proposed Sites Reservoir.
FOR and CSPA, two of California’s oldest and most
respected water conservation organizations, said this protest
is part of a legally required process to ensure public concerns
are addressed when granting water rights in California.
On August 24th, the River Arc Project, a collaborative project
aimed at enhancing regional water supply and bolstering
wildlife resilience, received a substantial $5.1 million grant
from the Wildlife Conservation Board. This funding will help
maintain the current streamflow on the Lower American River, a
designated Wild & Scenic River, by strategically shifting water
supply diversions to the much larger Sacramento River. This
project is led by the Placer County Water Agency in partnership
with the City of Sacramento, Sacramento County Water Agency,
and the California American Water Company.
The 2022-23 water year is about to wrap up but is
still delivering big benefits. The record snowfall kept the ski
season going deep into the summer. All that snow continued to
melt deep into the spring and summer, filling reservoirs and
keeping downstream rivers running full. This is paying big
dividends for recreation like whitewater rafting, which may see
one of its longest seasons. Operations typically wind down
right around Labor Day, but this year, it could last into
October.
California is at yet another critical point in its struggle
toward a sustainable water future, and yet we’re still talking
about the wrong solutions. On Wednesday, the water rights
protest period for Sites Reservoir will come to a close. Sites
Reservoir is the latest in a long line of proposed dams
promising to end our cycle of water insecurity. However, Sites
won’t add much to California’s water portfolio, and its harm to
the Sacramento River, Delta ecosystem and communities that rely
on them could be irreversible and ongoing. -Written by Keiko Mertz, the Policy Director for
Friends of the River.
Floodplain restoration, halted by budget cuts, will resume now
that the state reallocated funding. [Last] Friday morning,
Chico-based River Partners announced that the California
Wildlife Conservation Board approved $40 million for projects
in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys… “This level
of Central Valley floodplain investment is historic,” River
Partners President Julie Renter said by email. “It will result
in the transformation of over 4,000 acres, delivering improved
flood safety, groundwater recharge, habitat for salmon and
other imperiled wildlife, outdoor access for park-starved
communities, restoration-related jobs to grow local economies,
and so much more.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced
Wednesday it has completed its release of approximately 23
million fall-run Chinook salmon raised in Central Valley fish
hatcheries. The 23 million salmon raised and released by state
officials this year is a 15% increase from the count in 2022.
This year’s production goals were expanded to try to help
Chinook salmon overcome the consequences of the drought in
which water temperatures rose and water flows fell throughout
the Valley during critical salmon spawning periods, officials
said. Those conditions, coupled with a thiamine deficiency that
affects reproduction, have reduced in-river spawning success
over the past several fall runs.
The Butte County Board of Supervisors will be returning to
talks regarding a potential Flood Risk Reduction Feasibility
Study on Tuesday based on data gathered by its Public Works
Department. Stemming from discussions in both 2020 and 2021,
the public works staff was given direction by the board to work
with field experts and stakeholders to come up with a draft
study regarding Nord, Rock Creek and Keefer Slough. According
to the related agenda item, a presentation is planned for
Tuesday’s meeting that will go over the draft study, its
findings and what measures are possible for the county in
reducing the risk for these areas.
Salmon fishers across the state are pivoting to stay afloat
after the salmon fishing season was canceled earlier this
year. At dock 47 in San Francisco, the pier looks
different this time of year. More boats are tied up, an unusual
sight for what would be peak salmon season. “It hurts all
the way around,” Matt Juanes told CBS News Bay Area.
… But this year, the salmon fisher of 8 years is
exploring uncharted territory for him. He’s now looking to
catch shrimp and halibut after salmon season was canceled for
repopulation efforts. … The impact goes beyond the
fishermen and their families. California is projected to lose
$460 million from the closure with more than 20,000 jobs
impacted. Officials say the closure was necessary to
sustain the population after years of drought made the state’s
water supply unsustainable for salmon eggs that require cooler
water to survive. But experts say we could see future closures
unless water is reserved for the fish.
Sacramento Valley leaders are seeking input on a document
providing a macro-view of the approach underway to benefit
Chinook salmon in the region. A Holistic Approach for Healthy
Rivers and Landscapes in the Sacramento River Basin is an
overview of the amazing efforts underway from ridgetop to river
mouth in every part of the Sacramento Valley to “give salmon a
chance” by improving freshwater conditions for each life-stage
of all four runs of Chinook salmon.
River otters attacked two swimmers in northern California — and
one of them is an actor who appeared in an episode of
“Succession,” news outlets reported. “I felt something on my
back side and on my leg,” Crystal Finn told the San Francisco
Chronicle. “I started looking around and yelling out and (the
otters) popped up right in front of me. Then they dove down and
started going at me again.” She told the outlet she was
attacked while she was swimming in the Feather River near
Plumas National Forest in July. … Megan Isadore,
executive director of the River Otter Ecology Project, told The
Mercury News that otter attacks are “very seldom, especially
considering how many people are in the water, all over the
country.” Otters don’t usually attack people, but it can happen
when they’re protecting their young, McClatchy News previously
reported.
Reclamation recently awarded the Sacramento Regional County
Sanitation District $29.9 million to help fund Harvest Water.
The recycled water program will provide a safe and reliable
supply of tertiary-treated water to agriculture and habitat
lands in southern Sacramento County, while also reducing the
reliance on groundwater pumping and resulting in increased
groundwater levels.
A breach in a PG&E-operated canal turned a Northern
California creek bright orange last week. PG&E
discovered a breach in the Butte Canal that was sending orange
sediment spilling into the waters of Butte Creek on Aug. 10,
PG&E spokesperson Paul Moreno told SFGATE. Upon finding the
breach, the utility company opened a side spill gate upstream
in order to stop water flowing to the canal. State and
federal resource agencies were then notified after PG&E
identified turbidity in the creek, Moreno said. … A
survey from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is
needed to determine whether the effects of the breach have
affected salmon mortality, Moreno said.
In order to help reintroduce juvenile salmonids into the Yuba
River, a preliminary rotary screw trap operation has been
scheduled between October this year through May 2024. This
pilot program will help officials with the Yuba Reintroduction
Working Group identify appropriate techniques and methodologies
to capture outmigrant juvenile salmon and whether rotary screw
traps could eventually trap fish and gather data for the Yuba
Salmon Study. Led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Fisheries and the California Department of Fish
and Wildlife, the Yuba Salmon Study is a planning and
implementation program to reintroduce spring-run Chinook salmon
to their historical habitat in the upper Yuba River watershed.
Late in the morning on July 12, a helicopter landed in a field
near the entrance to AhDiNa, a campground on the McCloud River
in Northern California. Children ran ahead to greet the craft,
and soon the road was lined with spectators waiting to witness
the delivery of precious cargo: an insulated bucket containing
25,000 fertilized winter-run Chinook salmon eggs. These eggs
would not only bring the Winnemem Wintu Tribe one step closer
to bringing salmon, or Nur, back to their ancestral waters, but
could also help save the species from extinction. Winter-run
Chinook spawn in summer, but the spring-fed McCloud River runs
cold all year round, buffering eggs and young salmon from even
the worst summer drought. For 80 years the formidable Shasta
Dam has blocked Chinook from the McCloud.
A large soil slump continues to add sediment into Butte Creek
after having accumulated from water running downhill of a
breach in the Butte Canal [last] Thursday, and the first
sighting of a salmon that died because of sedimentation has
been reported. Over the weekend, the breach received a
permanent repair and awaits concrete to cure before the canal
is back in service. PG&E is planning to excavate the soil
slump. … Spring-run salmon, which arrive around this
time of year and stay in cool pools of water until spawning
season, are reported to be in relatively low counts this year,
with about 500 salmon when the creek typically sees
5,000-10,000 each year. Allen Harthorn, director of
Friends of Butte Creek, predicted the sedimentation could
suffocate the fish resulting in death.
California’s only native sunfish, the Sacramento perch,
survived catastrophic floods in the 1860s and was so abundant
that it was a regular staple in San Francisco’s markets before
invasive species decimated its population. Today it is
relegated to mostly isolated lakes, reservoirs and ponds with
few predators. But as the planet heats up and threatens many
cold-water game fish species like trout, the Sacramento perch
may be on the cusp of a comeback, thanks in part to its ability
to tolerate warm water and extreme conditions. State officials
recently introduced Sacramento perch to Southern California in
an attempt to widen its range, strengthen its gene pool, create
a breeding stock and generate interest among more anglers.
Biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
released the first batch of 37 mostly juvenile Sacramento perch
on Thursday evening in San Diego County’s only natural lake,
Lindo Lake in Lakeside, a suburb east of the city of San Diego.
Running through the Central Valley’s patchwork of yellow,
green, and brown farmlands is the deep blue of California’s
largest river–the Sacramento. Once a much wider river,
meandering across the flat valley floor, the Sacramento has
been straight-jacketed by steep earthen levees and confined to
a more controlled channel. On either side of the river, where
once would have stretched seasonal floodplains dotted with
gnarled cottonwoods, shrubby willows, and dense tufts of tule
grass, there’s now a vast expanse of rice fields. Around 95% of
historic floodplain habitat in the Central Valley has been lost
to draining and agricultural conversion.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers contractor, Granite
Construction, has begun work to widen the Sacramento Bypass
flood control structure. According to a Yolo County press
release, the Sacramento Weir Widening Project is taking place
along Old River Road, also known as County Road 22, just north
of the city of West Sacramento city limits. This crucial step
toward bolstering flood control measures along the Sacramento
River aims to enhance flood stage management both upstream and
downstream of the Sacramento Weir during high-flow events,
thereby mitigating flood risks and safeguarding the areas
adjoining the Sacramento River.
Rotary Screw Traps (RSTs) are specially designed sampling
devices used to capture downstream migrating juvenile fish such
as salmon and steelhead. They are large, cylindrical traps that
float on pontoons. This October, two RSTs will be installed on
the North Yuba River, one at Rocky Rest Campground at RM 25.6
and the other along Old Toll Bridge Road at RM 33.4. They will
be there from October 2023 to May 2024. Public outreach events
regarding safety around these RSTs will be held at the end of
August in both Downieville and in Nevada City. These RSTs will
be gathering data on how traps of this type perform on the
North Yuba for future efforts conducted by the Yuba Salmon
Study.
The Environmental Protection Agency has begun an investigation
into whether California’s top water agency has discriminated
against Native tribes and people of color, carrying out a civil
rights probe that could force changes in how the state manages
water. The EPA’s civil rights office announced it has accepted
a complaint filed by tribes and environmental justice groups,
who accuse the State Water Resources Control Board of
discriminatory practices and mismanagement contributing to the
ecological deterioration of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River
Delta. The tribes and environmental groups argue that
out-of-date water quality standards in the Delta have led to
collapsing fish populations and worsening toxic algae blooms,
harming tribes whose traditions are tied to the rivers and
leaving residents in South Stockton and other areas with
stagnant waterways often choked with algae.
Growing up in the shadow of the
Rocky Mountains, Andrew Schwartz never missed an opportunity to
play in – or study – a Colorado snowstorm. During major
blizzards, he would traipse out into the icy wind and heavy
drifts of snow pretending to be a scientist researching in
Antarctica.
Decades later, still armed with an obsession for extreme weather,
Schwartz has landed in one of the snowiest places in the West,
leading a research lab whose mission is to give California water
managers instant information on the depth and quality of snow
draping the slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
Explore 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
In the vast labyrinth of the West
Coast’s largest freshwater tidal estuary, one native fish species
has never been so rare. Once uncountably numerous, the Delta
smelt was placed on state and federal endangered species lists in
1993, stopped appearing in most annual sampling surveys in 2016,
and is now, for all practical purposes, extinct in the wild. At
least, it was.
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.
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.
USACE Sacramento District has a proven track record of facing
challenges head-on. When 2020 brought with it the Novel
Coronavirus, the District responded quickly to address the
needs of a rapidly changing work environment…This year marked
the start of major construction on the [American River Common
Features] project, and the pandemic hit just as crews were
mobilizing, meaning both USACE and its contractors faced
unexpected public impacts.
Voluntary agreements in California
have been touted as an innovative and flexible way to improve
environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
and the rivers that feed it. The goal is to provide river flows
and habitat for fish while still allowing enough water to be
diverted for farms and cities in a way that satisfies state
regulators.
California is chock full of rivers and creeks, yet the state’s network of stream gauges has significant gaps that limit real-time tracking of how much water is flowing downstream, information that is vital for flood protection, forecasting water supplies and knowing what the future might bring.
That network of stream gauges got a big boost Sept. 30 with the signing of SB 19. Authored by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), the law requires the state to develop a stream gauge deployment plan, focusing on reactivating existing gauges that have been offline for lack of funding and other reasons. Nearly half of California’s stream gauges are dormant.
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.
Get an up-close look at some of
California’s key water reservoirs and learn about farming
operations, salmon habitat restoration, flood management and
wetlands on our Northern California Water Tour Oct. 2-4.
Each year, participants on the tour enjoy three days exploring
the Sacramento Valley during the temperate fall. Join us as we
travel through a scenic landscape along the Sacramento and
Feather rivers to learn about issues associated with storing
and delivering the state’s water supply.
One of California Gov. Gavin
Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade
Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within
weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that
Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing.
That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach”
on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded
floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.
Bruce Babbitt, the former Arizona
governor and secretary of the Interior, has been a thoughtful,
provocative and sometimes forceful voice in some of the most
high-profile water conflicts over the last 40 years, including
groundwater management in Arizona and the reduction of
California’s take of the Colorado River. In 2016, former
California Gov. Jerry Brown named Babbitt as a special adviser to
work on matters relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and
the Delta tunnels plan.
The growing leadership of women in water. The Colorado River’s persistent drought and efforts to sign off on a plan to avert worse shortfalls of water from the river. And in California’s Central Valley, promising solutions to vexing water resource challenges.
These were among the topics that Western Water news explored in 2018.
We’re already planning a full slate of stories for 2019. You can sign up here to be alerted when new stories are published. In the meantime, take a look at what we dove into in 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 Oroville Dam spillway
repairs.
The Colorado River Basin is more
than likely headed to unprecedented shortage in 2020 that could
force supply cuts to some states, but work is “furiously”
underway to reduce the risk and avert a crisis, Bureau of
Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman told an audience of
California water industry people.
During a keynote address at the Water Education Foundation’s
Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento, Burman said there is
opportunity for Colorado River Basin states to control their
destiny, but acknowledged that in water, there are no guarantees
that agreement can be reached.
An hour’s drive north of Sacramento sits a picture-perfect valley hugging the eastern foothills of Northern California’s Coast Range, with golden hills framing grasslands mostly used for cattle grazing.
Back in the late 1800s, pioneer John Sites built his ranch there and a small township, now gone, bore his name. Today, the community of a handful of families and ranchers still maintains a proud heritage.
Farmers in the Central Valley are broiling about California’s plan to increase flows in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems to help struggling salmon runs avoid extinction. But in one corner of the fertile breadbasket, River Garden Farms is taking part in some extraordinary efforts to provide the embattled fish with refuge from predators and enough food to eat.
And while there is no direct benefit to one farm’s voluntary actions, the belief is what’s good for the fish is good for the farmers.
The Sacramento and San Joaquin
rivers are the two major Central Valley waterways that feed the
Delta, the hub of California’s water supply
network. Our last water tours of
2018 will look in-depth at how these rivers are managed and
used for agriculture, cities and the environment. You’ll see
infrastructure, learn about efforts to restore salmon runs and
talk to people with expertise on these rivers.
Get an up-close look at some of
California’s key water reservoirs and learn about farming
operations, habitat restoration, flood management and wetlands in
the Sacramento Valley on our Northern California Water Tour
Oct. 10-12.
Each year, participants on the Northern California Water Tour
enjoy three days exploring the Sacramento Valley during the
temperate fall. Join us as we travel through a scenic landscape
along the Sacramento and Feather rivers to learn about
issues associated with storing and delivering the state’s water
supply.
New water storage is the holy grail
primarily for agricultural interests in California, and in 2014
the door to achieving long-held ambitions opened with the passage
of Proposition
1, which included $2.7 billion for the public benefits
portion of new reservoirs and groundwater storage projects. The
statute stipulated that the money is specifically for the
benefits that a new storage project would offer to the ecosystem,
water quality, flood control, emergency response and recreation.
For more than 100 years, invasive
species have made the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta their home,
disrupting the ecosystem and costing millions of dollars annually
in remediation.
The latest invader is the nutria, a large rodent native to South
America that causes concern because of its propensity to devour
every bit of vegetation in sight and destabilize levees by
burrowing into them. Wildlife officials are trapping the animal
and trying to learn the extent of its infestation.
Along the banks of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in Oakley, about 50 miles southwest
of Sacramento, is a park that harkens back to the days when the
Delta lured Native Americans, Spanish explorers, French fur
trappers, and later farmers to its abundant wildlife and rich
soil.
That historical Delta was an enormous marsh linked to the two
freshwater rivers entering from the north and south, and tidal
flows coming from the San Francisco Bay. After the Gold Rush,
settlers began building levees and farms, changing the landscape
and altering the habitat.
Despite the heat that often
accompanies debates over setting aside water for the environment,
there are instances where California stakeholders have forged
agreements to provide guaranteed water for fish. Here are two
examples cited by the Public Policy Institute of California in
its report arguing for an environmental water right.
Does California need to revamp the way in which water is dedicated to the environment to better protect fish and the ecosystem at large? In the hypersensitive world of California water, where differences over who gets what can result in epic legislative and legal battles, the idea sparks a combination of fear, uncertainty and promise.
Saying that the way California manages water for the environment “isn’t working for anyone,” the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) shook things up late last year by proposing a redesigned regulatory system featuring what they described as water ecosystem plans and water budgets with allocations set aside for the environment.
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.
The Sacramento and San Joaquin are the two major rivers in the
Central Valley that feed the Delta, the hub of
California’s water supply network.
Our last two water tours of 2017 will take in-depth looks at how
these rivers are managed and used for agriculture, cities and the
environment. You’ll see infrastructure, learn about efforts to
restore salmon runs and talk to people with expertise on these
rivers.
Each year, participants on the Northern California Water Tour
enjoy three days exploring the Sacramento Valley during the
temperate fall. Join us as we travel along the Sacramento and
Feather rivers through a scenic landscape and learn about
issues associated with storing and delivering the state’s water
supply.
Before dams were built on the upper
Sacramento River, flood water regularly carried woody debris that
was an important part of the aquatic habitat.
Deprived of this refuge, salmon in the lower parts of the upper
Sacramento River have had a difficult time surviving and making
it down the river and out to the ocean. Seeing this, a group of
people, including water users, decided to lend a hand with an
unprecedented pilot project that saw massive walnut tree trunks
affixed to 12,000-pound boulders and deposited into the deepest
part of the Sacramento River near Redding to provide shelter for
young salmon and steelhead migrating downstream.
Protecting and restoring California’s populations of threatened
and endangered Chinook salmon and steelhead trout have been a big
part of the state’s water management picture for more than 20
years. Significant resources have been dedicated to helping the
various runs of the iconic fish, with successes and setbacks. In
a landscape dramatically altered from its natural setting,
finding a balance between the competing demands for water is
challenging.
Less than 50 miles northeast of Chico, California, begins the
93-mile Butte Creek – a tributary of the Sacramento River. It is named
after Butte County, which was in turn named for the nearby
volcanic plateaus, or “buttes,” and travels through a massive
canyon on its way southwest to the Sacramento Valley.
As a watershed, it drains about 800 square miles, both for
agricultural and residential use. The upper watershed is
dominated by forests, while the lower watershed is primarily
agricultural.
Whiskeytown Lake, a major reservoir in the foothills of the
Klamath Mountains nine miles west of Redding, was
built at the site of one of Shasta County’s first Gold Rush
communities. Whiskeytown, originally called
Whiskey Creek Diggings, was founded in 1849 and named in
reference to a whiskey barrel rolling off a citizen’s pack mule;
it may also refer to miners drinking a barrel per day.
Headwaters are the source of a
stream or river. They are located at the furthest point from
where the water body empties or merges with
another. Two-thirds of California’s surface water supply
originates in these mountainous and typically forested regions.
The American River, with headwaters
in the Tahoe and Eldorado national forests of the Sierra Nevada,
is the birthplace of the California Gold Rush. It currently
serves as a major water supply, recreational destination and
habitat for hundreds of species. The geologically diverse
North, Middle and South forks comprise the American
River or the Río de los Americanos, as it was called during
California’s Mexican rule.
This 30-minute documentary-style DVD on the history and current
state of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program includes an
overview of the geography and history of the river, historical
and current water delivery and uses, the genesis and timeline of
the 1988 lawsuit, how the settlement was reached and what was
agreed to.
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.
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.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Flood Management explains the
physical flood control system, including levees; discusses
previous flood events (including the 1997 flooding); explores
issues of floodplain management and development; provides an
overview of flood forecasting; and outlines ongoing flood control
projects.
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 Delta explores the competing
uses and demands on California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Included in the guide are sections on the history of the Delta,
its role in the state’s water system, and its many complex issues
with sections on water quality, levees, salinity and agricultural
drainage, fish and wildlife, and water distribution.
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.
A watershed is the land area that drains snowmelt and rain into a
network of lakes, streams, rivers and other waterways. It
typically is identified by the largest draining watercourse
within the system. In California, for example, the Sacramento River Basin is the
state’s largest watershed.
The 6,000-foot Delta Cross Channel diverts water from the
Sacramento River into a
branch of the Mokelumne River, where it follows natural channels
for about 50 miles to the Jones Pumping Plant
intake channel. Located near the State Water Project’s
Harvey O.
California’s largest river, the Sacramento, provides
31 percent of the state’s surface water runoff.
Once called “the Nile of the West,” the Sacramento River drains
the inland slopes of the Klamath Mountains, the Cascade Range,
the Coast Ranges and the western slopes of the northern Sierra Nevada. The river stretches
some 384 miles from its headwaters near Mount Shasta to the
Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta.
This issue of Western Water looks at the BDCP and the
Coalition to Support Delta Projects, issues that are aimed at
improving the health and safety of the Delta while solidifying
California’s long-term water supply reliability.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the issues
associated with the State Water Board’s proposed revision of the
water quality Bay-Delta Plan, most notably the question of
whether additional flows are needed for the system, and how they
might be provided.
This printed issue of Western Water provides an overview of the
idea of a dual conveyance facility, including questions
surrounding its cost, operation and governance
This printed copy of Western Water examines the native salmon and
trout dilemma – the extent of the crisis, its potential impact on
water deliveries and the lengths to which combined efforts can
help restore threatened and endangered species.
This printed copy of Western Water examines the Delta through the
many ongoing activities focusing on it, most notably the Delta
Vision process. Many hours of testimony, research, legal
proceedings, public hearings and discussion have occurred and
will continue as the state seeks the ultimate solution to the
problems tied to the Delta.
This issue of Western Water analyzes northern California’s
extensive flood control system – it’ history, current concerns,
the Paterno decision and how experts are re-thinking the concept
of flood management.
This issue of Western Water examines the presence of mercury in
the environment and the challenge of limiting the threat posed to
human health and wildlife. In addition to outlining the extent of
the problem and its resistance to conventional pollution
remedies, the article presents a glimpse of some possible courses
of action for what promises to be a long-term problem.
