The Sacramento Valley, the northern part of the Central Valley,
spreads through 10 counties north of the Sacramento–San Joaquin
River Delta (Delta). Sacramento is an important agricultural
region, growing citrus, nuts and rice among many other crops.
Water flows from the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range to the region’s
two major rivers — the Sacramento and American – and west into
the Delta. Other rivers include the Cosumnes, which is the
largest free-flowing river in the Central Valley, the lower
Feather, Bear and Yuba.
The Sacramento Valley attracts more than 2 million ducks and
geese each winter to its seasonal marshes along the Pacific
Flyway. Species include northern pintails, snow geese, tundra
swans, sandhill cranes, mallards, grebes, peregrine falcons,
heron, egrets, and hawks.
The drinking water for a family near Keyes comes from an
unusual source: It’s extracted from air. Such systems could
help parts of the Central Valley with polluted wells, and parts
of the world where water is always in short supply. The idea is
being tested by the Valley Water Collaborative, which has
delivered free bottled supplies since last year in parts of
Stanislaus and Merced counties. The new system yields just
10 gallons a day, but that’s enough for the drinking and
cooking needs of a typical household.
The Western US is an empire built on snow. And that snow is
vanishing. … That snowmelt, often traveling hundreds of
miles from mountain top to tap, sustains the booming
desert communities of Las Vegas, Phoenix and Salt Lake
City — even coastal Los Angeles and San Francisco.
… Those dwindling snow levels — a trend that’s
extremely unlikely to reverse as temperatures keep rising
— will demand hard choices if the 11 states in the Western
US are to continue to thrive. So far, responses to the
worsening water crisis have not matched the scale of the
problem.
Blooms of noxious, blue-green algae in California’s
second-largest freshwater lake have prompted Lake County
officials to issue warnings against consuming the water in
Clear Lake as toxin levels rise to a worrisome point. County,
health, and tribal officials urged Lake County residents and
tourists — and especially those who get their water from Clear
Lake — to be extra vigilant when getting near the water, and to
report any unusual medical symptoms to their doctors and the
county. … Blue-green algae, which is technically
cyanobacteria, occur in all freshwater and marine aquatic
ecosystems, and are not harmful to humans or animals when their
bacteria levels are low. But high nutrients and warm waters can
exacerbate the growth of those organisms …
As California enters yet another year of a continued drought,
cities and counties across the state implemented water
restrictions in the hopes of reducing strain on the states
water sources. According to the state, banning the watering of
non-functional lawns will save hundreds of thousands of
acre-feet of water a year. In April, Contra Costa
Water District asked users to reduce water usage by
15%. The district proposed a temporary drought surcharge
of up to 15% starting in July.
Rising river levels? It’s been a surprising sight in recent
days for people out along the American River. California is in
year three of a severe drought and people are being asked to
conserve, but water releases from Folsom Dam are being
dramatically increased this week. Parts of the American River
Parkway that had been dry ground just a few days ago are now
covered with water, which is something surprising to many
people along the shoreline.
California is on year three of one of the worst droughts in
state history, and it’s hurting our farmers and ranchers. Jim
Rickert owns Prather Ranch and has been ranching in the
Northstate for more than five decades. He said this could be
one of the worst droughts in his lifetime. … Rickert
said this has meant making some tough and emotional choices
like the decision to sell off part of their herd.
… Inflation also plays a role in their hard times. He
said their input costs have increased exponentially thanks to
inflation. Farming necessities such as fertilizer, hay, and
even power bills for needing to pump water have all increased.
This month’s heatwave is causing glacial melt at Mount Shasta
this week that is putting part of a city’s water supply at
risk. The glacial runoff pushes mud and boulders – sometimes as
large as washing machines – down Mud Creek in Siskiyou County.
The McCloud Community Services District (MCSD) operates three
springs on the mountain that supply water to about 800 homes in
McCloud. Its pipelines run along and over Mud Creek.
It’s no con the western United States is amid a prolonged
drought, one which some scientists believe is the most serious
in more than 1,000 years. So how we conserve water and manage
it is key to the economic and societal health of California and
Solano County and the decisions we make today will affect us
all in the years and decades to come. To that end, the Solano
Resource Conservation District will host its Second Annual
Water Institute for Teachers from Aug. 3 to 5. (Among the
partners in the institute is The Water Education Foundation’s
Project WET program).
The Butte County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the
finalized drought plan Tuesday with the stipulation that it
would be a living document that develops as conditions change.
Water and Resource Conservation Director Kammie Loeser was
joined by Assistant Director Christina Buck to deliver a series
of presentations on water with the first focus surrounding a
major analysis project that has occurred over the past six
months. In December, the county hired an outside consulting
firm to do a large-scale analysis of drought conditions in
Butte County. The board received its initial presentation from
the group in April and the draft study was released in
May.
Sometimes, it takes zooming out to a bird’s eye view to fully
understand the devastating impacts of drought in California.
Images captured from space by government and private satellites
offer a sobering look at how the current drought — in year
three — is affecting the state’s land and natural
resources. The latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor
shows about 97% of California in moderate or worse
drought, with much of the Central Valley and southern portions
of the state in the worst conditions.
As California declared multiple drought
emergencies and imposed mandatory water restrictions on
residents in recent years, the state’s almond farmers expanded
their orchards by a remarkable 78%, according to new
research by Food & Water Watch. In a brief but
critical report issued last week, the climate and consumer
advocacy group found that California’s nut farms have grown
steadily over the past 12 years, even as the state’s water
crisis has deepened. Between 2017 and 2021 alone, almond and
pistachio crops expanded so quickly that they required an
additional 523 billion gallons of irrigation water.
The water level in Folsom Lake has been dropping quickly in
recent weeks. The level peaked in early June just shy of 456
feet, which is about 89% of Folsom’s total capacity and 110% of
the average for that point in the year. Overall, that is
more than double the amount of water that was stored last
year…. A decreasing water level is to be expected throughout
the summer months as water managers make releases needed to
keep cool water flowing into the American River, keep the delta
saltwater-free and export water to Southern California. But
those that pay close attention to the water and releases at the
reservoir may have noticed that water is leaving the lake a
little quicker than normal. That is because additional releases
are being made to make up for water shortages at Lake Shasta.
But fortunately, Lake Oroville’s water level is high enough to
support its water requirements.
Sacramentans can get paid up to $3,000 for saving water in the
form of replacing their grassy yards with drought-tolerant
landscaping. Summer weather in Sacramento exacerbates ongoing
drought conditions in the region, and the city has been
promoting a program that incentivizes residents to switch to a
“drought-tolerant landscape” in their yards. But what
exactly is xeriscaping and what can it look like in California?
As the California drought continues to impact agriculture as
well as the lives of residents, local government bodies have
requested regular updates on water resources. Once again, the
Butte County Board of Supervisors will hear the latest updates
regarding the drought, groundwater and water-related activities
within the county. In December, the board contracted Luhdorff
and Scalmanini Consulting Engineers to create an analysis of
drought impacts on the county in 2021.
There has not been much good news about California’s water
supply lately, but there could be some relief on the way. The
North-of-Delta Offstream Storage project, often referred to as
the planned Sites Reservoir, was authorized by Congress in
2003. The long delayed project got a financial boost in March
when the federal government signaled its intent to loan the
project nearly $2.2 billion — about half of the cost to design,
plan and build it. … The new reservoir could increase
Northern California’s water storage capacity by up to 15% and
would hold enough water to supply about 1.5 million to 3
million households for one year — although much of the water
would be for agricultural purposes.
It’s common to come away from the California State Fair with
stuffed animals, some sweets, sunburn, and the sticky,
sweat-soaked skin of someone who has spent too long in
California’s summer sun. It all comes part and parcel with the
event, just like the wine slushies or walking through the giant
misters outside exposition halls. But what if it didn’t have to
be this way? With climate change worsening summer heat waves,
the State Fair board of directors should consider moving the
fair to spring or fall. At the very least, it should move to
earlier in the summer, before Sacramento’s 100-degree-plus days
set in. -Written by columnist Robin Epley.
[Aquafornia Editor's Note: The Los Angeles
Times story below wrongly states that Shasta Lake is part of
the State Water Project. It is part of the federal Central Valley Project.
We still believe this photo essay is worthy to share because of
the importance Shasta Lake plays in California.]
Shasta Lake, one of the state’s largest reservoirs, is
currently at 38% capacity, a startling number heading into the
hottest months of the year. Part of the State Water Project, a
roughly 700-mile lifeline that pumps and ferries water all the
way to Southern California, the reservoir is the driest it has
been at this time of year since record-keeping first began in
1976. California relies on storms and snowpack in the Sierra
Nevada to fill its reservoirs. The state received a hopeful
sign of a wet winter in late December when more than 17 feet of
snow fell in the Sierra Nevada. But the winter storms abruptly
ceased, ushering in the driest January, February and March ever
recorded.
Over 560 acres of vernal pools and wetlands are planned for
conservation in Sheridan, with the Placer County Board of
Supervisors recently approving the use of $445,000 of Placer
Legacy open space funds. The funding will be combined with a
$5,244,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a
$1,311,000 grant from the California Wildlife Conservation
Board to acquire a portion of the Riosa Redwing Ranch property.
‘Tens of thousands of these fish once ascended streams in
Spring. They are of major cultural importance to the Pomo
people who harvested them as a valued food source.’ When
you read statements like this, most likely it is salmon that
come to mind. Yet this statement characterizes the Clear Lake
Hitch or Chi, a non-salmonid fish, that ascends the tributaries
to Clear Lake (Lake County) to spawn each spring (Thompson et
al. 2013, Pfieffer 2022). Spawners are typically 10-14 inches
long. They once moved up the streams in large numbers as soon
as spring rains created sufficient stream flows to attract the
fish (Moyle 2002, Moyle et al. 2015, Feyrer 2019).
Nearly 50 Woodland residents and stakeholders took part in the
city’s Sustainability Advisory Committee community input forum
on the environment last week at the Leake Center, located
inside the Woodland Public Library, located at 250 First St.
… The range of topics discussed varied from water
conservation to waste management to alternate modes of
transportation and air quality, but they also frequently tied
back into concerns over climate change.
It may seem counterintuitive in this very dry year to be
thinking and talking about floodplains; yet, these years
highlight the importance of the floodplain in the Sacramento
Valley and the opportunities we have in all years–including
critically dry years–to reactivate our floodplains as part of
ridgetop to river mouth water management. To learn more about
these opportunities, we encourage you to grab some popcorn and
watch several award-winning films that explore how reconnecting
our landscape with our vital rivers can have a profound impact
on recovery of endangered fish and wildlife populations in
harmony with our cities, rural communities and farms.
California as a whole continues to be in its third year of
drought, but earlier in the water year, it had a strong chance
to see a normal water year. After a strong atmospheric river
arrived in October, the first month of the 2021-2022 water
year. Forecast models from the Center for Western Weather and
Water Extremes, showed the Sacramento region as having about an
80% chance of meeting an average water year.
Just days after ordering the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District
(BBID) to shut off its pumps and halt water deliveries at the
height of the growing season, the State Water Resources Control
Board (Board) lifted the curtailments of BBID’s water rights.
At 4:07 on Tuesday, the Board issued a Drought Update advising
that the pre-1914 water right serving much of BBID’s service
area, and the post-1914 water right serving the District’s West
Side Service Area, are no longer curtailed.
The Oroville Dam is getting some much-needed construction. On
Monday, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR)
announced it was going to begin work on radial gates at the
Oroville Dam spillway. Today, KRCR’s Anwar Stetson had a chance
to talk to the project’s lead engineer. The Oroville Dam Crisis
is still heavy on the minds of Butte County locals, so
maintaining the dam is of the utmost importance.
If the effects of climate change continue unchecked, Sacramento
could exceed 90 degrees for about one-third of the calendar
year beginning in 2035, and reach triple digits nearly 50 days
a year by the middle of the century. That’s according to a new
online tool created by the Public Health Institute, released
Monday in collaboration with UCLA researchers. … Extreme
heat indicators for those locations include projections of days
above 100 degrees and above 90 degrees, for the periods of 2035
to 2064 and 2070 to 2099. The map shows Sacramento County is
projected to average 49 days above 100 degrees and 122 days
above 90 degrees for the period from 2035 to 2064.
It is unlikely the Sacramento area will receive a substantial
amount of rain anytime soon, according to the National Weather
Service. Forecasts for this weekend show temperatures climbing
above the average for this time of year which is around 94
degrees, weather service spokesman Craig Shoemaker said. And
it’s expected to remain dry in the area for awhile.
… This interactive map depicts drought status levels in
Sacramento and throughout the country, using data from the U.S.
Drought Monitor.
With the City Council passing an ordinance declaring a stage II
moderate water shortage Tuesday night, Red Bluff residents will
be asked to cut back on their water usage. City water customers
must refrain from landscape watering except between 9 p.m. and
8 a.m., equip any hose with a shutoff nozzle and promptly
repair all leaks in plumbing fixtures, water lines and
sprinkler systems. Residents will be prohibited from hosing off
sidewalks, driveways and other hardscapes, washing vehicles
with hoses not equipped with a shutoff nozzle …
In a significant course-correction, a Ninth Circuit panel
recently revisited its prior opinion in California River Watch
v. City of Vacaville, (14 F.4th 1076 (9th Cir. 2021)
(“Vacaville I”)), where the Court previously held the City of
Vacaville (“City”) could be liable for transporting a solid
waste (hexavalent chromium) in its drinking water supply simply
due to that contaminant being present in groundwater withdrawn
for water supply purposes. On a denial of a rehearing en banc,
the same three-judge panel who issued the Vacaville I opinion
issued a new order and opinion withdrawing and superseding the
former opinion, now affirming summary judgment in favor of the
City.
California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced
financial support to four urgent drought relief projects in
Humboldt, Los Angeles, Modoc, Shasta, and Siskiyou counties
through the Small Community Drought Relief Program. In
coordination with the State Water Resources Control Board, DWR
awarded $2 million in funding to support four projects that
will improve drought resilience and address local water needs.
Two environmental groups asked a judge to block a permit for a
314-acre housing development in Chico, California, arguing that
federal officials failed to consider its effect on seasonal
wetlands …
A coalition led by Indigenous leaders from the Pit River, Hoopa
Valley, Winnemem Wintu, Yurok, Karuk, Pomo, and Miwok Tribes,
along with Indigenous scientists, and water protectors say that
the Sites Reservoir is a continuation of the state’s original
racist water policies, which prioritized dispossessing land
from its Native stewards to fuel the economic interests of
farmers and ranchers. Rather than manage water levels to
prepare for climate impacts, the reservoir’s construction will
likely exacerbate the very conditions of climate change that
state officials argue it will protect against, like flooding,
parched river beds, algal blooms, and other types of
pollution.
In March the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency invited the
backers of Sites Reservoir — a mammoth water storage project in
the Sacramento Valley that’s being personally led by [Fritz
Durst, a farmer in Yolo County] — to apply for a $2.2 billion
construction loan. … But the reservoir, planned for
a spot straddling the Glenn-Colusa county line, 10 miles west
of the Sacramento River, won’t dig California out of its
current mega-drought. Even if all goes according to plan — a
pretty big if — Sites wouldn’t finish construction until 2030.
… The only way out of this, for the time being, is
conservation, forcing farmers and homeowners alike to make do
with less water.
Rising river levels? It’s been a surprising sight in recent
days for people out along the American River. California is in
year three of a severe drought and people are being asked to
conserve, but water releases from Folsom Dam are being
dramatically increased this week…. The Bureau of Reclamation,
which manages Folsom Dam, said a small portion of the increased
water is going to farms and cities downstream. But the majority
of the higher flow is to help flush out salt water that is
pushing up into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Due to the lack of surface water available in the region this
year, the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency is currently
forecasting that fall groundwater elevations in Yolo County
will be close to the 1976-77 drought. The 1976-77 drought is
the most significant drought on record for groundwater levels
and is used by the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency (YGSA) as a
minimum threshold for the groundwater sustainability plan.
[S]tate, federal, and local agencies gathered to celebrate the
groundbreaking of the largest tidal habitat restoration project
in California history. The Department of Water Resources (DWR)
and Ecosystem Investment Partners (EIP) are teaming up on the
Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement
Project in Solano County. It is a multi-benefit effort to
restore the site to a tidal wetland, creating habitat and
producing food for Delta Smelt and other fish species while
also creating new flood capacity in the Yolo Bypass and
reducing overall flood risk in the Sacramento area.
Last year, state legislators in California passed a law
requiring municipalities to separate organic food waste from
other trash. In tangible terms, that means composting is
mandated. The law also requires 20% of food that would
otherwise be sent to a landfill — like edible food thrown away
by a grocery store at the end of the day — be recovered for
human consumption by 2025. … Why was the mandate
passed? The mandate plays a big role in California’s
climate goals. Rotting food left in landfills creates methane,
which is a greenhouse gas. … Compost is particularly
good at retaining water, which could help California farmers
during times of drought.
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.
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.
To survive the next drought and meet
the looming demands of the state’s groundwater sustainability
law, California is going to have to put more water back in the
ground. But as other Western states have found, recharging
overpumped aquifers is no easy task.
Successfully recharging aquifers could bring multiple benefits
for farms and wildlife and help restore the vital interconnection
between groundwater and rivers or streams. As local areas around
California draft their groundwater sustainability plans, though,
landowners in the hardest hit regions of the state know they will
have to reduce pumping to address the chronic overdraft in which
millions of acre-feet more are withdrawn than are naturally
recharged.
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.
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.
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.
There’s going to be a new governor
in California next year – and a host of challenges both old and
new involving the state’s most vital natural resource, water.
So what should be the next governor’s water priorities?
That was one of the questions put to more than 150 participants
during a wrap-up session at the end of the Water Education
Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento.
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.
More than a decade in the making, an
ambitious plan to deal with the vexing problem of salt and
nitrates in the soils that seep into key groundwater basins of
the Central Valley is moving toward implementation. But its
authors are not who you might expect.
An unusual collaboration of agricultural interests, cities, water
agencies and environmental justice advocates collaborated for
years to find common ground to address a set of problems that
have rendered family wells undrinkable and some soil virtually
unusable for farming.
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.
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.
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.
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape as we 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. This year,
special attention was paid to the flood event at Oroville Dam and
the efforts to repair the dam spillway before the next rainy
season.
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.
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.
ARkStorm stands for an atmospheric
river (“AR”) that carries precipitation levels expected to occur
once every 1,000 years (“k”). The concept was presented in a 2011
report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) intended to elevate
the visibility of the very real threats to human life, property
and ecosystems posed by extreme storms on the West Coast.
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.
A new era of groundwater management
began in 2014 with the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act (SGMA), which aims for local and regional agencies
to develop and implement sustainable groundwater management
plans with the state as the backstop.
SGMA defines “sustainable groundwater management” as the
“management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be
maintained during the planning and implementation horizon without
causing undesirable results.”
This handbook provides crucial
background information on the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act, signed into law in 2014 by Gov. Jerry Brown. The handbook
also includes a section on options for new governance.
This 24-page booklet traces the development of the
landmark Water Forum Agreement, signed in April 2000 by 40
Sacramento region water purveyors, public officials, community
group leaders, environmentalists and business representatives.
The publication also offers insight on lessons learned by
Water Forum participants.
This 24-page booklet details the conflict between
environmentalists, fish organizations and the Yuba County Water
Agency and how it was resolved through the Lower Yuba River
Accord – a unique agreement supported by 18 agencies and
non-governmental organizations. The publication details
the history and hydrology of the Yuba River, past and present
environmental concerns, and conflicts over dam operations and
protecting endangered fish is included.
This 30-minute documentary, produced in 2011, explores the past,
present and future of flood management in California’s Central
Valley. It features stories from residents who have experienced
the devastating effects of a California flood firsthand.
Interviews with long-time Central Valley water experts from
California Department of Water Resources (FloodSAFE), U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Central Valley Flood
Management Program and environmental groups are featured as they
discuss current efforts to improve the state’s 150-year old flood
protection system and develop a sustainable, integrated, holistic
flood management plan for the Central Valley.
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.
15-minute DVD that graphically portrays the potential disaster
should a major earthquake hit the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
“Delta Warning” depicts what would happen in the event of an
earthquake registering 6.5 on the Richter scale: 30 levee breaks,
16 flooded islands and a 300 billion gallon intrusion of salt
water from the Bay – the “big gulp” – which would shut down the
State Water Project and Central Valley Project pumping plants.
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.
Fashioned after the popular California Water Map, this 24×36 inch
poster was extensively re-designed in 2017 to better illustrate
the value and use of groundwater in California, the main types of
aquifers, and the connection between groundwater and surface
water.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water
Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication
that provides background information on the principles of IRWM,
its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water
management approach.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater is an in-depth,
easy-to-understand publication that provides background and
perspective on groundwater. The guide explains what groundwater
is – not an underground network of rivers and lakes! – and the
history of its use in California.
The 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.
The Pacific Flyway is one of four
major North American migration routes for birds, especially
waterfowl, and extends from Alaska and Canada, through
California, to Mexico and South America. Each year, birds follow
ancestral patterns as they travel the flyway on their annual
north-south migration. Along the way, they need stopover sites
such as wetlands with suitable habitat and food supplies. In
California, 90 percent of historic wetlands have been lost.
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 features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
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 copy of Western Water examines the challenges facing
small water systems, including drought preparedness, limited
operating expenses and the hurdles of complying with costlier
regulations. Much of the article is based on presentations at the
November 2007 Small Systems Conference sponsored by the Water
Education Foundation and the California Department of Water
Resources.
