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Topic: Sierra Nevada

Overview April 24, 2014

Sierra Nevada

Stretching along the eastern edge of the state, the Sierra Nevada region incorporates more than 25 percent of California’s land area and forms one of the world’s most diverse watersheds.

It features granite cliffs, lush forests and alpine meadows on the westside, and stark desert landscapes at the base of the eastside. Wildlife includes bighorn sheep, mule deer, black bear and mountain lions, hawks, eagles, and trout.

The majority of total annual precipitation – in the form of rain and snow – falls in the Sierra Nevada. Snowmelt from the Sierra provides water for irrigation for farms that produce half of the nation’s fruit, nuts and vegetables, and also is a vital source for dairies, which have made California the largest milk producer in the country.

In addition, Sierra snowmelt provides drinking water to Sierra Nevada residents and a portion of drinking water to 23 million people living in cities stretching from the Bay Area to Southern California.

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Aquafornia news February 3, 2023 Capital Public Radio

Winter storms in California will become more intense as climate change accelerates, study finds

An estimated 32 trillion gallons of water — in the form of rain and snow — came down on California in a series of nine back-to-back atmospheric rivers between late December and mid-January.  To put this in perspective, that amount is just shy of the quantity of water held within Lake Tahoe, one of the deepest lakes in North America. The lake has, on average, about 37 trillion gallons of water.  These storms were destructive and deadly, claiming the lives of at least 20 people, and the estimated cost is likely to end up being in the billions. And new research is revealing these storms will likely become larger and drop even more rain than what we have experienced so far this winter. Dr. Ruby Leung, an atmospheric scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state, joined CapRadio’s Vicki Gonzalez to discuss what this means for California’s future.

Related article: 

  • KTVU – Oakland: Too much rain, snow could have flooding consequences 
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Aquafornia news February 2, 2023 Water Education Foundation

Announcement: Explore a watershed by land & water on our optional Water 101 tour

Attendance at our annual Water 101 Workshop includes the option of participating in a daylong ‘watershed’ journey on Friday, Feb. 24, that will take you from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, along the American River and into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The tour includes an on-the-water lunch cruise aboard the River City Queen as we head down the Sacramento River from the confluence of the American River to the community of Freeport, the “Gateway to the Delta.” Among the tour stops are Folsom Lake, Nimbus Dam, salmon spawning habitat in the American River, Freeport Regional Water Facility, Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Delta farmland and the Delta Cross Channel. The tour will also include a firsthand look at efforts to better handle the effects of climate change through a “Supershed Approach” that stretches from the headwaters to the valley floor.

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Aquafornia news February 2, 2023 Desert Research Institute

New research: Wildfires are increasingly burning California’s snowy landscapes, colliding with winter droughts to shrink snowpack

The early pandemic years overlapped with some of California’s worst wildfires on record, creating haunting, orange-tinted skies and wide swaths of burned landscape. Some of the impacts of these fires are well known, including drastic declines in air quality, and now a new study shows how these wildfires combined with midwinter drought conditions to accelerate snowmelt. In a study published Jan. 20 in Geophysical Research Letters, a Desert Research Institute (DRI)-led research team examined what happens to mountain snowpacks when sunny, midwinter dry spells occur in forests impacted by severe wildfire.

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Aquafornia news February 2, 2023 San Francisco Chronicle

Thursday Top of the Scroll: California’s Feb. 1 snowpack is at its highest point in nearly 30 years. But will it fill drought-depleted reservoirs?

The snowpack in California’s mountains weighed in Wednesday as the biggest it has been at the start of February in nearly three decades, a product of the recent storms that have flipped the script on drought by lessening water shortages across the state. State water officials conducting their monthly snow survey logged snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades at 205% of the average for the date. At Phillips Station, one of the state’s oldest and most central monitoring sites, where surveyors convened in front of TV cameras for measurements Wednesday morning, the snowpack was 193% of average.

Related articles: 

  • Los Angeles Times: California’s snowpack is now the deepest in decades 
  • South Tahoe Now: Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe snowpacks still well above normal, some areas at record levels
  • Newsweek: California reservoir water levels after historic rainfall
  • Sacramento Bee: California snowpack at an ‘incredible’ depth. But keep those sprinklers off, state urges
  • NBC – Bay Area: California Has Huge Snowpack, But Dry Trend Raises Worries
  • Wine Spectator: Did the Pineapple Express End California’s Drought?
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news February 1, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Why epic California rains might not prevent a dangerous fire season ahead

It’s something of a Golden State paradox: Dry winters can pave the way for dangerous fire seasons fueled by dead vegetation, but wet winters — like the one the state has seen so far — can also spell danger by spurring heaps of new growth that can later act as fuel for flames. Experts say it’s too soon to know with certainty what the upcoming fire season has in store. The atmospheric rivers that pounded California in January have left the state snow-capped and wet, which could be a fire deterrent if soils stay damp. But if no more rains arrive — or if other, less predictable factors such as lightning storms and heat waves develop later in the year — all that progress could go out the window.

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Aquafornia news February 1, 2023 Berkeley News

New research: With rapidly increasing heat and drought, can plants adapt?

At a time when climate change is making many areas of the planet hotter and drier, it’s sobering to think that deserts are relatively new biomes that have grown considerably over the past 30 million years. Widespread arid regions, like the deserts that today cover much of western North America, began to emerge only within the past 5 to 7 million years. Understanding how plants that invaded these harsh deserts biomes were able to survive could help predict how ecosystems will fare in a drier future. An intensive study of a group of plants that first invaded emerging deserts millions of years ago concludes that these pioneers — rock daisies — did not come unequipped to deal with heat, scorching sun and lack of water.

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Aquafornia news February 1, 2023 Mercury News

Sierra Nevada snowpack hits biggest level in nearly 30 years

The statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack — the source of nearly one-third of California’s water supply — is at its highest level since 1995, boosting hopes that an end to the drought is near, but also raising concerns that a few warm spring storms could melt it too early and trigger major flooding. Not since Toy Story packed movie theaters, Steve Young led the 49ers to their fifth Super Bowl win, and gasoline cost $1.28 a gallon has there been so much snow in California’s most famous mountain range at the end of January. … Although Tuesday’s snowpack reading is higher than 1995, it is expected to lower by the official reading on Feb. 1. The snowpack was 208% of its historical average for this time of year on Tuesday, a day ahead of the high-profile Feb. 1 snow survey that state officials planned to take near Highway 50 …

Related article:

  • KVPR – Central California: California’s Sierra Nevada gives the Central Valley more water than we thought
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Aquafornia news January 31, 2023 Union Democrat

TUD seeks $23.4 million to complete Phoenix Reservoir restoration

The Tuolumne Utilities District Board of Directors voted 4-0 Tuesday to seek more than $23 million in additional grant funding to continue efforts to try to restore the man-made reservoir called Phoenix Lake, a project to improve water quality and increase storage capacity that has gained momentum in fits and starts, stalled for years, and remains unfinished. Phoenix is a reservoir, not a natural lake. Its surface area is about 88 acres when full, and it’s the primary drinking water source for about 10,000 TUD customers in Sonora, Jamestown, Mono Village and the Phoenix Lake area, according to TUD. Historians say a dam was first built there in the 1850s to enable hydraulic mining in the immediate aftermath of the Gold Rush. The original dam was destroyed in 1862.

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Aquafornia news January 31, 2023 YourCentralValley

How much water flows from the Sierra to the Central Valley? NASA reveals

Experts from NASA say a previously unmeasured underground source accounts for about 10% of all the water that enters the highly-productive Central Valley farmland each year. The NASA study shows an average of four million acre-feet of water is delivered through the soil and fractured rocks under California’s Sierra Nevada mountains to the Central Valley annually. Federal officials say the Central Valley encompasses only 1% of the nation’s farmland but produces 40% of the country’s fruits, vegetables, and nuts annually – but that is only possible because of the intensive groundwater pumping for irrigation as well as river and stream flows captured in reservoirs. However, experts say growers who are pumping more water than can be replenished by natural sources are causing the ground level to sink and requiring wells to be drilled deeper and deeper. 

Related article: 

  • Nature: New research - Global water resources and the role of groundwater in a resilient water future
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Aquafornia news January 30, 2023 San Francisco Chronicle

Why forecasts for La Niña turned out to be all wet

The new year started off with a parade of storms, leading to San Francisco and the wider Bay Area seeing one of its rainiest time frames since the Gold Rush era. This onslaught of storms seemed a bit out of place with the trend of La Niña, an outlook that traditionally brings warm, dry conditions to most of California. Instead, the first half of the 2022-23 winter season was marked by atmospheric river-enhanced storms and notable reductions in drought conditions across the state. … For meteorologists in both the Bay Area and across the Western U.S., this January’s shift toward wet and stormy conditions brings with it questions over what other factors might be stomping out the typical La Niña outlook.

Related article: 

  • San Francisco Chronicle: It’s about to get extremely cold in the Bay Area and Sierra Nevada
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Aquafornia news January 30, 2023 San Francisco Chronicle

Scientists are worried about a new risk to California’s snowpack

A flurry of storms unloaded historic amounts of rain and snow across California over the past month. The deluges, fueled by a parade of atmospheric rivers, filled reservoirs and have improved drought conditions across large swaths of the state. The Sierra snowpack has ballooned to more than double its usual size for this time of year. The snow will continue to replenish California’s water supplies as it melts during the warmer months. …Picturesque locales where Californians ski and enjoy other snow activities are burning in wildfires more often, undergoing long-lasting changes that make snowpack melt earlier. Snow can even melt in the middle of winter, before reservoir managers are ready to shift from flood control to water storage. 

Related articles: 

  • High Country News: In a warming world, California’s trees keep dying
  • Los Angeles Times: Cold weather arrives in Southern California, bringing snow in the mountains
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 27, 2023 The Sacramento Bee

What does California rain, snow mean for drought conditions?

California’s string of heavy rainstorms in January continue to provide temporary relief to the state’s chronically dry land. Drought conditions across the golden state have either improved or remained the same compared to one week ago. The U.S. Drought Monitor, in a weekly update published Thursday, reports the state remains free of both “extreme” or “exceptional” drought for the second week in a row. California’s Central Coast, which was devastated by the severe storms, has exited moderate drought conditions and is now “abnormally dry.” In the northwest corner of the state, the majority of Del Norte County is drought free for at least the second the week in a row.

Related articles: 

  • San Francisco Chronicle: Major California region now out of drought
  • The Guardian: Storms dumped snow on California. Will it bring a reprieve from the drought?
  • KGET – Bakersfield: This long stretch of California is no longer in a drought
  • Tahoe Daily Tribune: Quick-hitting storm could drop a foot of snow at Tahoe; Frigid temps to follow
  • KCRA: After recent weeks of rain, will Lake Berryessa’s ‘Glory Hole’ be used?
  • Patch: Following storms, San Francisco’s water reservoirs see helpful increases in levels
  • Valley Water News: Water being released from Anderson Dam to maintain 3.7% storage level
  • Stanford Daily: Lake Lag is full, but California’s drought rages on
  • Ventura County Star: Damaging storm temporarily stops diversions to Lake Casitas. Here’s why
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 23, 2023 Newsweek

Monday Top of the Scroll: How Sierra Nevada record snowpack will impact California drought

The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which has continued to increase throughout January as a result of storms battering much of the state since the New Year, might help California combat its ongoing drought. As of January 20, the Sierra snowpack state-wide was at 240 percent of the average for this time of year. The South Sierra stations, located between the San Joaquin and Mono counties through to Kern county, reported snowpacks at 283 percent of the January 20 average. The Sierra Nevada snowpack usually peaks around April 1. Currently, state-wide, the snowpack is at 126 percent of the average for April 1, with the South Sierras in particular at 149 percent.

Related articles: 

  • Mohave Valley Daily News: Snowpack looks promising for Colorado River
  • USA Today: 30 feet of snow? That much has fallen in some places in California as snow blankets huge swaths of state.
  • Washington Post: Before and after - See the impact of California storms from space
  • Spectrum News 1: Hitting the slopes? Winter storms brought record snowpack to California
  • California Drought: Folsom Lake expected to fill this summer, Bureau of Reclamation says
  • NPR: Why heavy winter rain and snow won’t be enough to pull the West out of a megadrought
  • Aspen Journalism: Colorado River Water Conservation District considers criteria for water conservation program
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news January 19, 2023 Bay Area News Group

Editorial: Steinbeck, rainstorms and California’s water challenges

“During the dry years, the people forgot about the rich years, and when the wet years returned, they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.” Sadly, nothing much has changed in California and the Salinas Valley since 1952, when John Steinbeck wrote those words for the opening chapters of his novel, “East of Eden.” As a result, the atmospheric rivers drenching the state have been a decidedly mixed blessing. The rainfall means for the first time in more than two years, the majority of California is no longer in a severe drought. The Sierra snowpack is at 226% of average for this time of year, the largest we’ve seen in more than two decades. Reservoirs are filling at a rapid rate. … Then there’s the bad news, starting of course with the deaths of 17 Californians …

  • Read more
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Aquafornia news January 17, 2023 Western Water

In one of the snowiest places in the West, a scientist hunts for clues to the Sierra snowpack’s future

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.

Related article: 

  • PBS: Will climate change lead to more intense weather events?
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Aquafornia news January 17, 2023 The Washington Post

In California, a drought turned to floods. Forecasters didn’t see it coming.

Coming into this winter, California was mired in a three-year drought, with forecasts offering little hope of relief anytime soon. Fast forward to today, and the state is waterlogged with as much as 10 to 20 inches of rain and up to 200 inches of snow that have fallen in some locations in the past three weeks…. The [Climate Prediction Center's] initial outlook for this winter, issued on Oct. 20, favored below-normal precipitation in Southern California and did not lean toward either drier- or wetter-than-normal conditions in Northern California. … The stark contrast between the staggering amount of precipitation in recent weeks and the CPC’s seasonal precipitation outlook issued before the winter, which leaned toward below-normal precipitation for at least half of California, has water managers lamenting the unreliability of seasonal forecasts.

Related articles: 

  • Reuters: California rainstorm death toll reaches 20, Biden plans visit 
  • KCRA – Sacramento: Biden to survey storm damages, roadway closures due to flooding
  • Axios: California faces weeks of cleanup as “one last” major storm lashes state
  • KCRA – Sacramento: More than a dozen homes uninhabitable after major flooding in Calaveras County
  • ABC 15 – Arizona: Arizonans volunteer to help amid historic California flooding
  • The Guardian: How fast-moving floods took a deadly toll on California’s capital: ‘No one expected it’
  • Sacramento Bee: These are 6 of the worst floods in Sacramento history. One made an ‘inland lake’ to the Sierra
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Western Water January 13, 2023 Nick Cahill Layperson's Guide to Water Conservation WESTERN WATER-In One of the Snowiest Places in the West, A Scientist Hunts for Clues to the Sierra Snowpack’s Future By Nick Cahill

In One of the Snowiest Places in the West, A Scientist Hunts for Clues to the Sierra Snowpack’s Future
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Central Sierra Snow Lab Manager Andrew Schwartz Aims to Help Water Managers Improve Tracking of Snowpack Crucial to California's Drought-Stressed Water Supply

Photo of Andrew Schwartz, manager and lead scientist at the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory.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.

  • Read more
Aquafornia news January 12, 2023 ABC 10 - Sacramento

How does California store all the rainwater from the storms?

Why Guy is getting many questions about why we can’t store all the rainwater we’re getting. California is still officially in a drought and we need water for drinking and agriculture and other basic needs. Even though it’s been dumping rain like watery gold, we can’t seem to store it all. We have reservoirs and dams that do much of the water storage, but most of the rain we’ve been getting is flowing into the Pacific Ocean. It’s wasted. The rain is also falling so quickly that we can’t store it and what we want to do with it is get it out of here to clear our roadways and landscapes as soon as possible. The best-case scenario is that we get a ton of snow in the high Sierra that naturally melts as the weather warms and disperses the water in doses to a thirsty state.

  • Read more
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Aquafornia news January 12, 2023 Mercury News

Thursday Top of the Scroll: California’s drought has eased significantly due to heavy rains, federal government concludes

A series of atmospheric river storms since Christmas has significantly reduced California’s drought, the federal government concluded Thursday. For the first time in more than two years — since Dec. 1, 2020 — the majority of the state is no longer in a severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly report put out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Overall, 46% of California’s land area remains in severe drought, the report found, a dramatic improvement over the past month, when it was 85% on Dec. 6.

Related articles: 

  • CalMatters: Is California’s drought over? Here’s what you need to know 
  • New York Times: Will Storms End California’s Drought? That May Be the Wrong Question
  • Associated Press: After the recent California storms, how much will the rain help the state’s long-term drought?
  • Los Angeles Times: California suddenly has so much snow. A ‘great elixir for drought’ but unlikely the cure
  • Berkeleyside: Reservoirs serving Berkeley, Oakland are filling up after consistent rain
  • Reuters: Explainer - Why weeks of rain in California will not end historic drought 
  • The Week: What climate change means for California
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 10, 2023 KTLA - Los Angeles

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: California snowpack soars to nearly 200% of normal

While many areas of California are coping with the destructive impact of relentless rainfall, the news is nothing but good when it comes to the state’s snowpack. As of Monday, California’s snow water equivalent was 199% of normal for the date (January 9), according to the California Department of Water Resources. … Water experts are reluctant to signal too much optimism since last winter California also saw snow accumulate to above-average levels through December, only to see January, February and March become the driest on record.

Related articles: 

  • KRCR – Redding: Bureau of Reclamation encouraged by Shasta Lake’s rising water levels
  • KCRA – Sacramento: Northern California rain, snow: Expect heavy Sierra traffic
  • Spectrum News 1: Despite storms, state reservoirs aren’t likely to return to normal levels this year
  • Newsweek: What it will take to get California completely out of drought?
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 9, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Monday Top of the Scroll: ‘The worst of it still in front of us’ as new storms set to pound a rain-weary California

California is bracing for another week of destructive storms that will probably bring flooding and hazardous winds Monday to an already battered state. A series of atmospheric rivers that pummeled coastal communities last week and left more than 400,000 without power in California on Sunday will be followed by particularly brutal weather as rivers reach flood levels and powerful winds wreak havoc, forecasters fear…. For days, forecasters had warned of a “relentless parade of cyclones” barreling out of the Pacific toward California, and continuing until about Jan. 19, intensifying the risk of flooding in parts of the state this week. A flood watch remains in effect for the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys and nearby foothills until 4 p.m. Wednesday. 

Related articles: 

  • San Francisco Chronicle: California water officials say they are prepared for record flooding as rain continues
  • KCRA – Sacramento: Biden approves emergency declaration, school districts close, gusts below 50 mph
  • KRCR – Redding: California’s DWR says Shasta and Oroville reservoir storage can absorb incoming storms
  • Reuters: California braces for ‘parade of cyclones’ after storms kill 12
  • Weather West: Very wet pattern continues, with another high-impact storm centered on Central CA Mon-Tue; hints of moderation in medium term?
  • New York Times: As California Faces Storms, Extreme Winds Cause Power Outage in Sacramento
  • SF Gate: Russian River forecast to hit 39 feet during next series of storms
  • ABC: Sacramento County warns residents amid storms: ‘Get out now’
  • Axios: “Major” atmospheric river storm hits California with flooding, high winds
  • Press Democrat: California hit by more storms, braces for potential floods
  • SLO Tribune: Parts of SLO County see flooding ahead of major rain storm. Here’s what in store
  • Fox 11 – Los Angeles: Flood watches issued for LA, Orange counties as SoCal braces for heavy rains, high winds
  • NBC Bay Area: East Bay Residents Prepare for Expected Surges in Local Creeks
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 6, 2023 Sacramento News & Review

The American River Basin Study: Diversifying where we get our water is key to combating climate change

We don’t always treat water like the life-sustaining resource it is. Instead, we take it for granted: With the turn of a tap, it’s at our fingertips to drink, grow our food and keep our communities clean. But according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, it’s time for changes if we want that to continue. Their recently released American River Basin study highlights the growing imbalance between water supply and consumer demand. With the stresses of population growth, regulatory updates, and the effects of climate change, this disparity will only get worse without new strategies and approaches to keep water flowing.

Related article:

  • Western Water Rewind: As Climate Change Erodes Western Snowpacks, One Watershed Tries A ‘Supershed Approach’ To Shield Its Water Supply 
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 5, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Toddler killed, cities evacuated as massive storm lashes Northern California

A powerful winter storm unleashed heavy rain and strong winds across Northern California on Wednesday, triggering evacuations and power outages, and heightening fears of widespread flooding and debris flows. … Wednesday’s storm is the third atmospheric river that’s hit California in the last two weeks. The successive storms have brought a deluge of water to the drought-stricken state, prompting Gov. Newsom to declare a state of emergency to “support response and recovery efforts.” … The series of atmospheric rivers that started toward the end of December was somewhat surprising after one of California’s driest years on record, which left reservoirs drained and soils parched.

Related articles: 

  • San Francisco Chronicle: Two dead as storm wallops Bay Area, downing trees, flooding roads, cutting electrical service 
  • Los Angeles Times: Storm slams Southern California with heavy rain, flood fears and strong winds
  • CNN: Hurricane-force wind gusts blow through California as part of the ‘bomb cyclone’ hitting the coast
  • California Department of Water Resources: News release: DWR Prepares for More Storms and Potential Flooding
  • Associated Press: Evacuations ordered as California braces for rain, floods
  • Associated Press: Wild weather driven by roiling Pacific, nature and warming
  • USA Today: ‘Rivers in the sky’: Graphics show atmospheric river soaking California’s Bay Area
  • Modesto Bee: Gov. Gavin Newsom declares emergency for major California storm, flooding in forecast
  • Orange County Register: Forecast of 16-foot swells prompts California coast to brace for floods
  • Los Angeles Times: Atmospheric river poses lethal danger for homeless people. California scrambling to help
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Pacheco Reservoir dam spillway fails, San Benito County residents warned to prepare for evacuations
  • The Washington Post: As powerful storms deluge California, a river community evacuates — again
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area storms: What to do if you’re caught in a flood in your car or home
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news January 4, 2023 Press Democrat

Editorial: Don’t count on a drought-buster

The storm door is open — at least for now. An atmospheric river battered Northern California this past weekend. The North Bay was largely spared, but torrential rain across much of the region lifted streams over their banks, trapped cars as roadways became routes for kayaks and canoes, and flooded homes and businesses from San Francisco to Sacramento. The National Weather Service says another “truly … brutal system” will slam Northern California on Wednesday. This time, Sonoma County appears to be in the path. That could mean fierce wind gusts, intense rain, flooded roads, mudslides and power outages. By Friday, the Russian River is expected to reach flood stage in Guerneville.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 4, 2023 San Francisco Chronicle

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: California winter storm brings Sierra snow pack to 10-year-high

After three years of drought, California is beginning 2023 with more snow on the ground than at any start to a year in a decade. State water officials trekked into the Sierra Nevada to conduct the first snow survey of the winter season on Tuesday, reporting 174% of average statewide snowpack for the date. The reams of powder come amid a series of storms that is blasting Northern California and has piled snow onto banks up to 16 feet high at major highway passes through the mountains. Some ski resorts count 18 feet of snow on the slopes. Although responsible for significant flooding, mudslides and even fatalities, the wet weather in recent weeks has been good for drought relief.

Related articles: 

  • Sacramento Bee: California snow survey finds ‘terrific’ start to season. Why drought concerns persist
  • KRCR – Redding: ‘Our snowpack is actually off to one of its best starts in the past 40 years,’ DWR says
  • Los Angeles Times: California snowpack is far above average amid January storms, but a lot more is needed
  • CA Department of Water Resources: Snow Survey Shows December Storms Provided Big Snow Totals with More Systems, Flooding in Forecast
  • CBS – Los Angeles: Recent rain, snow leaves experts cautiously optimistic about drought relief
  • Record Searchlight: California storms - Lake Shasta 34% full could see water level rise way up
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 4, 2023 Los Angeles Times

String of brutal atmospheric rivers imperils a California already weakened by drought

A successive series of powerful atmospheric river storms poses a growing threat to California as the ground becomes more saturated, river levels rise and heavy winds threaten the power infrastructure. This week’s storms are expected to dump intense levels of rain in a fairly short period of time. The greatest potential for disaster is in Northern California, which has already been battered by several destructive storms — including one this weekend that caused a deadly levee breach. But each new storm, including one set to arrive Wednesday, adds new pressure.

Related articles: 

  • CalMatters: Sacramento Valley, already deluged, braces for more floods
  • New York Times: California Braces for Yet More Rain
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area flood risk - This detailed map shows danger zones
  • Sacramento Bee: Flash flood watch for possible debris flow in Northern California wildfire burn scars
  • Modesto Bee: Officials brace for more storms and flood threat over next 14 days in Modesto area
  • Courthouse News Service: Waterlogged California bracing for another round of storms
  • Bloomberg: California Braces for Its Next Deluge as Pacific Storms Line Up
  • CNN: California braces for more ‘brutal’ flooding and mudslides as experts warn it won’t quench historic drought
  • USA Today: ‘Truly a brutal storm’ heading for California; forecasters predict flooding, landslides, deaths: Updates
  • NASA: Floodwater Inundates North-Central California
  • Los Angeles Times: Massive ‘atmospheric river’ to bring heavy rains, winds, flooding across California
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 3, 2023 Bay Area News Group

California’s snowpack near decade high. What’s it mean for the drought?

As the new year begins, California’s Sierra is closing in on the second-largest snowpack we’ve seen at this time of year in the last two decades, with more snow expected to pummel the mountain range in the coming days. But here’s why it’s far too soon to declare an end to the drought: Last year, we started 2022 with a similar bounty — and then ended the snow season way, way, way below normal. … On Tuesday, state water officials plan to tromp through the snow at Echo Summit, south of Lake Tahoe, for the winter’s first snowpack survey, a monthly ritual that is now mostly for show thanks to more than 100 sensors throughout the Sierra that measure accumulation every day. It’s of vital importance in the drought-stricken Golden State because officials use the measurements to help manage California’s water supply, which relies heavily on melting snow.

Related articles: 

  • San Francisco Chronicle: Tracking atmospheric rivers could transform California reservoir levels
  • CBS – Los Angeles: Recent rain, snow leaves experts cautiously optimistic about drought relief
  • CalMatters: Opinion – What California can learn from wave of storms
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 3, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Mono Lake advocates ask L.A. to stop exporting its water

As California enters what is expected to be a fourth year of drought, the State Water Resources Control Board is reviewing a request from environmentalists to suspend Los Angeles Department of Water and Power diversions from Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. In its request, the nonprofit Mono Lake Committee argues that the combination of drought and diversions from streams that feed the lake are exposing the lake bottom near islands that host one of the world’s largest nesting gull populations. Unless this is addressed, they say coyotes will be able to access the islands and feast on the eggs of 50,000 California gulls.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Western Water January 16, 2020 Douglas E. Beeman Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Douglas E. Beeman

Water Resource Innovation, Hard-Earned Lessons and Colorado River Challenges — Western Water Year in Review
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK-Our 2019 articles spanned the gamut from groundwater sustainability and drought resiliency to collaboration and innovation

Smoke from the 2018 Camp Fire as viewed from Lake Oroville in Northern California. Innovative efforts to accelerate restoration of headwater forests and to improve a river for the benefit of both farmers and fish. Hard-earned lessons for water agencies from a string of devastating California wildfires. Efforts to drought-proof a chronically water-short region of California. And a broad debate surrounding how best to address persistent challenges facing the Colorado River. 

These were among the issues Western Water explored in 2019, and are still worth taking a look at in case you missed them.

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Western Water November 21, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Can a New Approach to Managing California Reservoirs Save Water and Still Protect Against Floods?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Pilot Projects Testing Viability of Using Improved Forecasting to Guide Reservoir Operations

Bullards Bar Dam spills water during 2017 atmospheric river storms.Many of California’s watersheds are notoriously flashy – swerving from below-average flows to jarring flood conditions in quick order. The state needs all the water it can get from storms, but current flood management guidelines are strict and unyielding, requiring reservoirs to dump water each winter to make space for flood flows that may not come.

However, new tools and operating methods are emerging that could lead the way to a redefined system that improves both water supply and flood protection capabilities.

  • Read more
Western Water November 7, 2019 Douglas E. Beeman Layperson's Guide to Climate Change and Water Resources Gary PitzerDouglas E. Beeman

As Wildfires Grow More Intense, California Water Managers Are Learning To Rewrite Their Emergency Playbook
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Agencies share lessons learned as they recover from fires that destroyed facilities, contaminated supplies and devastated their customers

Debris from the Camp Fire that swept through the Sierra foothills town of Paradise  in November 2018.

By Gary Pitzer and Douglas E. Beeman

It’s been a year since two devastating wildfires on opposite ends of California underscored the harsh new realities facing water districts and cities serving communities in or adjacent to the state’s fire-prone wildlands. Fire doesn’t just level homes, it can contaminate water, scorch watersheds, damage delivery systems and upend an agency’s finances.

  • Read more
Western Water August 22, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

How Private Capital is Speeding up Sierra Nevada Forest Restoration in a Way that Benefits Water
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: A bond fund that fronts the money is expediting a headwaters restoration project to improve forest health, water quality and supply

District Ranger Lon Henderson with Tahoe National Forest points toward an overgrown section of forest within the Blue Forest project area. The majestic beauty of the Sierra Nevada forest is awe-inspiring, but beneath the dazzling blue sky, there is a problem: A century of fire suppression and logging practices have left trees too close together. Millions of trees have died, stricken by drought and beetle infestation. Combined with a forest floor cluttered with dry brush and debris, it’s a wildfire waiting to happen.

Fires devastate the Sierra watersheds upon which millions of Californians depend — scorching the ground, unleashing a battering ram of debris and turning hillsides into gelatinous, stream-choking mudflows. 

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Announcement July 24, 2019

Registration Now Open for the 36th Annual Water Summit; Take Advantage of Early Bird Discount by Registering Today
Join us Oct. 30 for key conversations on water in California and the West

Registration opens today for the Water Education Foundation’s 36th annual Water Summit, set for Oct. 30 in Sacramento. This year’s theme, Water Year 2020: A Year of Reckoning, reflects fast-approaching deadlines for the State Groundwater Management Act as well as the pressing need for new approaches to water management as California and the West weather intensified flooding, fire and drought. To register for this can’t-miss event, visit our Water Summit event page.

Registration includes a full day of discussions by leading stakeholders and policymakers on key issues, as well as coffee, materials, gourmet lunch and an outdoor reception by the Sacramento River that will offer the opportunity to network with speakers and other attendees. The summit also features a silent auction to benefit our Water Leaders program featuring items up for bid such as kayaking trips, hotel stays and lunches with key people in the water world.

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Announcement July 10, 2019

2019 Water Summit Theme Announced – Water Year 2020: A Year of Reckoning
Join us October 30 in Sacramento for our premier annual event

Sacramento RiverOur 36th annual Water Summit, happening Oct. 30 in Sacramento, will feature the theme “Water Year 2020: A Year of Reckoning,” reflecting upcoming regulatory deadlines and efforts to improve water management and policy in the face of natural disasters.

The Summit will feature top policymakers and leading stakeholders providing the latest information and a variety of viewpoints on issues affecting water across California and the West.

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Western Water April 25, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

California’s New Natural Resources Secretary Takes on Challenge of Implementing Gov. Newsom’s Ambitious Water Agenda
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Wade Crowfoot addresses Delta tunnel shift, Salton Sea plan and managing water amid a legacy of conflict

Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Secretary.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.

  • Read more
Western Water October 5, 2018 Douglas E. Beeman Douglas E. Beeman

What Would You Do About Water If You Were California’s Next Governor?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Survey at Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit elicits a long and wide-ranging potential to-do list

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.

  • Read more
Tour June 28, 2018 - June 29, 2018 Headwaters Tour Looks at Tree Mortality, Bark Beetle Epidemic & Visits Forest Lab Stantec California Department of Water Resources Association of California Water Agencies California Forest Watershed Alliance Placer County Water Agency

Headwaters Tour 2018

Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply originates high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our water supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests, which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought, wildfires and widespread tree mortality.

Headwaters tour participants on a hike in the Sierra Nevada.

We headed into the foothills and the mountains to examine water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts downstream and throughout the state. 

GEI (Tour Starting Point)
2868 Prospect Park Dr.
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.
View map
  • Tim Quinn
  • John Andrew
  • Tom Smith
  • Dan Segan
  • Jacques Landy
  • Heather Segale
  • Read more
Announcement May 16, 2018

Explore the Sierra’s Upper Watershed on Headwaters Tour June 28-29
Early-bird tickets for two-day event end May 28th; tour overnights at Lake Tahoe

Headwaters Tour participants take a hike to a mountain meadow.

Lake TahoeWater supply for California’s cities and farms is largely dependent on snowmelt from the upper watershed in the Sierra Nevada. But that paradigm is being challenged by wildfires, climate change and widespread tree mortality.

Join us for a two-day tour as we head into the Sierra foothills and up into the mountains to examine water issues that happen upstream, but have dramatic impacts on water supply and quality downstream and throughout the state.

  • Read more
Western Water May 4, 2018 Truckee River Basin Map Water Education Foundation

ON THE ROAD: This Iconic High Sierra Lake Was Once Named…Bigler?
Lake Tahoe was a stop on our Headwaters Tour June 28-29

Lake TahoeLake Tahoe, the iconic high Sierra water body that straddles California and Nevada, has sat for more than 10,000 years at the heart of the Washoe tribe’s territory. In fact, the name Tahoe came from the tribal word dá’aw, meaning lake.

The lake’s English name was the source of debate for about 100 years after it was first “discovered” in 1844 by people of European descent when Gen. John C. Fremont’s expedition made its way into the region. Not long after, a man who carried mail on snowshoes from Placerville to Nevada City named it Lake Bigler in honor of John Bigler, who served as California’s third governor. But because Bigler was an ardent secessionist, the federal Interior Department during the Civil War introduced the name Tahoe in 1862. Meanwhile, California kept it as Lake Bigler and didn’t officially recognize the name as Lake Tahoe until 1945.

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Announcement April 25, 2018

Explore the Sierra’s Upper Watershed this Summer on Our Headwaters Tour
Two-day tour examines the role of upper watersheds in water supply and quality; overnights at Lake Tahoe

Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply originates high in the Sierra Nevada.Thus, the state’s water supply is largely dependent on the health of Sierra forests, which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought, wildfires and widespread tree mortality.

Join us as we head into the Sierra foothills and up to the mountains to examine water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts downstream and throughout California.

  • Read more
Western Water April 6, 2018 California Water Bundle Gary Pitzer

Statewide Water Bond Measures Could Have Californians Doing a Double-Take in 2018
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Two bond measures, worth $13B, would aid flood preparation, subsidence, Salton Sea and other water needs

San Joaquin Valley bridge rippled by subsidence  California voters may experience a sense of déjà vu this year when they are asked twice in the same year to consider water bonds — one in June, the other headed to the November ballot.

Both tackle a variety of water issues, from helping disadvantaged communities get clean drinking water to making flood management improvements. But they avoid more controversial proposals, such as new surface storage, and they propose to do some very different things to appeal to different constituencies.

  • Read more
Western Water February 9, 2018 Layperson's Guide to Climate Change and Water Resources Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, On the Road in the Central Valley, Don't-Miss Water Reads Gary Pitzer

‘Ridiculously Resilient Ridge,’ Climate Change and the Future of California’s Water
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Climate scientist Daniel Swain

Daniel SwainEvery day, people flock to Daniel Swain’s social media platforms to find out the latest news and insight about California’s notoriously unpredictable weather. Swain, a climate scientist at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, famously coined the term “Ridiculously Resilient Ridge” in December 2013 to describe the large, formidable high-pressure mass that was parked over the West Coast during winter and diverted storms away from California, intensifying the drought.

Swain’s research focuses on atmospheric processes that cause droughts and floods, along with the changing character of extreme weather events in a warming world. A lifelong Californian and alumnus of University of California, Davis, and Stanford University, Swain is best known for the widely read Weather West blog, which provides unique perspectives on weather and climate in California and the western United States. In a recent interview with Western Water, he talked about the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, its potential long-term impact on California weather, and what may lie ahead for the state’s water supply. 

  • Read more
Tour June 27, 2019 - 7:30am - June 28, 2019 - 6:30pm Nick Gray Headwaters Tour Explores the Role of Forest Management in Watershed Health From Research to Application Learn About Atmospheric River Research and Forest Management on Headwaters Tour June 27-28

Headwaters Tour 2019
Field Trip - June 27-28

Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply originates high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our water supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests, which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought, wildfires and widespread tree mortality. 

  • Lorraine Flint Presentation
  • Angel Hertslet Presentation
  • Adam Jensen Presentation
  • Read more
Announcement June 22, 2017

Explore the Upper Watershed on September Headwaters Tour
Two-day tour examines the role of upper watersheds in water supply, quality; overnights in Lake Tahoe

Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply originates high in the Sierra Nevada. Thus, the state’s water supply is largely dependent on the health of Sierra forests, which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought, wildfires and widespread tree mortality.

Join us as we head into the Sierra foothills and the mountains to examine water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts downstream and throughout California.

  • Read more
Aquapedia background December 29, 2016 Layperson's Guide to Flood Management

ARkStorm

Sacramento's K Street during the 1862 flood that inundated the Central Valley.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.

  • Read more
Aquapedia background September 1, 2016

Meadows

While less a scientific term than a colloquial one, meadows are defined by their aquatic, soil and vegetative properties.

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Aquapedia background August 30, 2016

Owens Lake

Owens Lake is a dry lake at the terminus of the Owens River just west of Death Valley and on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. For at least 800,000 years, the lake had a continuous flow of water, until 1913 when the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) completed the 233-mile Los Angeles Aqueduct to supplement the budding metropolis’ increasing water demands.

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Publication August 18, 2014

Looking to the Source: Watersheds of the Sierra Nevada
Published 2011

This 28-page report describes the watersheds of the Sierra Nevada region and details their importance to California’s overall water picture. It describes the region’s issues and challenges, including healthy forests, catastrophic fire, recreational impacts, climate change, development and land use.

The report also discusses the importance of protecting and restoring watersheds in order to retain water quality and enhance quantity. Examples and case studies are included.

  • Read more
Publication August 18, 2014

Water & the Shaping of California
Published 2000 - Paperback

The story of water is the story of California. And no book tells that story better than Water & the Shaping of California.

  • Read more
Publication August 18, 2014

Water & the Shaping of California
Published 2000 - hardbound

The story of California is the story of water. And no book tells that story better than Water & the Shaping of California.

  • Read more
Video May 27, 2014

A Climate of Change: Water Adaptation Strategies

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

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Truckee River Basin Map
Published 2005

This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, displays the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many of these issues. 

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Nevada Water Map
Published 2004

This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, illustrates the water resources available for Nevada cities, agriculture and the environment. It features natural and manmade water resources throughout the state, including the Truckee and Carson rivers, Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake and the course of the Colorado River that forms the state’s eastern boundary.

  • Read more
Maps & Posters May 20, 2014 Groundwater Education Bundle

California Groundwater Map
Redesigned in 2017

California Groundwater poster map

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.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

California Water Map, Spanish

Spanish language version of our California Water Map

Versión en español de nuestro mapa de agua de California

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Maps & Posters April 17, 2014 California Water Bundle

California Water Map
Updated December 2016

A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect gift for the water wonk in your life.

Our 24×36 inch California Water Map is widely known for being the definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts – including federally, state and locally funded projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects, wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado River.

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Tour April 10, 2014 Images from the Sea to Sierra Tour

Sea to Sierra Water Tour 2014
Rolling Seminar on California Water Issues (past)

The 2014 tour was held April 10 – 11.

Travel across the state on Amtrak’s famed California Zephyr, from the edge of sparkling San Francisco Bay, through the meandering channels of the Delta, past rich Central Valley farmland, growing cities, historic mining areas and into the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

  • Amtrak’s Route Guide
  • Peter Vorster: Points of Interest
  • April 10 Tides
  • Bureau of Reclamation – Louis Moore
  • Truckee River Talking Points – Louis Moore
  • TNC Presentation Poster
  • TNC Presentation Poster 2
  • Read more
  • Bay Institute’s Gone with the Flow
Aquapedia background February 11, 2014

Sierra Nevada

The Sierra NevadaStretching along the eastern edge of the state, the Sierra Nevada region incorporates more than 25 percent of California’s land area and forms one of the world’s most diverse watersheds.

On average, 60 percent of California’s total annual precipitation – in the form of rain and snow – falls in the Sierra Nevada and a portion of the southern Cascades.

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Aquapedia background January 30, 2014

Carson River and the Newlands Project

Carson River and the Newlands Project

The Carson River begins in the Sierra Nevada southeast of Lake Tahoe as two separate forks.

The East Fork begins in the mountains of California’s Sonora Pass and after flowing through California and Nevada, it meets the West Fork just south of Carson City. The West Fork forms at California’s Carson Pass, running through California and into Nevada to its junction with the East Fork.

  • Read more
Western Water Magazine September 1, 2013

Two States, One Lake: Keeping Lake Tahoe Blue
September/October 2013

This printed issue of Western Water discusses some of the issues associated with the effort to preserve and restore the clarity of Lake Tahoe.

  • Read more

Water Academy

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  • Rivers
  • Water Issues
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The Water Education Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)3 organization, federal tax ID #942419885.

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