Watch our series of short videos on the importance of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, how it works as a water hub for
California and the challenges it is facing.
When a person opens a spigot to draw a glass of water, he or she
may be tapping a source close to home or hundreds of miles away.
Water gets to taps via a complex web of aqueducts, canals and
groundwater.
Learn more about our team in the office and on the Board of
Directors and how you can support our nonprofit mission by
donating in someone’s honor or memory, or becoming a regular
contributor or supporting specific projects.
Unlike California’s majestic rivers and massive dams and
conveyance systems, groundwater is out of sight and underground,
though no less plentiful. The state’s enormous cache of
underground water is a great natural resource and has contributed
to the state becoming the nation’s top agricultural producer and
leader in high-tech industries.
A new era of groundwater management began in 2014 in California
with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The landmark law
turned 10 in 2024, with many challenges still ahead.
As we wrap up our year at the Water Education Foundation, we
are busy looking ahead to our 2026 slate of engaging
tours, workshops and conferences on key water topics in
California and across the West. Make sure to save the dates
below!
Meanwhile, as we approach the
holidays, we want to remind everyone:
Giving Tuesday is right after
Thanksgiving and a national day to support nonprofits. You
can support water education across California and the West on
Dec. 2 or anytime by
donating here!
Calling all future water leaders! Are you an emerging leader
passionate about shaping the future of water in California
or across the Colorado River Basin?
The Water Education Foundation will
be hosting two dynamic water leadership programs in 2026 – one
focused on California water
issues and the other on the Colorado River
Basin. These competitive programs are designed for
rising stars from diverse sectors who are ready to deepen their
water knowledge, strengthen their leadership skills and
collaborate on real-world water challenges.
After Colorado River negotiators missed a mid-November
deadline, Colorado water experts ranged from disappointed to
optimistic. But they agreed on one thing: State negotiators
need to break their current impasse — whether that’s by
hiring a mediator or taking a hard look at conservation.
… Water watchers are buzzing about the potential for big
announcements at the Colorado River Water Users Association
conference in Las Vegas next month, the largest gathering of
Colorado River professionals each year.
The Department of the Interior today announced Secretary’s
Order 3446, which streamlines federally funded construction
projects at Bureau of Reclamation facilities across the 17
Western states. The order reduces administrative burdens, cuts
costs for water and power users and supports faster delivery of
critical infrastructure across the
West. … Reclamation will begin implementing the
order immediately. One of the early efforts will be the
B. F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion
in partnership with the San Luis and Delta Mendota Water
Authority. … The expansion will add 130,000 acre-feet of
storage capacity to the 2 million acre-feet San Luis Reservoir,
the largest off-stream reservoir in the United States.
Nearly 5.5 billion gallons of water were captured during one of
the wettest Novembers on record in Los Angeles, the LADWP said.
After a dry start to the water year, November
brought several days of rain. The city captures water
through its stormwater system, residential rain barrels and
cisterns, and expansive spreading grounds where water collects
to recharge underground aquifers. That groundwater can be
pumped and treated to meet water quality standards for homes
and businesses. The LADWP’s stormwater system has the
capacity to capture more than 27 billion gallons under average
conditions, the agency said.
A large portion of wetlands in the Mountain West could lose
federal protections under a new proposal from the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). But a couple of states in the region
are working to build their own safeguards. On Nov. 17, EPA
Administrator Lee Zeldin and the Army Corps of Engineers
announced a proposal for a narrowed definition of “Waters of
the United States” (WOTUS), the designation that determines
which rivers, streams and wetlands qualify for protection under
the Clean Water Act. … Two Mountain
West states—New Mexico and Colorado—are developing their own
systems to protect waters that have lost federal oversight.
Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the
Bay Model is a giant hydraulic replica of San Francisco
Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta. It is housed in a converted World II-era
warehouse in Sausalito near San Francisco.
Hundreds of gallons of water are pumped through the
three-dimensional, 1.5-acre model to simulate a tidal ebb
and flow lasting 14 minutes.
As part of the historic Colorado
River Delta, the Salton Sea regularly filled and dried for
thousands of years due to its elevation of 237 feet below
sea level.
The most recent version of the Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when
the Colorado River broke
through a series of dikes and flooded the seabed for two years,
creating California’s largest inland body of water. The
Salton Sea, which is saltier than the Pacific Ocean, includes 130
miles of shoreline and is larger than Lake Tahoe.
Drought—an extended period of
limited or no precipitation—is a fact of life in California and
the West, with water resources following boom-and-bust patterns.
During California’s 2012–2016 drought, much of the state
experienced severe drought conditions: significantly less
precipitation and snowpack, reduced streamflow and higher
temperatures. Those same conditions reappeared early in 2021
prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom in May to declare drought emergencies
in watersheds across 41 counties in California.
