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.
The biennial program, which will run from March to September
next year, selects about a dozen rising
stars from the seven states that rely on the river
– California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New
Mexico – Mexico and tribal nations.
Registration for our first water tour of 2026 along the lower
Colorado River is now open and the bus will fill up quickly! You
can also find more information below on next year’s programming
calendar packed with engaging tours, workshops and conferences.
And don’t forget that current Foundation member organizations
receive access to coveted sponsorship options for our
tours and events, which are all prime networking
opportunities for the water professionals in attendance! Contact
Nick Gray for more information.
Lower Colorado River Tour | March 11-13
Be sure to catch the return of our
annual Lower Colorado
River Tour as we take you from Hoover Dam to
the U.S.-Mexico border and through the Imperial and
Coachella valleys to learn about the challenges and opportunities
facing the “Lifeline of the Southwest.”
Following the river as it winds through Nevada, Arizona and
California, the tour explores infrastructure, farming
regions, wildlife refuges and the Salton Sea. Experts discuss
river issues, such as water needs, drought management, endangered
species and habitat restoration.
In anticipation of high demand, space is limited to two
tickets per organization so reserve your spot soon while
tickets last. Get more tour
details and register here!
Heavy rain and flash flooding soaked roads in northern
California, leading to water rescues from vehicles and homes
and at least one confirmed death, authorities said Monday.
… The National Weather Service expects rain through the
Christmas week as a series of atmospheric rivers was forecast
to make its way through Northern California. A large swath of
the Sacramento Valley and surrounding areas were under
a flood watch through Friday. … Up to 6
feet of snow was predicted for parts of the Sierra
Nevada and winds could reach 55 mph in high
elevations by Wednesday.
California state water managers are likely to be able to
increase how much water they pump out of the Sacramento-San
Joaquin River Delta under a new set of environmental rules
approved Thursday, which align the state more closely with
federal water managers. The California Department of Fish and
Wildlife on Thursday largely approved the Department of Water
Resources’ request to loosen the operating rules of the State
Water Project. … The new rules give state water managers
greater leeway to pump more water out of the Delta,
particularly during the winter and spring, when young Delta
smelt can get caught up in and die at the pumps.
Until last week, Adam Sullivan was Nevada’s state engineer —
the person most responsible for managing water in the nation’s
driest state. That changed when state officials confirmed
Sullivan’s departure from the role — an unusual move, given
that the state engineer often serves under multiple governors
and must have expertise in Nevada’s oft-byzantine set of water
laws and regulations. So what happened? In his first
public comments since news of his departure broke, Sullivan
said he was terminated amid complaints about his decisions,
telling The Nevada Independent that there were a number of
disagreements between himself, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s
office and the director of his department that escalated over
the last six months.
San Diego arrived in Las Vegas this week ready to sell off some
of its excess water at negotiations over the dwindling Colorado
River between the states, tribes and farmers who use it. They
left without a deal in place. Dan Denham, the San Diego
County Water Authority’s general manager, has been hinting
there’s willing buyers of San Diego’s expensive desalinated
ocean water in the state of Arizona. Arizona is first in line
to have their Colorado River supply cut off during water
shortages. That very scenario is what the annual Las Vegas
negotiations were set up to prevent.
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.
