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Announcement

Agenda Posted for Water 101 Workshop in April; Journey Beyond the Headlines on Central Valley Tour
Optional Water 101 Watershed Tour Nearly Full; Coveted Sponsorship Opportunities Available

Image shows a speaker at Water 101. Go beyond the stream of recent national headlines and gain a deeper understanding of how water is managed and moved across California during our Water 101 Workshop on April 10

One of our most popular events, the daylong workshop at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento offers anyone new to California water issues or newly elected to a water district board — and really anyone who wants a refresher — a chance to gain a solid statewide grounding on the state’s water resources.

Some of state’s leading policy and legal experts are on the agenda for the workshop that details the historical, legal and political facets of water management in the state. 

Don’t miss a once-a-year opportunity from the only organization in California providing comprehensive, unbiased information about water resources across the West. See the agenda, what past attendees say and learn how to sign up. 

Announcement

Alfred Smith, SoCal Water Law Attorney & Graduate of Water Leaders Program, Elected Water Education Foundation President
Smith Becomes the First Graduate of Foundation’s Water Leaders Program to Head Its Board

Image shows Water Education Foundation Board President Alfred Smith II. Alfred E. Smith IIAlfred E. Smith II, a Southern California water law attorney and an alumnus of the Water Education Foundation’s Water Leaders program, has been elected president of the Foundation’s board of directors.

As chair of Nossaman LLP’s Water Group and a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Smith serves as general counsel to several Southern California water districts and represents clients on water rights, groundwater adjudications, water contamination litigation and remediation matters.

Water News You Need to Know

Aquafornia news The Mercury News

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: Sierra Nevada snowpack sees most bountiful three years in a row in 25 years

In a much-needed break after multiple years of severe droughts over the past two decades, California’s statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack, which provides nearly one-third of the state’s water supply, was at 96% of its historical average on Tuesday, up from 83% a month before. The April 1 reading, considered the most important of the year by water managers because it comes at the end of the winter season, follows two previous years when the snowpack reached 111% of normal on April 1 last year and 237% in 2023. Although Tuesday fell just short of a third year in a row above 100%, together the past three years represent most bountiful three-year period for the Sierra snowpack in 25 years. The last time there was this much snow three years in a row came in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

Other California snowpack and water supply news:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Recycling more water would help fix Colorado River’s woes, report says

California isn’t recycling nearly enough water, according to a new report by UCLA researchers, who say the state should treat and reuse more wastewater to help address the Colorado River’s chronic shortages. Analyzing data for large sewage treatment plants in seven states that rely on Colorado River water, the researchers found California is recycling only 22% of its treated wastewater. That’s far behind the country’s driest two states: Nevada, which is recycling 85% of its wastewater, and Arizona, which is reusing 52%. The report, based on 2022 data, found other states in the Colorado River Basin are trailing, with New Mexico recycling 18%, Colorado 3.6%, Wyoming 3.3% and Utah less than 1%.

Other Colorado River news:

Aquafornia news The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.)

Data server farm proposed near California’s Salton Sea

The first major development in Imperial County’s vaunted but stalled Lithium Valley may have nothing to do with lithium. Instead, a massive data server farm could replace hay fields on a 315-acre patch along Highway 111 at West Sinclair Road, the “gateway” to the proposed industrial zone in the Southern California desert. CalETHOS president and chief operating officer Joel Stone told The Desert Sun that the publicly traded start-up aims to break ground on a 200,000-square-foot data center by 2026. … Data centers, the physical backbone of the Internet, are notorious for using huge amounts of water and often polluting electricity. That concerns some in a county dependent on the dwindling Colorado River for all its water. … But Stone said they want to build a cutting-edge campus that uses the geothermal reserve for clean power and will require little water.

Other data center water use news:

Aquafornia news Nature

How to get rid of toxic ‘forever chemical’ pollution

… How best to get rid of PFASs is now a multibillion-dollar question. The EPA estimated that US utilities might have to spend up to $1.5 billion annually for treatment systems; an industry group that is suing the agency argues that costs could be up to $48 billion over the next 5 years. Utilities must have systems in place by 2029. … And although the EPA has focused on drinking water, scientists want to stop PFASs from ever reaching the water by removing them from other environmental sources. … With looming deadlines, academic researchers and companies are developing methods to gather and destroy PFASs from these sources.

Other PFAS news:

Online Water Encyclopedia

Wetlands

Sacramento National Wildlife RefugeSacramento National Wildlife RefugeWetlands are among the world’s most important and hardest-working ecosystems, rivaling rainforests and coral reefs in productivity. 

They produce high oxygen levels, filter water pollutants, sequester carbon, reduce flooding and erosion and recharge groundwater.

Bay-Delta Tour participants viewing the Bay Model

Bay Model

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.

Aquapedia background Colorado River Basin Map

Salton Sea

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

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.