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.
Are you an emerging leader ready to
make a greater impact on California water policy and management?
Applications are now being accepted for the Water Education
Foundation’s 2027
California Water Leaders cohort, with submissions
due Dec. 3.
Designed for rising professionals in California’s water
community, the program offers participants an unparalleled
opportunity to deepen their understanding of water issues, expand
their professional network and develop leadership skills
alongside a cohort of peers from across the state.
Visit the
application page, paying close attention
to frequently asked questions and mandatory
program dates to ensure you can fully
participate.
Confirm that you have your organization’s support and can
commit the time necessary to partipating in the program.
Interested in learning more? Join our executive director, Jenn
Bowles, and other members of the Foundation team for
a virtual Q&A session at 12:30 p.m. on Nov.
10. We’ll provide an overview of the program and
share tips for submitting a strong application. Sign up here.
What role will desalination play in
the arid West? That topic is one of many engaging conversations
that will be explored at our Oct. 29 Water
Summit revolving around this year’s theme,
Stewarding a New Era in Western Water.
Led by Central Arizona Project’s General Manager Brenda Burman,
the panel will discuss all topics worth their
salt - from emerging desalination technologies to the
latest developments in innovative desalination programs to the
regulatory challenges and opportunities that face the region.
The panel of accomplished speakers will provide deep
insight on desalination’s implications for water management
in the West.
The Water Summit is the Foundation’s premier event of
the year and returns to Sacramento on Oct. 29
with leading policymakers and experts addressing critical water
issues in California and across the West. Capacity is
limited and registration closes soon, so grab your ticket
here while they’re still available!
A parade of El Niño-fueled storms has boosted southwest
Colorado’s snowpack. The 9NEWS Weather Impact Team said
Colorado’s statewide snowpack stands at 125% of average
for November 3, the highest level for this point in
the winter season since 2022, driven largely by storms in the
southern part of the state. … The snowpack
measure, which began October 1, averages all eight of
Colorado’s key river basins. [Meteorologist Chris]
Bianchi cautioned that the 125% snowpack figure is a little bit
of a misleading stat because of a sharp divide across the
state. Northern Colorado’s percentages are in most cases
well-below average, while southern Colorado has two,
three, or even four times the snow typical for this time of
year. The snow has come at a steep cost in the
southwest, with flooding events in Pagosa
Springs and the Piedra and San Juan rivers.
California’s State Water Resources Control Board committed to
public scoping hearings on Trinity River water quality
and flow issues after hours of debate and testimony
from tribal communities on Oct. 29. The decision came after
dozens of tribal members testified that the Bay-Delta
process failed to address major impacts on the Klamath-Trinity
River system. Most of the Trinity River, the Klamath’s
largest tributary, is diverted to the
Bay-Delta for use by agribusiness interests.
… The resolution the board added to the Bay-Delta Plan
falls short of what counties, tribal members and environmental
advocates requested. Those requests included a water
rights hearing, protections for federal flow
decisions and changes in temperature standards.
October was a banner month for Lake Powell, a key
Colorado River reservoir straddling the
Utah-Arizona state line, as rainstorms sent billions of gallons
into the pool behind Glen Canyon Dam. What
that means for ongoing drawdowns from Flaming Gorge Reservoir
on the Wyoming-Utah border is uncertain. Between Oct. 21
and Oct. 28, the reservoir’s contents increased by 537,540
acre-feet, or roughly 175 billion gallons, raising its level by
nine to 10 feet, according to reservoir data. The surge
was primarily driven by flooding along the San Juan
River in the Four Corners region. All told, Lake
Powell gained about 600,000 acre-feet from its
September low through late October. Coincidentally,
600,000-acre feet is roughly the amount released from
Flaming Gorge over the past few months to make
up for Lake Powell shortfalls.
With a little more than half the vote counted early Wednesday,
voters appeared to be rejecting the idea of amending
the California Environmental Quality Act. Prop. 45,
which would change the state’s landmark environmental review
law by setting deadlines for environmental reviews and related
lawsuits on certain projects, was losing 54 percent to 46
percent. Supporters had said the changes would reduce building
costs. The California Chamber of Commerce sponsored Proposition
45, the Building an Affordable California Act, which would
limit the length of environmental reviews for projects deemed
“essential” to 365 business days and require courts to resolve
litigation in 270 calendar days. Those projects include
housing, water, broadband and transit
developments.
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.
No portion of the West has been immune to drought during the last
century and it occurs with much greater frequency in the West
than in any other region of the country.
