Water year 2016 began with the potential for heavy El Niño rains that captured the attention of the public. State and federal officials knew that California’s drought-stricken reservoirs would not recover that quickly. 

Hydrologic conditions, precipitation patterns, the need for fishery flows, and forecasts of state and federal water project operations were all discussed at a special FREE briefing held February 23, 2016. Sponsored by the California Department of Water Resources and the Water Education Foundation, the briefing was held at the Sacramento Convention Center, Room 202.

This one-day briefing was for anyone interested in understanding how 2016’s hydrology affected water project operations, including members of the media, elected officials, legislative aides, water district managers and board members, state and federal agency officials, city and county govern­ment officials, farmers, environmentalists, attorneys, consultants, engineers, business executives and public interest groups.

The program ran from 9:30 a.m. to noon and from 1:15 to 3:15 p.m.