By Jessica Law When I started as the new Water Forum Executive Director a year ago, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into. As life would have it, 2021 was full of surprises.…
News (page 6)
Surviving the Summer: Monitoring conditions for salmonids on the Lower American River
By Jessica Law The Water Forum and its members maintained a strong focus on water operations and temperature management as we moved through the drought this year. In weekly cross-caucus meetings we poured over the latest projections, debated the merits…
Reclamation Implements Folsom Reservoir Power Bypass to Help Protect Salmon on the Lower American River
This week, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation initiated a Folsom Power Bypass to reduce river water temperatures and protect salmonids as spawning season begins on the Lower American River. A power bypass allows Reclamation to access and release cold water…
OPINION: How Drought Affects the American River’s Salmon
BY RICH DESMOND AND RON STORK Stop and ponder this for a moment: In the American River passing through the Sacramento metroplex, giant fish swim by after surviving three or more years in the wild Pacific Ocean. These are our…
State Must Cancel San Joaquin’s Application to Claim Water from the Lower American River
BY JESSICA LAWSPECIAL TO THE SACRAMENTO BEE When the Water Forum Agreement was signed over 20 years ago, the occasion marked an unprecedented show of regional cooperation and an end to the water wars that had plagued the Sacramento region for decades.…
Prepare for the Worst, Hope for the Best
By Jessica Law Last week, the State Water Resources Control Board received presentations from the directors at State and Federal agencies focused on the unwelcome new challenge of planning for a worse-case water year, which starts on Friday, October 1st. The presentations…
Drought Report Offers Sobering Assessment and Call to Action
By Jessica Law The Water Forum has been working closely with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to coordinate a response to drought conditions and reduce impacts to regional water supplies and the health of the Lower American River. We recently…
We’re Looking for a Senior Engineer to Join Our Team–deadline extended to 8/20
The Sacramento Water Forum is looking for a Senior Engineer to join our team of dedicated professionals focused on the coequal objectives of 1) providing a reliable and safe water supply for the Sacramento region’s long-term growth and economic health;…
The drought is different this time. Everyone in the Sacramento region must conserve water
BY RALPH PROPPER AND TOM GRAYSPECIAL TO THE SACRAMENTO BEE JULY 31, 2021 06:00 AM, California is in the grip of another extreme drought. The consequences can be seen all over the Sacramento region and, unfortunately, the worst is yet to…
Making the Best of the Poor Conditions in this Critically Dry Year
Dear Colleagues. This is the first in a periodic series of blog posts that discusses the work of the Water Forum and its members to balance the coequal objectives of water supply reliability and environmental stewardship on the Lower American…