Sacramento River

Water Supply in the Conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, Water Years 2010–20, Chapter B of U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Availability Assessment—2010–20

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | January 17th, 2025

The following are the key points of this chapter: Throughout much of the Great Plains and Northeast through Midwest aggregated hydrologic regions, low precipitation

The following are the key points of this chapter: Throughout much of the Great Plains and Northeast through Midwest aggregated hydrologic regions, low precipitation totals in water years 2011 and 2012 resulted in low streamflow, evapotranspiration, and soil moisture, associated with one of the most substantial droughts since the 1930s. The highest interannual variability in precipitation was in the California–Nevada, Texas, Southern High Plains, and Southwest Desert hydrologic regions, whereas the lowest interannual variability was in the Florida, Tennessee–Missouri, and Northeast hydrologic regions. Among the Western aggregated hydrologic region, where snow is critical for water availability, the California–Nevada hydrologic region had the highest interannual variability in maximum snow accumulation with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 0.60, whereas the Columbia–Snake, Pacific Northwest, and Central Rockies hydrologic regions all had a CV of less than 0.36. Six of 29 unconfined and 6 of 23 confined principal and regional aquifer systems had current water-level percentiles (median 2010–20) of less than 30 percent of historical water levels (that is, median 2000–20 water levels) including the California Coastal Basin aquifers, the Colorado Plateaus aquifers, and the Central and Southern regions of the High Plains aquifer. Hydrologic regions with low precipitation and little storage coincide with aquifer systems that have shown a decline in groundwater levels during water years 2010–20, including the Southern High Plains, Central High Plains, and Texas hydrologic regions. Companion chapters: U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Availability Assessment—2010–20, Chapter A Status of Water-Quality Conditions in the United States, 2010–20, Chapter C  Water Use Across the Conterminous United States, Water Years 2010–20, Chapter D  Climate Change and Future Water Availability in the United States, Chapter E  Integrated Water Availability in the Conterminous United States, 2010–20, Chapter F 

Water Surplus and Drought Management Update - Conditions as of 11/29/2022

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) | December 13th, 2022

Water Temperature Differences by Plant Community and Location in Re-established Wetlands in the Sacramento– San Joaquin Delta, California, July 2005 to February 2008

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | ?

Rates of carbon storage in wetlands are determined by the balance of its inputs and losses, both of which are affected by environmental factors such as water temperature

Rates of carbon storage in wetlands are determined by the balance of its inputs and losses, both of which are affected by environmental factors such as water temperature and depth. In the autumn of 1997, the U.S. Geological Survey re-established two wetlands with different shallow water depths—about 25 and 55 centimeters deep—to investigate the potential to reverse subsidence of delta islands by preserving and accumulating organic substrates derived from plant biomass inputs over time. Because cooler water temperatures can slow decomposition rates and increase accretion of plant biomass, water temperature was recorded from July 2005 to February 2008 in the deeper of the two wetlands, where areas of emergent and submerged vegetation persisted throughout the study, to assess differences in water temperature between the two vegetation types. Water temperature was compared at three depths in the water column between areas of emergent and submerged vegetation and between areas near the water inflow and in the wetland interior in both vegetation types. The latter comparison was a way of evaluating the effect of the length of time water had resided in the wetland on water temperatures. There were statistically significant differences in water temperature at all depths between the two vegetation types. Overall, in areas of emergent marsh vegetation, the mean water temperature at the surface was 1.4 degrees Celsius (°C) less than it was in areas of submerged vegetation; however, when analyses accounted for the changes in temperature due to seasonal and diurnal cycles, differences in the mean water temperature between the vegetation types were even greater than this. For example, in the spring, the mean temperatures in areas of emergent marsh vegetation at the surface, midpoint, and near the sediment in the water column were 2.0, 2.3, and 2.1 °C less, respectively, than water temperatures in areas of submerged vegetation. When diurnal changes in temperature were accounted for by comparing temperatures in mid-afternoon (at 3 p.m.), water-temperature differences were even greater than the seasonal means indicated. In areas of emergent vegetation, the mean temperatures were cooler than temperatures in areas of submerged vegetation at the surface, the mid-point, and near the sediment in the water column by 3.9, 3.6, and 2.3 °C, respectively. Furthermore, from July 2005 through December 2006, water temperatures at the surface in the interior of the wetland were significantly cooler than in areas near the inflow supplying water from the San Joaquin River by 1.0 °C in areas of submerged vegetation and by 1.1 °C in areas of emergent vegetation.

Water Temperature Modeling Platform Mid-Term Review

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | October 21st, 2021

Water Use in California

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | April 19th, 2023

Water Wasted to the Sea?

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | July 15th, 2017

Water Year 2017: What a Difference a Year Makes

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | October 3rd, 2022

The very wet conditions of 2017 gave many parts of the state access to excess surface waters for both planned and impromptu groundwater recharge, and fall 2017 groundwate

The very wet conditions of 2017 gave many parts of the state access to excess surface waters for both planned and impromptu groundwater recharge, and fall 2017 groundwater level data (not available until the end of the calendar year) should show the effects of the substantial recharge water available

Water Year 2018 Hydrology

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | November 26th, 2018

Water Year 2021 Compound Precipitation and Temperature Extremes in California and Nevada

American Meteorological Society (AMS) | December 23rd, 2022

The most intense 22-yr drought in the western United States since 800 CE (Williams et al. 2022) was extended by compound dry and hot extremes in Water Year 2021 (October

The most intense 22-yr drought in the western United States since 800 CE (Williams et al. 2022) was extended by compound dry and hot extremes in Water Year 2021 (October 2020–September 2021). Compared to an instrumental record that dates to 1895, low precipitation (Fig. 1a) and high temperatures (Fig. 1b) were widespread across the western United States. The intense and prevalent drought has caused water delivery shortages (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 2021), damaged ecosystems (Wlostowski et al. 2022), and contributed to extreme wildfires (e.g., Fu et al. 2021; Gutierrez et al. 2021; Abolafia-Rosenzweig et al. 2022). California and Nevada (CA–NV) were once again at the epicenter of drought and heat in Water Year 2021 (California Department of Water Resources 2021). This was the first time since 1895 that precipitation fell below –1.5 standardized departures and temperatures exceeded 1.5 standardized departures concurrently for the two-state average (Fig. 1c). Precipitation and temperatures were individually extreme as well, as the former was the second lowest since 1895 and the latter was the second highest. We examine whether the co-occurrence of anthropogenic climate change and La Niña, two principal climate drivers during Water Year 2021, altered the risk of unprecedented compound dry and hot extremes in CA–NV during Water Year 2021. Our assessment investigates the factors related to compound extremes that lead to heightened societal impacts compared to individual extreme events (e.g., AghaKouchak et al. 2020; Zscheischler et al. 2020; W. Zhang et al. 2021).

Water-Power with High Pressures and Wrought-Iron Water-Pipe

Scientific American | September 13th, 1884

For the purpose of supplying the placer mines in California with water, many ditches were built on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, taking their source high up in

For the purpose of supplying the placer mines in California with water, many ditches were built on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, taking their source high up in the mountains, and delivering the water on the tops of the foot hill ridges, at elevations from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above the great valley of California, formed by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. In many cases, the mines for which these aqueducts were constructed have been exhausted or abandoned, and their water is now largely used for power for quartz ruining and milling, and for other purposes.