Inventory of Recreation Facilities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (2015)

Delta Protection Commission (DPC) | February 21st, 2017

The Delta Protection Commission (Commission) is committed to national recognition of the Delta as a diverse, accessible, modern recreation and tourism destination. The Co

The Delta Protection Commission (Commission) is committed to national recognition of the Delta as a diverse, accessible, modern recreation and tourism destination. The Commission has compiled the 2015 Inventory of Recreation Facilities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta which represents the current recreation resources in the Legal Delta and its adjacent areas. The Inventory is a reference for the Commission, State and local agencies, and recreation providers in planning, developing, and promoting the Delta as a unique recreation and tourism destination.

Investigating Factors Contributing to Phytoplankton Biomass Declines in the Lower Sacramento River

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | March 23rd, 2023

Investigating the Role of Snow Water Equivalent on Streamflow Predictability during Drought

American Meteorological Society (AMS) | October 20th, 2022

Snowpack provides the majority of predictive information for water supply forecasts (WSFs) in snow-dominated basins across the western United States. Drought conditions t

Snowpack provides the majority of predictive information for water supply forecasts (WSFs) in snow-dominated basins across the western United States. Drought conditions typically accompany decreased snowpack and lowered runoff efficiency, negatively impacting WSFs. Here, we investigate the relationship between snow water equivalent (SWE) and April–July streamflow volume (AMJJ-V) during drought in small headwater catchments, using observations from 31 USGS streamflow gauges and 54 SNOTEL stations. A linear regression approach is used to evaluate forecast skill under different historical climatologies used for model fitting, as well as with different forecast dates. Experiments are constructed in which extreme hydrological drought years are withheld from model training, that is, years with AMJJ-V below the 15th percentile. Subsets of the remaining years are used for model fitting to understand how the climatology of different training subsets impacts forecasts of extreme drought years. We generally report overprediction in drought years. However, training the forecast model on drier years, that is, below-median years (P15, P57.5], minimizes residuals by an average of 10%in drought year forecasts, relative to a baseline case, with the highest median skill obtained in mid- to late April for colder regions. We report similar findings using a modified National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) procedure in nine large Upper Colorado River basin (UCRB) basins, highlighting the importance of the snowpack–streamflow relationship in streamflow predictability. We propose an “adaptive sampling” approach of dynamically selecting training years based on antecedent SWE conditions, showing error reductions of up to 20% in historical drought years relative to the period of record. These alternate training protocols provide opportunities for addressing the challenges of future drought risk to water supply planning.

Irrigating Machinery on the Pacific Coast

Scientific American | December 17th, 1887

In offering the present paper to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the author does so with a tolerably complete knowledge of the very advanced practice in England

In offering the present paper to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the author does so with a tolerably complete knowledge of the very advanced practice in England in this class of machinery: and his purpose is mainly to explain the differences that have been called for by local circumstances in California. Character of the Country: The western or Pacific slope of the Sierra Nevada or coast range of mountains in California is very abrupt, the crests of the range being so near that the snow is visible from the coast during the whole year. Hundreds of streams cross this narrow country, falling either direct into the Pacific Ocean or into the great basin formed by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. These two rivers. the largest in California, run in opposite directions nearly parallel with the coast and meet at the Bay of San Francisco forming ac ontinuous valley 400 miles long and from 50 to 100 miles wide. The small streams for the most part are fed by melting snow in the summer; and every gulch or canon has its rivulet or brook. They increase in volume until they pass into or through the hills at the foot of the mountain range; and there, unless of considerable size, they may wholly disappear in summer by percolation through the silt or by evaporation. Streams exposed to the torrid air which in summer sweeps across the sand deserts of Southern California are dried up with wonderful rapidity. The evaporation from Salt Lake, exposed to the same dry wind, is sometimes equal to half an inch per day. or 64 million tons of water. Not withstanding this great loss by evaporation, the quantity of water falling into the ocean on the coast of California has been estimated at 100 million cubic feet or 2 3/4 million tons per minute, enough, if distributed properly, to irrigate 25,000 square miles.

Irrigation in California

Scientific American | January 5th, 1884

Irrigation of Twelve Million Acres in the Valley of California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | November 15th, 1920

Issue Paper for the San Joaquin River spring-run Chinook experimental population – Delta impacts

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | July 23rd, 2013

Juvenile Production Estimate (JPE) Calculation and Use/Application of Survival Data from Acoustically-tagged Chinook Salmon Releases Report

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | February 21st, 2014

Each year, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimates the number of juvenile winter-run Chinook salmon expected to enter the Delta. NMFS’ June 4, 2009

Each year, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimates the number of juvenile winter-run Chinook salmon expected to enter the Delta. NMFS’ June 4, 2009, biological and conference opinion on the long-term operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project provides an incidental take limit on natural juvenile winter-run based on the juvenile production estimate.

Kern Water Bank Status Report No. 3

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | April 1st, 1990

Land Reclamation Impacts on Tidal Landscape Evolution

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | August 21st, 2025

Fertile and low-lying coastal landscapes are often densely populated due to food supply (agriculture, aquaculture, and fisheries) and easy navigability (shipping lanes).

Fertile and low-lying coastal landscapes are often densely populated due to food supply (agriculture, aquaculture, and fisheries) and easy navigability (shipping lanes). Much of the low-lying land that is regularly inundated by the sea has been converted to agricultural land or urban environments to meet the need for land. This reclamation of land influences the tidal dynamics of the coastal environment, which in turn modifies its morphology. Through various complex tide-topography interactions identified in this paper, we explore how the location and extent of land reclamation influences tides and bed levels in various tidal environments. We especially point to the key role of sediments herein, introducing feedback mechanisms that lead to large impacts on tidal landscapes, but also long adaptation times. This is especially the case for estuaries due to their confinement and the typically large availability of sediments.