Consideration of groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the context of Flood-Managed Aquifer Recharge (Flood-MAR) will be the focus of the next Lunch-MAR presentation, the final one of 2024, sponsored by DWR’s Flood-MAR Program. Melissa Rohde, from Rohde Environmental Consulting, will be the speaker. Her presentation will provide an overview of the latest research on ecological thresholds and explain how this information can be used to quantify environmental benefits to gain a clearer understanding of how Flood-MAR projects can provide environmental benefits. The hour-long webinar begins at 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Guest speaker Tracy Hinojosa, Water Operations Branch Manager at DWR, Division of Operations & Maintenance, will present an overview of the State Water Project (SWP), including the history, purpose, and benefits of the project, as well as the challenges facing the SWP today. The webinar, sponsored by the Office of Water Programs (OWP) at Sacramento State, runs an hour starting at noon on Friday, Dec. 6. This Water Seminar series presentation is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

Federal and State government agencies, overseeing water, agriculture, fish and wildlife, public lands, and flood control in California, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance collaboration on landscape-scale, multi-beneficial floodplain water projects in the Sacramento River Basin, the largest watershed in the state, covering 27,000 square miles. The MOU furthers State-federal coordination on landscape-scale funding and will encourage opportunities for streamline planning of projects located on the floodplains. These vital areas enhance flood protection, restore fish and wildlife habitat, improve groundwater aquifer recharge, provide water supply reliability, and sustain farming and managed wetland operations.

Water markets have the potential to enhance climate resilience for agriculture and ecosystems in the Southwest. But this opportunity can be realized only if markets are able to achieve their intended goals without causing significant negative side effects. A new synthesis report, Information Needs for Water Markets: Fair and Effective Water Markets Require Adequate Measurement and Reporting of Diversion and Use, released by the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at Berkeley Law, explores what information on surface-water and groundwater diversion and use is available in the Southwest, what diversion and use information is needed to support fair and effective water markets, and how existing information gaps can be addressed.