Flood-MAR Forum 2025, themed “Grounded in Success, Growing Toward The Future,” is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, November 5 and 6, at the Harper Alumni Center on the campus of California State University, Sacramento. This fifth biennial event will explore opportunities to expand implementation of projects that use floodwaters for managed aquifer recharge (Flood-MAR) to achieve multiple benefits. Flood-MAR Forum 2025 welcomes all interested parties; registration (both in-person and virtual livestream options) is open now. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For more information, visit the Flood-MAR 2025 website.

An in-depth article by Water Education Foundation author Matt Jenkins looks at the challenges faced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in managing dams and reservoirs, particularly in the face of unpredictable weather patterns like atmospheric rivers. The article explains how the development of a new approach called forecast-informed reservoir operations (FIRO) resulted from a 2012 incident at Lake Mendocino on the Russian River, where the USACE released a large amount of water to prepare for expected storms that never materialized. A drought followed and a year later the reservoir became a water-starved, cracked mudflat. Employing FIRO allowed dam operators in subsequent years to use weather forecasts to make more flexible and adaptive decisions about water releases, helping to balance flood control and water supply needs. To learn more about how the USACE is working to modernize its dam management practices to better cope with the consequences of climate change, read the full article online.

The Delta Stewardship Council’s monthly meetings are the definitive place for the public to learn about and comment on the implementation of the Delta Plan.The next council meeting will be on Thursday, June 26, at 9 a.m., at the California Natural Resources Agency headquarters building in Sacramento. Among other agenda items, the council will consider and potentially adopt the Delta Adapts Adaptation Plan, which details strategies and actions the council and its partners can take to adapt to climate change in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. More information about ways to participate or view this meeting on Zoom is available in the detailed agenda.

DWR, in partnership with California State Association of Counties, is convening a series of virtual roundtable-style gatherings for county staff who are responsible for the planning and implementation of SB 552 (Hertzberg). This series is scheduled in response to feedback DWR received from counties in 2023 at the end of the collaborative development of the County Drought Resilience Planning Guidebook, where counties emphasized the benefits and values of sharing information and practices. This hour-long virtual meeting begins at 9 a.m. today. Registration is required. More information about this roundtable is available on the California County Café Series webpage.