What’s happened to the California Water Plan eNews?
Beginning with this issue, “California Water Plan eNews” has a new name: “Weekly Water Highlights.” The name change better reflects the evolving purpose and scope of this eNews, as the content has expanded beyond its original focus on the California Water Plan to cover a much wider range of water-related topics. This eNews will continue its Wednesday delivery schedule and readers do not have to resubscribe. The rebranding also helps distinguish it from “Water Plan 2028 Engagement,” DWR’s new eNews alert publication focused exclusively on the 2028 California Water Plan. Created to share Water Plan-related information updates quickly on an as-needed basis, “Water Plan 2028 Engagement” is sent to subscribers only and includes links to CaliforniaWaterPlan.com where more detailed information is available. Readers can manage their DWR newsletter subscription preferences on DWR’s subscriber portal.
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Inaugural Advisory Committee Meeting May 13 & 14
The first 2028 California Water Plan Advisory Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 13 (1 to 5 p.m.), and Thursday, May 14 (8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) in Sacramento at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. Meetings on both days will be livestreamed (links: Day 1, Day 2). For meeting event details, see the Advisory Meeting agenda. Day 2 will conclude with a public comment period. Comments can be submitted via email to cwpcom@water.ca.gov by Thursday, May 14, 5:00 p.m. (Please note that comments sent by email will be reviewed by DWR staff and will be included in the Advisory Committee meeting summary for consideration by the committee at the next quarterly meeting.) The Advisory Committee is an appointed body that provides recommendations to DWR and informs development of the 2028 California Water Plan. All committee meetings are open to the public. If you plan to attend in person, please RSVP.
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Next week's Lunch-MAR: Mattole River Headwaters Project
The next Lunch-MAR meeting take place on Wednesday, May 6, at 12:30 p.m. Join Joel Monschke of Stillwater Sciences for a discussion on the Mattole River Headwaters Drought Relief and Flow Enhancement Project. This project, started in 2025, involves the construction and operations of two lined off-channel ponds with a combined storage capacity of 7.8 million gallons. The ponds will fill entirely during the wet season via direct precipitation and hillslope sheet-flow capture. During the dry season (typically July-October), approximately 30 gallons per minute of water will be released from the ponds via shallow groundwater flow to augment low summer stream flows that limit native Coho salmon and steelhead trout survival in Vanauken Creek, tributary to the Mattole River. The hour-long webinar begins at 12:30 p.m.
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Sustainable Conservation webinar: Voices from the Field, May 6
The second webinar in this series from Sustainable Conservation will explore how groundwater recharge and multibenefit land repurposing work in tandem to support long-term groundwater sustainability and climate resilience across California. By storing water underground in wet years and strategically reducing demand on groundwater supplies, these approaches can improve water reliability, reduce flood risk, and restore habitat, building a more resilient future for our communities, agriculture, and environment. Connecting Solutions for Groundwater Resilience will feature leaders from the California Department of Conservation and Earth Genome who will discuss the work currently underway and what it takes to implement these solutions at scale. This hour-long discussion begins at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6. Registration is open now.
May 7 WestFAST Webinar: Water Issues and Data Centers
The second WestFAST webinar of 2026 will focus on water issues with data centers. Mary Ann Dickinson, policy director of Land and Water for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, will lead the discussion. She works on improving integrating land and water policies in the U.S. and globally. Prior to joining the Lincoln Institute, she was the founder and president/CEO for 15 years of the Alliance for Water Efficiency. Mary Ann has authored numerous publications on water conservation, land use planning, and natural resources management; spoken at more than 50 national and international conferences; and co-produced two films that have aired on public television and community cable stations. This event will take place on Thursday, May 7, at 10 a.m. This is a public webinar and no registration is required. See the WestFAST webinar webpage for login information and details.
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California Water Data Consortium town hall meeting on Prop. 4
On Wednesday, May 13, starting at 11 a.m., the California Water Data Consortium (Consortium) will host a two-hour virtual town hall meeting and panel discussion to share ideas for integrating water and ecological data infrastructure into Proposition 4 implementation. Last June, the Consortium convened more than 100 water leaders across California to identify how modern data systems can strengthen climate resilience investments. The result: evidence-based recommendations on data governance, regional coordination, capacity-building, and public accessibility. Strengthening California's Climate Bond Outcomes with Water Data Infrastructure, a new report published by the Consortium, recommends solid strategies and approaches to maximize water resilience investments through modern data and information systems infrastructure. The upcoming May 6 town hall will focus on bringing those recommendations to life. Hear directly from practitioners implementing these strategies in real time and discover what's possible when data infrastructure gets the priority it deserves. Registration for Town Hall: Maximizing Prop. 4 with Water Data & Information Systems is open now.
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