Report Details How the SWC Science Program Funded Over $3.3 Million in Management-Relevant Water Research and Launched the Organization’s First Science Solicitation
From the State Water Contractors:
The State Water Contractors’ (SWC) Science Program today released its Annual Science Report for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The report highlights over $3.3 million in water science and research funding – including $2.5 million for the launch of the SWC’s first-ever science solicitation.
“Science is the foundation of our work. It is the common language across agencies and positions that has the power to bridge disparate perspectives,” said Jennifer Pierre, General Manager for the State Water Contractors. “For the SWC, it is our goal to fund and promote the best available science as the basis for all water management actions and decisions. Science isn’t political, it doesn’t have an agenda – it is simply a reflection of our best efforts to understand the world around us.”
The report features progress and outcomes from key program initiatives undertaken in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, which included:
- SWC’s Science Solicitation – The SWC released its first-ever science solicitation in February, selecting and funding six projects to advance our understanding of the San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and upper watersheds.
- Science Symposia – The SWC routinely hosts these events to bring together experts studying California water and ecosystem health to collaborate and help fill in knowledge gaps as they relate to the latest science, and to help inform water management decision-making. In August of 2022, the SWC facilitated a discussion about how the inflow-to-export ratio (I:E ratio) performed relative to juvenile salmonids, what studies indicate about the efficacy of the NMFS 2009 Biological Opinion requirements, and how regulations might be used to protect juvenile salmonids while balancing water supply needs.
- Rapid eDNA Sampling – In response to the turbidity bridge avoidance requirement under the Incidental Take Permit (ITP) and Biological Opinions, the SWC provided rapid funding to conduct eDNA sampling to detect the presence of Delta and Longfin Smelt during a period of high Delta flows.
“This was a big year for our Science Program,” said Darcy Austin, Science Manager for the State Water Contractors. “For those of us working on issues in the Bay-Delta, science grounds our work. Our passion and purpose lie in identifying, supporting, and providing the best available science to California’s water leaders and decision-makers so they can make informed policy choices that advance the Delta Plan’s co-equal goals of providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem.”
To learn more about the SWC’s Science Program and read this year’s Annual Science Report, visit www.swc.org/resources/science-
For more information or to learn more about the State Water Contractors, please visit www.swc.org.
