Napa County Resources
Napa County Watershed and Information Council Many links to Water supply, conservation groundwater etc.
Napa County Drought Monitor via NOAA and NIDIS—your taxpayer dollars pay for tons of federally sponsored but locally relevant tracking and data.
Napa Groundwater Sustainability Everyone in Napa County relies on groundwater. Rural residents and farms use groundwater. Groundwater also supports healthy watersheds. Napa County has been monitoring groundwater since the 1960s
2022 Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Report March 2023
Napa Valley Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan Jan 2022
Napa County Resource and Development Stream Watch Get involved with citizen action
Water-Wise Gardening in Napa Valley Plant lists, recommendations etc
Water Audit California based in Napa, is an advocate for the public trust, guided by science and long-established legal principles of environmental stewardship
Napa River Basin Naturally Resilient Communities: Napa River Basin
Silverado Fisheries Base CA Dept of Fish & Game fishery supplying of trout and inland salmon for several Bay Area counties, has a casual picnic area for visitor use M-F 8-3
Napa & Sonoma County Marshes CA Dept of Fish & Game The Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area is approximately 15,200 acres of baylands, tidal sloughs and wetland habitat.
California Resources
California Communities with Water Commissions Compilation of 21 communities with Water Commissions or Boards
Water Use in California’s Communities Water information from the public Policy Institute of California
California Department of Water Resources Links to an abundance of water related issues
Integrating Water Efficiency into Land Use Planning in the Interior West: A Guidebook for Local Planners 2018 This Guidebook provides hundreds of techniques, sample codes/policies, and community examples that explain how to reduce the water footprint of new development.
2014 Demand Offsets: Water Neutral Development in California Exploration of water offsets and water neutrality (published before the latest drought)
NOAA California Drought Monitoring Map of California Drought Conditions
Bring Back the Beaver Occidental Arts & Ecology Center
California Native Plant Society many waterwise tips including “Life after Lawns”
General Water Resources
Water Education Foundation California based water information
The Hundred Year Flood Myth Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency
ONE HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD: Risk Assessment, Not a Timeline. Check out this explanation by the Water Education Foundation.
Making Water a Public Good: The Bigger Picture of Water Affordability US Water Alliance
Beavers Offer Natural Solution to Fighting Wildfires The large rodents create soggy areas that fires can’t cross.
Videos
A New Type of River 3.5 minute video A must watch for understanding rivers and how we need to adjust to them
Why Rivers Shouldn’t Look Like This: It’s Complicated 6 minute video from the UK with a view of the intersection on man and rivers
Why Do Rivers Curve? 3 minute video on why rivers meander
How “Levee Wars” are Making Floods Worse great 6 minute video that will enhance your understanding of levees
What is an Atmospheric River? 1.5 minutes Scripps oceanography
So you live Behind a Leeve 2.25 minutes
Hell or High Water: How Stockton Can Prepare for the Risk of Flood Disaster 2023 Applicable everywhere 2:24:39
Want to Solve Wildfires and Drought? Leave it to BEAVERS! 10 minute video about how Beavers stop wildfires
Audio
KQED Looking for Solutions to Drought and Deluge 2022 audio only 52:45 minutes. Highly recommend this interview with Erica Gies author of Water Always Wins
California is still at risk of flooding NPR 5 minutes Maybe rivers just need some space— expanding the floodplain, removing levees giving the rivers room
Recommended Books by Topic
Many of these are available at the St. Helena Public Library
Water
- Napa Valley Historical Ecology Atlas: Exploring A Hidden Landscape of Transformation and Resilience Robin Grossinger
- The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California Mark Arax “Every dry time turns to flood time soon enough”
- Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge by Eric Gies. Excellent!
- The State of Water: Understanding California’s Most Precious Resource Obi Kauffman Concise treatment of California Water issues. Lovely watercolor maps and species paintings
- Down River: Into the Future of Water in the West Heather Hansman “We save what we love and we love what we know.”
- Low-Tech Process Based Restoration of Riverscapes Design Manual How to emulate Beavers in River Restoration
Beavers
- Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter Ben Goldfarb Beavers are a Keystone species which creates habitat and alters the environment for the benefit of all
- Saving the Dammed: Why We Need Beaver-Modified Ecosystems Ellen Wohl Raises awareness of rivers as ecosystems and the role beavers play in sustaining the ecosystem surrounding rivers by exploring the macrocosm of global river alteration, wetland loss, and the reduction in ecosystem services. The resulting reduction in ecosystem services span things such as flood control, habitat abundance and biodiversity, and nitrate reduction.
Waterwise Gardening
- Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates of the San Francisco Bay Region East Bay MUD Best landscape Gardening book for our area. Very Inspirational.
- Growing California Native Plants Marjorie G. Schmidt Cultural information on growing Native California plants/
- Wildflowers of California Larry Ulrich Inspirational photos of California native wildflowers across California
- Oaks Of California Bruce Pavlik et al Description and cultural guide.
Fire
- Introduction to Fire in California David Carle Excellent reference guide about California Wildfires, fire resistant plants and trees and their natural history.
- Firescaping: Protecting Your Home with a Fire-Resistant Landscape Douglas Kent Exactly what is says. How to improve your chances of your home surviving a wildfire
