Sacramento Bee, 1/14/26. Warming temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns will reshape the American, Bear and Cosumnes river watersheds, intensifying snowpack loss and placing greater strain on California’s water supply, a two-year study has found.
A draft watershed resilience report by the Regional Water Authority reviewed by The Sacramento Bee projects earlier snowmelt, shifting runoff patterns, and more water lost to evaporation due to climate change, according to the draft.
The report, expected to be released by the end of March, noted an average of 6.3 degrees of warming by the end of the century compared with temperatures from 1981 and 2010, with the Sierra region expected to warm even faster, and the American River area projected to face an average of 39 additional extreme heat days each year.
It also predicts snow water equivalent measurement at 7.2 inches on average — a 66% decrease compared with historical data — by the mid-century period, between 2041 and 2070, and 4.6 inches — a 79% decrease — by the end of the century for the American River region.
“We could have the same amount of water coming, but we’re going to have less water supply because we have infrastructure that has to be focused on addressing flood risks when the water is coming, instead of water supply,” said Ryan Ojakian, government relations manager at the Regional Water Authority.
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Watershed Resilience Pilot Project website: RWAWatershedsResilience.com
Watershed Resilience Pilot Advances Toward 2026 Plan (Blog post)