Redlands – October 15, 2026 -- The San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District (SBVWCD) has launched Field Notes, a newsletter whose first issue reports 40,291 acre-feet of groundwater recharge during the 2025–26 water year and a $5.403 million U.S. Bureau of Reclamation grant for Oak Creek recharge basins.
First issue covers federal grant, recharge volumes and a fellowship
The issue, released the first week of October, also reports a GrizzlyCorps fellowship for SBVWCD intern Maya Stokes. The Reclamation grant is earmarked for the Oak Creek recharge basins.
The newsletter draws on staff work in the Santa Ana River Wash and along Mill Creek, where the district captures, stores and monitors the valley's groundwater.
Four recurring features target taxpayers, agencies and industry peers
Each issue carries four sections: Wonders of the Wash, on the Santa Ana River Wash; Beyond the Basin, on regional and statewide partnerships; The Current, which highlights popular social media posts; and Let's Connect, which invites readers to engage online.
General Manager Betsy Miller Vixie said the publication is meant to open the district's work to the taxpayers who fund it, to agencies and stakeholders sharing the watershed, and to colleagues across the water industry. She said that the better people understand how recharge secures the valley's water supply, the stronger the shared commitment to it becomes.
Field Notes is available on the district's website and by email subscription.