5/27/2021

P&G Supports Projects to Help Protect and Restore Water in the Sacramento River Basin

People and nature around the world depend on local and regional water supplies to survive, and for many, water is their source of livelihood. By 2025, approximately two-thirds of the global population is expected to live in water-stressed areas.

At P&G, we are always looking for new, innovative ways to protect the water resources that are vital to people and nature. As part of our Ambition 2030 goals, we have committed to protecting water in 18 priority basins across seven countries where our consumers, suppliers and facilities are most exposed to current and future water risks.

One of these priority basins is the Sacramento River Basin in California, which provides 35% of California’s water supply. This basin is a crucial source of water for millions of residents, wildlife species and acres of agricultural land. Today, almost 95% of wetland habitat has been lost in California’s Central Valley, and water scarcity throughout the state impacts the ability to deliver water to the people and ecosystems that need it.

We're partnering with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation's Business for Water Stewardship program to support six water projects in the Sacramento River Basin. Together, the portion of these projects supported by P&G will restore more than three billion liters of water in this essential watershed – the equivalent of about 1,180 Olympic swimming pools! These projects will also provide additional benefits to the surrounding environment, such as reducing the risk of floods and wildfires and improving habitat for local animals.

Let's meet the partners and projects:

Audubon California's Shorebird Habitat Creation Project and Davis Ranches' Sycamore Slough Groundwater Recharge Project will create habitat for migratory bird species and help to restore groundwater levels.

Sacramento river basin flock of birds

“Shorebird populations have declined 37% over the past 50 years, largely as a result of inadequate suitable habitat for nesting, feeding and resting along their migratory journeys,” said Samantha Arthur, Working Lands Program Director at Audubon California. “This effort brings partners together to address gaps in shorebird habitat to buffer the expected impacts of climate change on a very special group of migratory birds.”

The Great Basin Institute's Crystal Basin Restoration Project will restore forestland to reduce the risk of wildfires and River Partners' Brayton Restoration Project will plant native vegetation to improve water quality and create habitat for local wildlife.

The Sacramento river basin restoration overhead image

Jerry Keir, Executive Director at the Great Basin Institute, emphasized that his organization’s project “demonstrates the power of science-based policy and effective collaborative solutions for improving watershed health and resilience.”

Currently, the East Sand Slough Side Channel runs dry along part of the Sacramento River for much of the year. The East Sand Slough Side Channel Reconnection Project, led by Chico State Enterprises, will allow more water to flow along the channel, creating habitat for local marine life and a community recreation area.

According to Susan Strachan, Project Manager, CSU Chico Geographical Information Center, the project will “provide important juvenile salmon habitat and restore water to a former recreational site that was lost.”

Regional Water Authority's Sacramento Landscape Efficiency Project will work with local businesses to upgrade the landscaping of commercial, industrial and institutional properties in Sacramento to reduce the demand on the city's water supply.

Sacramento river basin cleanup

These partnerships are supporting larger collective solutions that will help the people and nature that depend on the basin to continue to have the clean water they need to thrive. By investing in this important river basin, we have also helped to catalyze additional corporate investment that will further accelerate the impact of these projects.

For more information about our water stewardship program and other efforts to protect the planet, visit https://us.pg.com/environmental-sustainability.