blog post California’s Rivers Could Help Protect the State from Flood and Drought By Sarah Bardeen Apr 18, 2022 Ecosystem restoration expert Julie Rentner of the nonprofit River Partners spoke with us about the benefits of restoring rivers—particularly in a warming and more volatile climate.
blog post Water Trading Can Help California’s Struggling Freshwater Ecosystems By Ellen Hanak, Gokce Sencan Apr 4, 2022 California’s freshwater ecosystems are struggling—but water trading has helped in the past, and that could continue. We provide fresh data on the current state of environmental water transfers and highlight ways to improve them.
blog post Could Rangeland Return to the Central Valley? By Caitlin Peterson Mar 28, 2022 As Central Valley farmers confront the need to fallow some farmland to comply with SGMA, we interview two experts about a possible alternative to fallowing: converting formerly irrigated farmland into rangeland. It would keep the land economically productive—and might bring other benefits.
blog post What Every Californian Should Know About Groundwater By Sarah Bardeen Mar 22, 2022 In honor of World Water Day and its theme—“Groundwater—making the invisible visible”—we asked a handful of PPIC Water Policy Center staff to discuss groundwater and drought in California.
blog post Video: Two Years of COVID in California By Ashlyn Perri Mar 14, 2022 Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, PPIC has provided insights on the far-reaching impact of the pandemic. Two years in, we reflect on what COVID-19 has meant for California—and how it has reshaped our lives.
blog post “When You Know Better, Do Better”: A Water Agency’s Journey Through the Pandemic By Sarah Bardeen Mar 14, 2022 When Clifford Chan took over as EBMUD’s general manager just a few months into the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, he had no idea how the pandemic would transform this large urban water utility. Two years later, he reflects on how EBMUD pivoted—and found innovative ways to support its customers.
blog post SGMA Could Bolster Habitat Restoration in the San Joaquin Valley By Ellen Hanak, Caitlin Peterson, Abigail Hart Feb 22, 2022 As growers prepare to bring land out of production in the San Joaquin Valley, we’re exploring a variety of ways to manage that newly-fallowed farmland. This week, we look at a promising potential use: transforming formerly irrigated land into habitat.
blog post Testimony: Implementing SGMA at Ground Zero—Challenges and Opportunities for the San Joaquin Valley By Ellen Hanak, Alvar Escriva-Bou Feb 15, 2022 PPIC Water Policy Center director Ellen Hanak testified before an informational hearing on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in Sacramento today (February 15, 2022). Read her prepared remarks.
blog post Standing at the Cusp: The Klamath River Edges Closer to Dam Removals By Sarah Bardeen Feb 8, 2022 After decades of negotiations, the decommissioning of four dams on the Klamath River is finally in sight, but hurdles remain. We spoke with Mark Bransom, CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, to learn how he’s working to get the dam removal across the finish line—and what it will mean for river communities.
blog post Could Solar Development Advance Groundwater Sustainability in the San Joaquin Valley? By Andrew Ayres, Curtis Seymour Feb 4, 2022 The San Joaquin Valley is facing a monumental shift in land use over the next two decades. Promoting solar expansion on fallowed farmland could support the state’s clean energy goals—while easing the economic pain of transitioning land away from agriculture under SGMA.
