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Report

Comparing Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, William Fleenor, Jeffrey Mount ...

For over 50 years, California has been pumping water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for extensive urban and agricultural uses around the state. Today, the Delta is ailing and in urgent need of a new management strategy. This report concludes that building a peripheral canal to carry water around the Delta is the most promising way to balance two critical policy goals: reviving a threatened ecosystem and ensuring a reliable, high-quality water supply for California.
 
More information can be found in the following supporting appendices:

Appendix A. Policy and Regulatory Challenges for the Delta of the Future

Appendix B. Levee Decisions and Sustainability for the Delta

Appendix C. Delta Hydrodynamics and Water Salinity with Future Conditions

Appendix D. The Future of the Delta Ecosystem and Its Fish

Appendix E. Expert Survey on the Viability of Delta Fish Populations

Appendix F. The Economic Costs and Adaptations for Alternative Delta Regulations

Appendix G. Peripheral Canal Design and Implementation Options

Appendix H. Delta Drinking Water Quality and Treatment Costs

Appendix I. The Economic Effects on Agriculture of Water Export Salinity South of the Delta

Appendix J. Decision Analysis of Delta Strategies
 
 
 

Report

Integrated Management of Delta Stressors: Institutional and Legal Options

By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray

Despite some recent progress, the current institutional landscape for regulation and management of stressors in the in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is highly fragmented. A modest but powerful set of institutional changes can help produce better environmental outcomes while containing management costs—which are likely to exceed several hundred million dollars annually. This report lays out proposals for institutional reform.

This research was supported with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.

Several companion reports contain related findings:

Aquatic Ecosystem Stressors in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Mount et al. 2012) summarizes the science of Delta ecosystem stressors for a policymaking audience.

Costs of Ecosystem Management Actions for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Medellín-Azuara et al. 2013) assesses costs of water management actions.

Scientist and Stakeholder Views on the Delta Ecosystem (Hanak et al. 2013) presents detailed results of the two surveys conducted by the report’s authors.

Stress Relief: Prescriptions for a Healthier Delta Ecosystem (Hanak et al. 2013) summarizes the overall research project and the recommendations it generated.

Where the Wild Things Aren’t: Making the Delta a Better Place for Native Species (Moyle et al. 2012) outlines a realistic long-term vision for achieving a healthier ecosystem.

Fact Sheet

California’s Population

By Hans Johnson, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Eric McGhee

Growth in the nation’s most populous state has slowed notably in the 21st century, with recent years bringing a drop in population due to higher deaths, lower births, and changes in migration. More than half of Californians under 24 are Latino while more than half of Californians 65 and older are white.

Report

Proposition 47’s Impact on Racial Disparity in Criminal Justice Outcomes

By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin, Steven Raphael

Proposition 47, which reclassified a number of drug and property offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, has led to a marked decrease in racial disparities in arrests and bookings in California. But rates remain significantly higher for African Americans than for other groups.

Report

Making College Possible for Low-Income Students: Grant and Scholarship Aid in California

By Hans Johnson

California’s economic future depends on improving college enrollment and completion. But college costs are rising and a majority of students in California’s public K–12 schools are from low-income families. Policymakers can pursue a number of strategies to make college more affordable and accessible.

This research was supported with funding from the College Access Foundation of California and the Donald Bren Foundation.

Report

Factors and Future Projections for K–12 Declining Enrollment

By Julien Lafortune, Emmanuel Prunty

Over the past five years, enrollment has fallen in nearly three-quarters of California school districts, and the trend is expected to continue into the next decade. Faster declines could bring pressure to close schools, along with concerns about the students and neighborhoods bearing the costs of downsizing.

Report

Expanding California’s Electorate: Will Recent Reforms Increase Voter Turnout?

By Eric McGhee

To address declines in voter turnout, California has adopted same-day registration—so voters can register and cast ballots on the same day—and implemented online registration. A proposal to relax the deadline for returning mail ballots is also being considered. These changes are not likely to significantly increase turnout, but two of them either decrease or add few administrative costs.

This research was supported with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.

Report

Aquatic Ecosystem Stressors in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, William Fleenor, Jeffrey Mount ...

This report looks at five broad categories of stressors on the Delta’s native fishes, examining causes of stress, allocations of responsibility, and options for management.

This research was supported with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.

Several companion reports contain related findings:

Costs of Ecosystem Management Actions for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Medellín-Azuara et al. 2013) assesses costs of water management actions.

Integrated Management of Delta Stressors: Institutional and Legal Options (Gray et al. 2013) lays out proposals for institutional reform of science, management, and regulation.

Scientist and Stakeholder Views on the Delta Ecosystem (Hanak et al. 2013) presents detailed results of the two surveys conducted by the report’s authors.

Stress Relief: Prescriptions for a Healthier Delta Ecosystem (Hanak et al. 2013) summarizes the overall research project and the recommendations it generated.

Where the Wild Things Aren’t: Making the Delta a Better Place for Native Species (Moyle et al. 2012) outlines a realistic long-term vision for achieving a healthier ecosystem.

California Counts, Report

Educational Resources and Outcomes in California, by Race and Ethnicity

By Deborah Reed

Examines family and school resources, student outcomes, and public policy initiatives affecting California’s students from early childhood through university. Describes several factors potentially contributing to racial and ethnic gaps in college completion.

California Economic Policy, Report

Day Labor in the Golden State

By Arturo Gonzalez

Situated on busy street corners and in front of home improvement stores, day labor markets are highly visible. Yet little is known about day laborers themselves—their demographic characteristics, economic outcomes, or working conditions. Using data from the National Day Labor Survey, this report examines the day labor population and looks at the ways local governments are responding to the presence of day labor markets in their communities.

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