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Report

California’s Water Market, By the Numbers, Update 2012

By Ellen Hanak, Elizabeth Stryjewski

This report provides a check-up on California’s progress with two innovative water management tools: water marketing and groundwater banking. These tools are part of a modern approach that will enable California to manage its scarce water resources more flexibly and sustainably.

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

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and the Environment

By Mark Baldassare, Jennifer Paluch, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek

Some findings of the current survey:

  • Solid majorities of Californians favor government regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and policies to curb global warming.
  • More Californians support than oppose expanding coastal oil drilling; even more favor improving fuel efficiency.
  • Three in four Californians say the state should expand public transit and use existing transportation networks more efficiently—only 18 percent say the state should build more freeways.

Job Approval Ratings:
   President Obama
   Governor Schwarzenegger
   California State Legislature

Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings:
   President Obama
   Governor Schwarzenegger
   California State Legislature

Mood of Californians:
   General Direction of Things in California
   Economic Outlook for California
 
Time Trends for the Mood of Californians:
   General Direction of Things in California
   Economic Outlook for California
 
This survey is supported with funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Report

Adapting California’s Water Management to Climate Change

By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund

Among the potential impacts of climate change, accelerated sea level rise and a reduced Sierra snowpack are the most certain. Both will pose significant challenges for water supply and flood management. Water utilities have already begun to plan for these changes, but flood control agencies are lagging behind and face greater regulatory constraints. State leadership is needed to resolve some threats, including the risk of catastrophic failure in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This report was prepared as part of the Preparing California for a Changing Climate project.

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.

Report

The Benefits of Headwater Forest Management

By Henry McCann, Van Butsic, Yufang Jin, Scott Stephens ...

California’s headwater forests have become more vulnerable to drought and wildfire—risks that are increasing with climate change. Increased forest management on a large scale can improve the region’s resilience to these risks, and bring widely shared benefits in air quality, water quality and supply, rural economies, and carbon sequestration. This report assesses the benefits and beneficiaries of improved forest management. This information is key to crafting the financial tools, policies, and other governance solutions needed for long-term stewardship of the state’s headwater forests.

Report

Who Should Be Allowed to Sell Water in California? Third-Party Issues and the Water Market

By Ellen Hanak

Although significant water trading has occurred in California since the drought of the early 1990s, many localities have restricted water transfers because of the perceived harm to other users and the local economy. In Who Should Be Allowed to Sell Water in California? Third-Party Issues and the Water Market, Ellen Hanak examines water transfers in California, local resistance to them, and various approaches to resolving water disputes. Drawing on a new database of water transfers as well as interviews with state, county, and water district officials, the report calls for water management at the local level that balances the interests of other residents and the potential gains from transfers.

Report

Priorities for California’s Water

By Jeffrey Mount, Letitia Grenier, Ellen Hanak, Caitlin Peterson ...

California has made great strides in preparing for a drier, hotter future, but it remains a challenge to harness the bounty of wet years while also reducing flood risk. How did California’s water sector manage the unusually wet 2023 water year—and what lessons can we glean for the future?

Report

Where the Wild Things Aren’t: Making the Delta a Better Place for Native Species

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

How can California address the Delta’s many problems—and manage its ecosystem more effectively in the future? The authors propose a strategy for realistically achieving co-equal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem protection in this troubled region.

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.

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.

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