blog post Bringing Big, Small Farms Together to Manage Water By Jelena Jezdimirovic May 4, 2017 The San Joaquin Valley’s farms come in all sizes. Regional solutions to the valley's water challenges will need to take this diversity into account.
blog post Regulating Marijuana as a Crop By Patrick Murphy, Van Butsic May 9, 2016 How will legalizing marijuana affect California’s water and the environment?
Report What If California’s Drought Continues? By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle ... Aug 19, 2015 California is in the fourth year of a severe, hot drought—the kind that is increasingly likely as the climate warms. Although no sector has been untouched, impacts so far have varied greatly, reflecting different levels of drought preparedness. Urban areas are in the best shape, thanks to sustained investments in diversified water portfolios and conservation. Farmers are more vulnerable, but they are also adapting. The greatest vulnerabilities are in some low-income rural communities where wells are running dry and in California’s wetlands, rivers, and forests, where the state’s iconic biodiversity is under extreme threat. Two to three more years of drought will increase challenges in all areas and require continued—and likely increasingly difficult—adaptations. Emergency programs will need to be significantly expanded to get drinking water to rural residents and to prevent major losses of waterbirds and extinctions of numerous native fish species, including most salmon runs. California also needs to start a longer-term effort to build drought resilience in the most vulnerable areas.
blog post The Challenges of Getting More Crop per Drop By Lori Pottinger Jul 28, 2015 The continuing drought is having a big ripple effect in California agriculture. Irrigation expert David Zoldoske talks about trends in farm water management.
