blog post Restoring Rivers, Restoring Community By Sarah Bardeen, Gokce Sencan Jun 5, 2023 At the PPIC Water Policy Center, we’ve studied ecosystem restoration issues such as the importance of restoring more natural flow patterns, improving permitting, and storing water for the environment. This year, we brought in three CalTrout Ecosystem Fellows to look at another major challenge in river restoration: community engagement. This is the first of four posts on the topic!
blog post Safeguarding the Future of California’s Freshwater Ecosystems By Sarah Bardeen May 22, 2023 Climate change is transforming California’s ecosystems, threatening vital habitat for many native species. Some species may be lost, which is why former Department of Water Resources lead scientist Ted Sommer and environmental law expert Jennifer Harder are joining forces as our 2023–24 PPIC CalTrout ecosystem fellows. We recently asked them to tell us more about their new project, which could help protect wildlife as the climate changes.
blog post Video: Making the Most of a Wet Year By Sarah Bardeen May 1, 2023 Last week, we hosted an expert panel to discuss how we’re handling the sudden deluge of precipitation after years of drought. While the rain and snow has helped transform what was a grim water supply situation, it’s clear that we need to do a better job of preparing for floods—and storing some of that excess water for the dry times that will return.
Fact Sheet Water Use in California’s Environment By Jeffrey Mount, Caitlin Peterson, Gokce Sencan Apr 19, 2023 What exactly is “environmental water,” and how much water does California’s environment actually use? This explainer sticks to the facts—and dispels a few myths in the process.
blog post Can We Capture More Water in the Delta? By Sarah Bardeen Jan 17, 2023 A massive amount of water is moving through the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta in the wake of recent storms, and calls have risen from all quarters to capture more of this bounty. We spoke with PPIC Water Policy Center adjunct fellow Greg Gartrell to understand what’s preventing that—and to dispel the myth of “water wasted to the sea.”
blog post Video: Surplus and Shortage—California’s Water Balancing Act By Sarah Bardeen Nov 28, 2022 After three years of virtual events, our annual fall conference returned to an in-person format in Sacramento on Friday, November 18. The upshot? Good people, good food, and three vital panel discussions about managing water in California’s changing climate. Read our recap!
event Surplus and Shortage: California’s Water Balancing Act Nov 18, 2022 As climate change accelerates, it’s bringing more extreme weather to California: The dry periods are hotter and drier than ever before—and the wet periods can be torrential. The only certainty is that water managers at every level will have to plan for and respond to extremes. How can we cope with the increasing volatility of our water cycle? We bring together three panels of experts to find out.
blog post The Environmental Benefits of the Water Storage Investment Program By Gokce Sencan, Jeffrey Mount Sep 26, 2022 The Water Storage Investment Program is the first attempt use public funds to incentivize new water storage for the environment. While the program has faced some challenges, it could prove to be a useful model for future efforts—with some improvements.
blog post A New Tool Could Help Protect 30% of the State’s Waters by 2030 By Sarah Bardeen Sep 12, 2022 California has set an ambitious goal of protecting 30% of the state’s lands and waters by 2030. We spoke with CalTrout’s legal and policy director Redgie Collins about a promising but underutilized tool that could help protect water bodies throughout the state: The Outstanding Natural Resource Waters designation.
blog post Commentary: Newsom’s Water Strategy Needs to Go a Step Further By Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount Sep 8, 2022 Dams are essential to managing California’s water supply, but their construction and operation has harmed freshwater ecosystems. We propose a novel approach to water management that treats the environment as a priority rather than a constraint on reservoir operations—and that may help to manage growing threats to the health of our rivers and estuaries.
