blog post Californians Favor Funding Flood Improvements By David Kordus, Jelena Jezdimirovic Mar 29, 2017 Public concern about California’s aging flood infrastructure is growing—including how to pay for upgrades.
blog post The High Cost of Fixing Levees By Jeffrey Mount Feb 23, 2017 The state’s levees are in poor shape. Upgrading them to avoid damaging floods will be very costly and will involve difficult trade-offs.
blog post Yesterday’s Dams Face Tomorrow’s Floods By Jeffrey Mount Feb 15, 2017 The crisis at Oroville Dam raises broad concerns about the way California should manage its dams in the future.
blog post Governor’s Funding Plan for Climate, Drought By Caitrin Chappelle, Jelena Jezdimirovic Jan 24, 2017 A summary of key proposals in the governor’s proposed budget that reaffirm the state’s commitment to boosting drought resiliency and battling climate change.
blog post Understanding the New Federal Water Law By Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Caitrin Chappelle Jan 17, 2017 A new law alters federal water policy in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. The likely effects on both future water supply and environmental stewardship are largely unknown.
blog post State’s Ecosystems Face a Flood of Changes By Lori Pottinger Jan 11, 2016 Talk of drought has turned to worries about floods. How will the state’s drought-starved ecosystems adapt to the taps being turned on again? An expert interview with Josh Viers.
blog post California Depends on Rivers—in the Air By Lori Pottinger Dec 8, 2015 Climate change could bring bigger rains and longer droughts to the state. We talked to Mike Dettinger about "atmospheric rivers” and what they mean for California’s water system.
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 Drought: 10 Ways the Federal Government Can Help By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount May 28, 2015 Here is a short list of things the federal government can do to help California get through this drought and better prepare for future droughts.
