blog post The Troubled History—and Uncertain Future—of the Salton Sea By Sarah Bardeen Nov 22, 2022 Southern California’s hundred-year-old Salton Sea is drying up, and that’s creating a host of problems, as both wildlife and air quality in the region suffer. We sat down with an expert—UC Riverside professor and PPIC Water Policy Center adjunct fellow Kurt Schwabe—to discuss the issues facing the sea and explore potential solutions.
Report Land Transitions and Dust in the San Joaquin Valley By Andrew Ayres, Jaymin Kwon, Joy Collins Jul 20, 2022 Agricultural operations and wind erosion are two of the largest sources of dust in the San Joaquin Valley, and the valley’s air quality may decline with increased farmland fallowing and a warmer, drier climate. This will impact low-income, rural communities first and foremost, but proactive management can help identify high-risk areas and direct funding to cost-effective interventions.
blog post Water Trading Can Help California’s Struggling Freshwater Ecosystems By Ellen Hanak, Gokce Sencan Apr 4, 2022 California’s freshwater ecosystems are struggling—but water trading has helped in the past, and that could continue. We provide fresh data on the current state of environmental water transfers and highlight ways to improve them.
Fact Sheet California’s Water Market By Ellen Hanak, Gokce Sencan, Andrew Ayres Aug 30, 2021 Water marketing is an important tool for managing drought and water scarcity in California. Reforms could help strengthen the market.
blog post Governor’s Budget Seeks to Build Water Resilience By Ellen Hanak, Gokce Sencan Jan 21, 2020 A look at the water and climate priorities laid out in two new documents: the state’s draft Water Resilience Portfolio and the governor’s proposed budget.
blog post Planning for a Drier Future in the Colorado River Basin By Lori Pottinger Aug 12, 2019 The Colorado River’s waters are over-allocated, making it hard to address the challenges climate change brings. We talked to Doug Kenney of the University of Colorado about managing the basin for a drier future.
blog post California’s Growing Demand for Recycled Water Has Ripple Effects By Henry McCann, Caitrin Chappelle May 28, 2019 Recycled water production is closely related to wastewater management. Here are three things to know about this growing water source.
blog post What Does the Colorado River Drought Plan Mean for California? By Gokce Sencan May 13, 2019 Here’s how a new plan to address chronic water shortages in the Colorado River Basin will affect Southern California water users.
blog post Colorado Drought Deal Close, But Not Done By Lori Pottinger Feb 6, 2019 Arizona and California missed the federal government’s deadline to submit plans for managing water shortages in the Colorado River Basin. We spoke with John Fleck of the University of New Mexico about the situation.
blog post 2020 Census: Counting Imperial County By Tess Thorman, Vicki Hsieh, Sarah Bohn Jan 14, 2019 Imperial County will likely be one of the hardest-to-count counties in California in the 2020 Census—86% of its residents belong to demographic groups that have been undercounted historically.