Fact Sheet The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta By Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak, Greg Gartrell May 18, 2022 The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is California’s largest estuary and a vital hub in the state’s water supply system. Three interlinked issues currently face the Delta: an increasingly unreliable water supply, a decline in ecosystem health, and a fragile system of levees. Learn more about this key watershed in our new fact sheet.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Tracking Where Water Goes in a Changing Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta By Greg Gartrell, Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak May 16, 2022 The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta supplies water to roughly 30 million Californians, over 6 million acres of farmland, and countless ecosystems. But the watershed’s climate is changing: recent decades have seen record warmth, higher evaporation, and declining snowpack. We track where the water is going—and how to adapt.
data set PPIC Delta Water Accounting May 16, 2022 These spreadsheets contain all data, sources, and methods used to calculate water use in California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, including estimates of outflow needed to meet regulations; ecological, export, and municipal and industrial uses; and watershed-level water sources and upstream depletions.
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.
Report Improving California’s Water Market By Andrew Ayres, Ellen Hanak, Brian Gray, Gokce Sencan ... Sep 14, 2021 Water trading and banking will prove important tools to help California bring its groundwater basins into balance under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). A broad range of policy changes could help improve and expand California’s water market while protecting communities from harm.
blog post Commentary: As Drought Alarms Sound, Don’t Ignore the Environment By Jeffrey Mount, Caitrin Chappelle Mar 29, 2021 The last major drought caused unprecedented stress to California’s freshwater ecosystems and pushed many native species to the brink. Are we ready this time to better manage ecosystems through another drought?
blog post Testimony: Water Supply and Quality Challenges in the San Joaquin Valley By Ellen Hanak Apr 30, 2019 Ellen Hanak, director of the PPIC Water Policy Center, describes how the state can help address difficult water problems in California’s largest agricultural region.
blog post Rising Seas Bring Rising Water Management Challenges By Jeffrey Mount Mar 26, 2019 Sea level rise will have broad impacts on California’s water systems, and adaptations will be expensive and disruptive.
blog post A Path to Progress for the Salton Sea By Lori Pottinger Jun 26, 2018 The Salton Sea urgently needs a steady supply of water to reduce health and environmental problems. We talked with Kurt Schwabe about possible solutions.
blog post The Unintended Consequences of Indoor Water Conservation By Lori Pottinger Nov 29, 2017 Indoor water conservation can reduce the quality and quantity of wastewater, hindering the use of treated wastewater to augment water supply.
