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 Managing Tough Trade-offs in the Delta By Ellen Hanak, Jeffrey Mount Apr 15, 2015 New data illustrate the tough trade-offs California faces in managing water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
blog post Drought Watch: Is This the End of Our Dry Spell? By Jeffrey Mount Dec 12, 2014 Beneath every headline about the intensity of the storm this week will be the question: Is the drought over?
blog post Drought Watch: Water for the Environment By Jeffrey Mount, Emma Freeman Jul 24, 2014 This is part of a continuing series on the impact of the drought. Most of what we call "environmental" water is simply too remote for people to use—or is actually reused for irrigation, drinking water, or other human benefits.
Report Comparing Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, William Fleenor, Jeffrey Mount ... Jul 17, 2008 For over 50 years, California has been pumping water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for extensive urban and agricultural uses around the state. Today, the Delta is ailing and in urgent need of a new management strategy. This report concludes that building a peripheral canal to carry water around the Delta is the most promising way to balance two critical policy goals: reviving a threatened ecosystem and ensuring a reliable, high-quality water supply for California. More information can be found in the following supporting appendices:Appendix A. Policy and Regulatory Challenges for the Delta of the FutureAppendix B. Levee Decisions and Sustainability for the DeltaAppendix C. Delta Hydrodynamics and Water Salinity with Future ConditionsAppendix D. The Future of the Delta Ecosystem and Its FishAppendix E. Expert Survey on the Viability of Delta Fish PopulationsAppendix F. The Economic Costs and Adaptations for Alternative Delta RegulationsAppendix G. Peripheral Canal Design and Implementation OptionsAppendix H. Delta Drinking Water Quality and Treatment CostsAppendix I. The Economic Effects on Agriculture of Water Export Salinity South of the DeltaAppendix J. Decision Analysis of Delta Strategies Interactive Map: Voting Patterns on Proposition 9 (Peripheral Canal), June 1982 Interactive Map: A Multi-Purpose, Eco-Friendly Delta Interactive Feature: Delta Island Flooding (With Repairs) Interactive Feature: Delta Island Flooding (No Repairs)
press release Deteriorating And Deadlocked… The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Is A California Disaster-In-Waiting Feb 7, 2007
