blog post New Laws Address Water Affordability and Wildfire Risks By Henry McCann, Gokce Sencan Nov 16, 2020 The pandemic and recession forced tough decisions in Sacramento this year. Despite challenging circumstances, several high-priority bills covering safe drinking water and wildfire risk reduction were enacted.
blog post New Opportunities for Trading Surface Water in the Sacramento Valley under SGMA By Alex Ehrens, Joy Collins, Andrew Ayres Sep 14, 2021 Successful groundwater stewardship under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) demands good information—not only about groundwater conditions, but also about surface water availability. We produced a new dataset of how access to this vital resource varies across irrigated farmland in the Sacramento Valley and the Delta, so it’s now possible to assess surface water conditions across the entire Central Valley.
Report California’s Water: Storing Water By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Jason Gurdak ... Nov 12, 2018 An extensive storage system plays a critical role in the state’s water management. This brief describes a number of ways to improve the management of reservoirs and groundwater basins to better prepare for droughts and manage floods.
Report California’s Water: Energy and Water By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Katrina Jessoe, Robert Wilkinson ... Nov 12, 2018 Energy and water use in the state are interconnected yet managed separately. This brief describes the synergies and tradeoffs between the two sectors and proposes ways to increase the efficiency and sustainability of both.
blog post Climate-Challenged California Must Learn to Thrive with Less Water By Ellen Hanak, Jeffrey Mount Nov 16, 2022 Managing water in our increasingly volatile climate is becoming more challenging: even if we do everything right, water supplies are likely to decline. The grand challenge for 21st-century water management in California is learning to thrive with less.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Improving California’s Water Market By Andrew Ayres, Ellen Hanak, Brian Gray, Gokce Sencan ... Sep 14, 2021 This policy brief distills key takeaways from our report on water trading and banking in California, and how they will help the state bring its groundwater basins into balance under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). A broad range of policy changes could improve and expand California’s water market while protecting communities from harm.
blog post Sites Reservoir’s Novel Approach to Storing Water for the Environment By Gokce Sencan Mar 20, 2023 The proposed Sites Reservoir would take a novel approach to storing water to benefit freshwater ecosystems when they need it most. We spoke with Jerry Brown, executive director of the Sites Project Authority, to learn more about plans for the reservoir and its ecosystem water budget.
blog post How Water Agencies Could Catalyze Headwater Forest Management By Henry McCann, Van Butsic Aug 2, 2021 Forest managers, community and environmental stakeholders, and policymakers alike have called for an increase in the pace and scale of proactive forest management to prevent extreme wildfires. Could water agencies lead the effort?
blog post What It Means to Store Water for the Environment By Sarah Bardeen Jul 26, 2021 In times of drought, California’s ecosystems often suffer. CalTrout Ecosystem Fellow Sarah Null is investigating how to better manage scarce water supplies so that the state can protect vulnerable ecosystems—even as the climate changes.
