blog post Drought Watch: The End of the Rainy Season By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount Mar 31, 2015 Managing this drought will be difficult, even painful in some regions, but the state is not going to run out of water.
Fact Sheet Water Use in California By Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak, Caitlin Peterson Apr 19, 2023 To understand California’s water, start here. Water use in California varies dramatically between wet and dry years: learn who’s using California’s water, where, and how much.
event Improving California’s Water Market Sep 23, 2021 As California works to bring its groundwater basins into balance under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), water banking and trading are important tools to help manage the transition—but aging infrastructure and complex regulations are limiting expansion. Join the PPIC Water Policy Center and state and local experts for a panel discussion on how to improve California’s water markets while protecting communities from harm.
blog post Testimony: Upgrading California’s Water Grid to Meet 21st Century Needs By Ellen Hanak Apr 2, 2019 Ellen Hanak, director of the PPIC Water Policy Center, describes how modernizing California’s water grid will help the state prepare for a changing climate, and ways the federal government can help.
Report Policy Priorities for Managing Drought By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle ... Mar 16, 2015 State, federal, and local water managers have worked diligently to reduce the economic, social, and environmental harm from the current drought. But as the drought continues, the challenges will grow more acute. California can learn from experiences to date—and from Australia’s response to its Millennium Drought—to better prepare both for the year ahead and for future droughts. State leaders should address weaknesses in four areas of drought preparation and response, by: 1) improving water use information, 2) setting clear goals and priorities for public health and the environment, 3) promoting water conservation and more resilient water supplies, and 4) strengthening environmental management.
Fact Sheet Alternative Water Supplies in California By Henry McCann, Alvar Escriva-Bou, Kurt Schwabe Feb 5, 2018
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.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Drought and California’s Agriculture By Alvar Escriva-Bou, Josué Medellín-Azuara, Ellen Hanak, John Abatzoglou Apr 13, 2022 California’s agricultural sector is the nation’s largest: it generates more than $50 billion dollars in annual revenue and employs more than 420,000 people. The ongoing drought is taking a toll on agriculture, related sectors, and rural communities, but there are ways to increase resilience in a warming world.
blog post Adapting to a Water-Scarce California By Ellen Hanak Jan 9, 2023 With the arrival of a series of atmospheric rivers, drought-weary Californians are now confronting the weather whiplash that’s a hallmark of our state’s climate. But the current deluge won’t erase California’s water challenges. PPIC Water Policy Center director Ellen Hanak reflects on what happened with California’s water in 2022—and explores how to manage the resource in our increasingly volatile climate.
