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.
Report Advancing Ecosystem Restoration with Smarter Permitting By Letitia Grenier, Stephanie Panlasigui, Crissy Pickett, Gokce Sencan Aug 16, 2021 California’s ecosystems are vital to the state’s economy and wellbeing, yet they’re in dire health. Large-scale restoration is needed, and implementing smarter permitting can help.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Storing Water for the Environment By Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Kristen Dybala ... Aug 22, 2022 To protect and restore California’s freshwater ecosystems and respond to the changing climate, California’s water managers must change how they operate reservoirs. Our policy brief offers recommendations for how to do this in a way that makes the most efficient use of scarce water for the environment while minimizing impacts on other water uses.
blog post Connecting the Drops in Watershed Management By Lori Pottinger Feb 12, 2019 The Yuba Water Agency manages its watershed for hydropower, water supply, flood control, and ecosystem health. We talked to the agency’s manager, Curt Aikens, about lessons learned from this integrated approach.
Report Priorities for California’s Water By Jeffrey Mount, Letitia Grenier, Ellen Hanak, Caitlin Peterson ... Nov 1, 2023 California has made great strides in preparing for a drier, hotter future, but it remains a challenge to harness the bounty of wet years while also reducing flood risk. How did California’s water sector manage the unusually wet 2023 water year—and what lessons can we glean for the future?
blog post New Strategy, New Challenges for the Delta By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray May 8, 2015 Governor Brown’s new approach to managing the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta brings new challenges.
Report Water Stress and a Changing San Joaquin Valley By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Richard Howitt, Peter Moyle ... Mar 1, 2017 The San Joaquin Valley—California’s largest agricultural region and an important contributor to the nation’s food supply—is facing growing water stress and a number of related environmental and public health problems. Large parts of the valley have become dependent on unsustainable pumping of groundwater. Tackling these linked issues with cooperative, coordinated approaches is key to success. This research was supported with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the TomKat Foundation, and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
blog post Nine Policy Challenges for California Water By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount Apr 9, 2015 A common theme running through California's Water is the state's tremendous capacity to adapt to changing conditions and tackle new challenges.
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: The Future of Agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley By Alvar Escriva-Bou, Ellen Hanak, Spencer Cole, Josué Medellín-Azuara Feb 8, 2023 Agriculture is a key driver of the regional economy in the San Joaquin Valley, but water for irrigation is an ongoing—and growing—concern. Our latest research offers the most accurate, nuanced, and localized look at where fallowing may need to occur—and details the policy and management actions that could lead to better outcomes.
