blog post Reservoirs Are Full, But Let’s Not Celebrate Just Yet By Greg Gartrell Apr 3, 2023 After three very dry years, California’s reservoirs will be full again this spring. That beats the alternative, but what will it mean for water supplies over the next few years? PPIC Water Policy Center adjunct fellow Greg Gartrell does the math.
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.
Fact Sheet California’s Water Grid By Alvar Escriva-Bou, Ellen Hanak, Jeffrey Mount Sep 4, 2019 The statewide network of storage and conveyance facilities provides multiple services, which are sometimes in conflict. Climate change brings new challenges.
blog post Testimony: Adapting California’s Water Rights System to the 21st-Century Climate By Ellen Hanak, Brian Gray, Jeffrey Mount Feb 28, 2023 PPIC Water Policy Center director Ellen Hanak and senior fellows Brian Gray and Jeffrey Mount testified before the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee Informational Hearing, “How Should California’s Water Right System Adapt to a 21st Century Climate?” today. Read their prepared remarks.
Fact Sheet California’s Water Market By Ellen Hanak, Gokce Sencan, Andrew Ayres Aug 30, 2021 Water marketing is an important tool for managing drought and water scarcity in California. Reforms could help strengthen the market.
blog post Commentary: A Grand Compromise for the Delta By Ellen Hanak, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray Dec 5, 2016 A proposal to reduce conflict and meet the co-equal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem health in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Report Managing California’s Freshwater Ecosystems: Lessons from the 2012-16 Drought By Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Caitrin Chappelle, Greg Gartrell ... Nov 12, 2017 The 2012–16 drought caused unprecedented stress to California’s ecosystems and pushed many native species to the brink of extinction. It also tested the laws, policies, and institutions charged with protecting the environment.
