blog post Testimony: Paying for California’s Water Needs By Ellen Hanak Nov 17, 2015 At a Senate committee hearing on California’s underfunded water needs, Ellen Hanak and other panelists described the challenges of paying for a water system that works for all.
blog post The Great Nutrient Pollution Challenge By Caitrin Chappelle Nov 10, 2015 In excess, "nutrients” can harm the environment and our drinking water supplies. Nutrient-polluted runoff poses a major water treatment challenge for the Bay-Delta.
blog post Water Management’s High-Tech Future By Lori Pottinger Sep 3, 2015 California’s urban water managers face some daunting challenges. We explore cutting edge advances to improve how cities manage water in an interview with Newsha Ajami.
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 Drought Watch: Treating Stormwater as a Resource By Ellen Hanak Mar 3, 2015 If it is done right, capturing stormwater in rain gardens and wetlands can filter out the pollution while storing the water for later use.
blog post Drought Watch: Water Not Wasted to the Sea By Jeffrey Mount Feb 10, 2015 The water from the latest storm that is moving down the Sacramento River, out through the Delta, and into the Bay benefits a broad range of users.