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Allow Water Rights Trading

By Ellen Hanak

We have an outdated water rights system in the American West: Water goes to those who claimed it first, whether or not they are putting it to the best use.

Report

Managing California’s Water: From Conflict to Reconciliation

By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Richard Howitt ...

California has struggled to manage its water effectively for more than 30 years. Today, the state needs to consider a set of wide-ranging reforms—for the benefit of the economy and the environment.

Executive Summary

Full Report [PDF, 9.06 MB]

To view individual chapters, click on the links below.

Introduction

Floods, Droughts, and Lawsuits: A Brief History of California Water Policy

California Water Today

Drivers of Change

Urgent and Fundamental Challenges

Reconciling Ecosystems: Reversing Declines in Native Species

Orchestrating the Management of Water Scarcity, Quality, and Flooding

Managing Water as a Public Commodity

Effective and Adaptive Governance

Pathways to Reform

A Way Forward

Technical Appendix: Managing California’s Water: Insights from Interviews with Water Policy Experts


This research was supported with funding from S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Pisces Foundation, Resources Legacy Fund, and Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority.

Report

Fixing the Delta: How Will We Pay for It?

By Dean Misczynski

This report examines the question of how to pay for urgently needed investments in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. For years, stakeholders have been at odds over beneficiary financing (charging those who use the water). But recent federal intervention to save endangered fish species and the decline of state and federal funding sources may finally break the impasse. This report situates the beneficiary payment debate in historical, legal, and political context. It also explores how this kind of financing might work for several “big ticket” items: water conveyance facilities, storage reservoirs, environmental mitigation, and levee improvements.

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