blog post Got Surface Water? Groundwater-Only Lands in the San Joaquin Valley By Jelena Jezdimirovic, Ellen Hanak, Alvar Escriva-Bou Jul 8, 2019 Twenty percent of the San Joaquin Valley’s irrigated farmland doesn’t have access to surface water. This creates complications for sustainable groundwater management planning.
blog post The State of Groundwater Recharge in the San Joaquin Valley By Ellen Hanak Nov 10, 2017 A survey of local water districts looks at local groundwater recharge efforts, opportunities, and constraints.
blog post The Myth of Water Wasted to the Sea By Lori Pottinger May 17, 2017 Rivers that flow to the sea bring a host of benefits to people and ecosystems. A scientist explains.
blog post Water Law Aided Ecosystems in Drought By Brian Gray, Leon Szeptycki May 10, 2017 A look at how laws designed to protect California’s aquatic environment functioned during this drought.
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 California’s Farmers Adapt to Drought (in English and Spanish) By Alvar Escriva-Bou Mar 8, 2016 The drought has challenged California’s agricultural sector. An expert interview with Josué Medellín-Azuara on how farmers are coping. Includes a Spanish-language video.
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.
