blog post Accounting for a Decade of Headwater Forest Management By Henry McCann, Mingfei Xiong Feb 8, 2021 As California accelerates management of headwater forests to reduce wildfire risk, understanding past efforts is useful. Yet data on such work is lacking. PPIC did a basic accounting of the past decade of forest management, which has lessons for going forward.
blog post Video: Building Resilience for Cities and Farms with Water Partnerships By Lori Pottinger Feb 5, 2021 Moving from competition to cooperation can help solve water problems facing farms in the San Joaquin Valley and cities in Southern California. A panel of experts discussed how water partnerships can help address both regions’ needs.
blog post Commentary: Water Markets Can Reduce the Costs of Drought By Ellen Hanak Feb 1, 2021 California’s warming climate is making droughts more intense, complicating water management. A new water futures market provides a tool to insure against price shocks arising from drought-fueled shortages.
blog post Turning the Page on a Disruptive Year in the Water World By Ellen Hanak Jan 11, 2021 Ellen Hanak, director of the PPIC Water Policy Center, describes some of 2020’s more pressing water-world challenges, and the center’s response to them.
blog post Video: Building a Water-Resilient California By Lori Pottinger Nov 23, 2020 What are key California water priorities for the coming year, in light of ongoing disruptions from the pandemic, the recession, lingering drought, and a record-breaking fire season? Panels of experts discussed three top priorities.
blog post Making End-of-Life Decisions on Aging Dams By Lori Pottinger Nov 9, 2020 Many of California’s large dams are outliving their functions and even becoming hazardous. We talked to Andrew Rypel of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences about how to address this aging dam population.
blog post Improving Water Resilience for Cities and Farms with Water Partnerships By Alvar Escriva-Bou Nov 2, 2020 The San Joaquin Valley and urban Southern California are worlds apart, yet each face growing water challenges. Water partnerships that take advantage of shared water infrastructure can help both regions have a more secure water future.
Report Making the Most of Water for the Environment: A Functional Flows Approach for California’s Rivers By Ted Grantham, Jeffrey Mount, Sarah Yarnell, Eric D. Stein Aug 24, 2020 Water and land management activities have substantially altered river flows across the state, degrading ecosystems and decimating populations of native species. Restoring seasonal components of river flow is key to sustaining the biological, chemical, and physical processes necessary for ecosystem health.
blog post High and Rising: Flood Risk in California Grows By Jeffrey Mount, Daniel Swain Jul 20, 2020 As the climate warms, California storms are getting more intense—adding to the state’s already high flood risk. Developing a better understanding of current and future flood vulnerability is essential to managing this risk.
blog post Commentary: Improving Forest Health Can Build Jobs, Economies in Rural California By Henry McCann, Van Butsic Jul 6, 2020 Putting Californians to work improving the health of the state’s headwater forests would boost economic recovery and reduce wildfire risk.