blog post Finding a Balance between Supply and Demand to Get to Groundwater Sustainability By Lori Pottinger Mar 15, 2021 The San Joaquin Valley is facing difficult tradeoffs in getting to sustainable groundwater management. We talked with Emmy Cattani, a fifth-generation farmer from Kern County, about how to minimize economic harm resulting from efforts to reduce groundwater use.
blog post Operating Dams to Better Manage Big Storms Can Build Resiliency to Climate Extremes By Lori Pottinger Mar 8, 2021 California’s reservoirs are operated using outdated assumptions about climate. Advances in weather forecasting can improve how they manage big storms. We talked to Martin Ralph of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography about this approach.
blog post Video: Improving the Health of California’s Freshwater Ecosystems By Lori Pottinger, Ashlyn Perri Mar 1, 2021 California’s freshwater ecosystems are in poor health, and the current approach for managing them is not working. Jeff Mount, senior fellow at the PPIC Water Policy Center, describes a path for improving their condition to protect the benefits they bring.
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 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 Setting Aside Environmental Water for the San Joaquin River By Jeffrey Mount, Ted Grantham, Brian Gray, Ellen Hanak Oct 26, 2020 If we can find a way to restore the health of San Joaquin River while preserving the region’s social and economic vitality, we can do it anywhere in the state.
blog post Commentary: 3 Lessons for California’s Water Funding Challenges in Today’s Recession By Ellen Hanak, Jelena Jezdimirovic Oct 1, 2020 California’s water managers have been busy keeping water systems safe and operational during the COVID-19 pandemic. But addressing the fiscal consequences of the economic recession is just beginning.
blog post Video: Making the Most of Water for the Environment By Lori Pottinger Sep 8, 2020 Ted Grantham—the first PPIC CalTrout Ecosystem Fellow and a cooperative extension specialist at UC Berkeley—and a panel of experts discuss a new approach to river management that would restore seasonal components of river flow to sustain 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.