blog post Beyond the Drought: 10 Big Changes Ahead for California Water By Ellen Hanak Jan 14, 2014 These days, all water news in California is focused on the weather. After two successive dry years, this year’s rainy season has yet to make a decent showing.
Report Fixing the Delta: How Will We Pay for It? By Dean Misczynski Aug 11, 2009 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.
press release Peripheral Canal Is Best Strategy To Save Delta Ecosystem, Ensure Reliable Water Supply Jul 17, 2008
Report Comparing Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, William Fleenor, Jeffrey Mount ... Jul 17, 2008 For over 50 years, California has been pumping water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for extensive urban and agricultural uses around the state. Today, the Delta is ailing and in urgent need of a new management strategy. This report concludes that building a peripheral canal to carry water around the Delta is the most promising way to balance two critical policy goals: reviving a threatened ecosystem and ensuring a reliable, high-quality water supply for California. More information can be found in the following supporting appendices:Appendix A. Policy and Regulatory Challenges for the Delta of the FutureAppendix B. Levee Decisions and Sustainability for the DeltaAppendix C. Delta Hydrodynamics and Water Salinity with Future ConditionsAppendix D. The Future of the Delta Ecosystem and Its FishAppendix E. Expert Survey on the Viability of Delta Fish PopulationsAppendix F. The Economic Costs and Adaptations for Alternative Delta RegulationsAppendix G. Peripheral Canal Design and Implementation OptionsAppendix H. Delta Drinking Water Quality and Treatment CostsAppendix I. The Economic Effects on Agriculture of Water Export Salinity South of the DeltaAppendix J. Decision Analysis of Delta Strategies Interactive Map: Voting Patterns on Proposition 9 (Peripheral Canal), June 1982 Interactive Map: A Multi-Purpose, Eco-Friendly Delta Interactive Feature: Delta Island Flooding (With Repairs) Interactive Feature: Delta Island Flooding (No Repairs)
interactive Delta Island Flooding (No Repairs) Jul 1, 2008 This animation depicts how the Delta may change over time as a result of levee failures from earthquakes and floods. Islands that lie below sea level will flood after levee failures (becoming blue). If islands are not repaired after flooding, the entire area is likely to be flooded by 2055.
interactive Delta Island Flooding (With Repairs) Jul 1, 2008 This animation depicts how the Delta may change over time as a result of levee failures from earthquakes and floods. Islands that lie below sea level will flood after levee failures (becoming blue). Islands with sufficiently high land and asset values are repaired each time they are flooded (becoming white again). Other islands remain flooded.
