blog post Reforming Water Management for the Environment By Jeffrey Mount Nov 14, 2017 It’s time for California to rethink how it manages water for the environment. Three reforms could reduce conflict and improve freshwater ecosystems.
Report A New Approach to Accounting for Environmental Water: Insights from the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta By Greg Gartrell, Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak, Brian Gray Nov 12, 2017 How water is apportioned to California’s cities, farms, and the environment can lead to conflict and competition in times of drought. Allocation of water to the environment in particular is poorly accounted for and poorly understood—shortcomings that can affect water policy, decision making, and public perception. This report reviews the state’s long-standing methods for defining and accounting for environmental water and proposes reforms to improve the timeliness, transparency, and detail in the accounting of environmental water allocation.
blog post Storing Water for Dry Days By Lori Pottinger Sep 21, 2017 Where would California be without the ability to store water? An expert interview with Jay Lund about the complex topic of water storage.
blog post Video: What If California’s Drought Continues? By Lori Pottinger Aug 25, 2015 State and local experts told a capacity crowd in Sacramento what they have learned from the drought. They described successes, surprises, and looming challenges if it persists.
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.
blog post Drought Watch: The End of the Rainy Season By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount Mar 31, 2015 Managing this drought will be difficult, even painful in some regions, but the state is not going to run out of water.
blog post Drought Watch: Water Not Wasted to the Sea By Jeffrey Mount Feb 10, 2015 The water from the latest storm that is moving down the Sacramento River, out through the Delta, and into the Bay benefits a broad range of users.
blog post Drought Watch: How Much Do Recent Rains Matter? By Jeffrey Mount Feb 14, 2014 This is part of a continuing series on the impact of the drought.While impressive in the intensity and amount of precipitation, this storm did little to alter the state’s drought picture.