blog post New Opportunities for Trading Surface Water in the Sacramento Valley under SGMA By Alex Ehrens, Joy Collins, Andrew Ayres Sep 14, 2021 Successful groundwater stewardship under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) demands good information—not only about groundwater conditions, but also about surface water availability. We produced a new dataset of how access to this vital resource varies across irrigated farmland in the Sacramento Valley and the Delta, so it’s now possible to assess surface water conditions across the entire Central Valley.
Report Improving California’s Water Market By Andrew Ayres, Ellen Hanak, Brian Gray, Gokce Sencan ... Sep 14, 2021 Water trading and banking will prove important tools to help California bring its groundwater basins into balance under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). A broad range of policy changes could help improve and expand California’s water market while protecting communities from harm.
blog post Managing Family Forests Is Key to Managing Wildfire By Annabelle Rosser, Henry McCann Sep 8, 2021 In the Sierra-Cascade region, many mixed-conifer forests belong to small family operations, which typically struggle to carry out robust forest management. This gap in management is putting communities at risk; a few policy changes could help.
Report Advancing Ecosystem Restoration with Smarter Permitting By Letitia Grenier, Stephanie Panlasigui, Crissy Pickett, Gokce Sencan Aug 16, 2021 California’s ecosystems are vital to the state’s economy and wellbeing, yet they’re in dire health. Large-scale restoration is needed, and implementing smarter permitting can help.
blog post Ensuring Safe Drinking Water for California’s Native American Communities By Joy Collins, Caitrin Chappelle Jun 22, 2021 California’s tribes frequently lack access to safe drinking water—and lack the funds to fix aging infrastructure. A new state program may help improve the situation.
Fact Sheet Water Affordability in California By Caitrin Chappelle, Ellen Hanak May 26, 2021 With the cost of supplying water growing in many parts of the state, an affordability crisis is brewing—both for families facing higher bills and communities trying to maintain safe systems.
blog post A Look at California’s Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Gaps By Caitrin Chappelle May 24, 2021 A new state study identified a $4.6 billion funding gap to resolve safe drinking water problems over five years. We talked to UCLA’s Greg Pierce, the study’s lead researcher, about the findings.
blog post New Bail Ruling Could Affect Tens of Thousands of Californians By Vicki Hsieh, Heather Harris Apr 13, 2021 A recent California Supreme Court ruling forbids keeping arrestees in jail because they cannot afford to pay bail. What are the potential implications for the state’s criminal justice system?
Fact Sheet Access to Safe Drinking Water in California By Caitrin Chappelle, Joy Collins, Ellen Hanak Apr 2, 2021 Not every Californian has access to safe and reliable drinking water. Small communities relying on groundwater are most likely to have chronic water quality problems.
blog post The Pandemic Has Highlighted the Needs of California’s Youth By Caroline Danielson, Mary Severance Mar 24, 2021 We spoke with Jevon Wilkes, executive director of the California Coalition for Youth, about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected transitional-age youth (16–24) and the importance of connecting them with basic resources and key supports.
