blog post The Weird Weather of 2023: Better Get Used to It By Jeffrey Mount, Gokce Sencan, Michael Dettinger Sep 27, 2023 Water Year 2023 comes to an end on September 30. For most weather-watchers, this was an unusual year, with very wet conditions following several very dry years—but are the frequency and intensity of these variations increasing as the planet’s temperature rises? And if so, what might be the implications for water management? We take a look.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Drought and California’s Agriculture By Alvar Escriva-Bou, Josué Medellín-Azuara, Ellen Hanak, John Abatzoglou Apr 13, 2022 California’s agricultural sector is the nation’s largest: it generates more than $50 billion dollars in annual revenue and employs more than 420,000 people. The ongoing drought is taking a toll on agriculture, related sectors, and rural communities, but there are ways to increase resilience in a warming world.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Storing Water for the Environment By Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Kristen Dybala ... Aug 22, 2022 To protect and restore California’s freshwater ecosystems and respond to the changing climate, California’s water managers must change how they operate reservoirs. Our policy brief offers recommendations for how to do this in a way that makes the most efficient use of scarce water for the environment while minimizing impacts on other water uses.
page Drought Apr 19, 2017 Droughts are a regular feature of California’s variable climate, affecting cities, farms, and the environment. They test water management systems and signal areas needing improvement.
blog post Climate-Challenged California Must Learn to Thrive with Less Water By Ellen Hanak, Jeffrey Mount Nov 16, 2022 Managing water in our increasingly volatile climate is becoming more challenging: even if we do everything right, water supplies are likely to decline. The grand challenge for 21st-century water management in California is learning to thrive with less.
Report Storing Water for the Environment By Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Kristen Dybala ... Aug 22, 2022 Large reservoirs are essential for managing water in California’s highly variable climate—but over the years, the construction and operation of these reservoirs have had significant environmental costs. Our new research outlines how reservoir operations could be changed to improve the health of the state’s fragile freshwater ecosystems.
blog post Commentary: Californians Need to Do More to Prepare for Wet Years By Letitia Grenier, Ellen Hanak Jan 16, 2024 Climate change is supercharging the extremes of drought and flood in California. But our infrastructure and institutions remain woefully underprepared for rising flood risk and increasingly erratic rainfall. It’s time to take this threat—and this opportunity—seriously and accelerate preparations.
blog post Nine Policy Challenges for California Water By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount Apr 9, 2015 A common theme running through California's Water is the state's tremendous capacity to adapt to changing conditions and tackle new challenges.
video Drought and Floods in California By Ashlyn Perri Oct 10, 2023 “Weather whiplash,” “atmospheric rivers,” “severe drought”—if you live in California, this is probably not the first time you’ve seen these phrases. But why are these wild weather swings happening, and what do they mean for California?
blog post Are California’s Cities Ready for the Next Drought? By Ellen Hanak, David Mitchell Apr 25, 2018 Urban areas fared well during the latest drought, but are they ready for the next one? Here's what you need to know about cities and drought.
