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 Will Groundwater Sustainability Plans End the Problem of Dry Drinking Water Wells? By Jelena Jezdimirovic, Ellen Hanak, Alvar Escriva-Bou May 14, 2020 Overpumping of groundwater has caused domestic wells to go dry in the San Joaquin Valley. Many sustainability plans do not propose ways to mitigate this problem.
blog post A Balancing Act for the Colorado River By Lori Pottinger Jun 20, 2018 The Colorado basin has been in drought for nearly two decades. We talked with Bonnie Colby on how to improve shared management of the river.
blog post Commentary: The San Joaquin Valley Pumps Too Much Water. But There Are Signs of Progress By Caitlin Peterson, Ellen Hanak Jun 10, 2024 When it comes to reducing the overuse of groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley, the recent news has not been great. But is the situation beginning to turn around? Despite some discouraging headlines, we think so. Our recent commentary explains why.
blog post Central Coast a Microcosm of State Water Challenges By Lori Pottinger Aug 11, 2015 Water challenges around the state are in many ways place-specific, but the Central Coast offers some lessons for addressing dwindling water supply in times of drought. An interview with Richard Frank.
blog post California’s 21st Century Megadrought By Jeffrey Mount, Michael Dettinger Jun 23, 2020 California is in the midst of a decades-long drought, which mimics what climate change is expected to bring. Water management should adapt accordingly.
blog post Commentary: How Water Markets Can Help California Bring Its Groundwater Into Balance By Andrew Ayres, Ellen Hanak Sep 20, 2021 The current drought underscores the need to protect California’s groundwater—our most important reserve to get through extended dry times. Water banking and trading are essential tools for stewarding our groundwater, and we urgently need to make them work better.
press release “All Hands on Deck” Approach Needed to Manage Growing Water Stress in the San Joaquin Valley Feb 20, 2019
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.
blog post The Challenges of Using Less Water in the Southern San Joaquin Valley By Sarah Bardeen Jun 13, 2022 As the San Joaquin Valley grapples with the twin challenges of groundwater overdraft and land subsidence, we spoke with two experts about how programs like multi-benefit farmland repurposing are helping the region adapt.
