blog post Water Policy Priorities for a Changing California By Ellen Hanak Sep 24, 2019 How can the state prepare its water systems for climate change? The Newsom administration asked the PPIC Water Policy Center to submit formal comments to inform a water resilience portfolio.
Report Managing California’s Water: From Conflict to Reconciliation By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Richard Howitt ... Feb 24, 2011 California has struggled to manage its water effectively for more than 30 years. Today, the state needs to consider a set of wide-ranging reforms—for the benefit of the economy and the environment.Executive Summary Full Report [PDF, 9.06 MB] To view individual chapters, click on the links below. Introduction Floods, Droughts, and Lawsuits: A Brief History of California Water Policy California Water Today Drivers of Change Urgent and Fundamental Challenges Reconciling Ecosystems: Reversing Declines in Native Species Orchestrating the Management of Water Scarcity, Quality, and Flooding Managing Water as a Public Commodity Effective and Adaptive Governance Pathways to Reform A Way Forward Technical Appendix: Managing California’s Water: Insights from Interviews with Water Policy Experts Interactive Map: California’s Water Quality Problems Map Image: California’s Variable Climate This research was supported with funding from S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Pisces Foundation, Resources Legacy Fund, and Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority.
blog post Restoring Rivers, Restoring Community By Sarah Bardeen, Gokce Sencan Jun 5, 2023 At the PPIC Water Policy Center, we’ve studied ecosystem restoration issues such as the importance of restoring more natural flow patterns, improving permitting, and storing water for the environment. This year, we brought in three CalTrout Ecosystem Fellows to look at another major challenge in river restoration: community engagement. This is the first of four posts on the topic!
blog post Commentary: Newsom’s Water Strategy Needs to Go a Step Further By Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount Sep 8, 2022 Dams are essential to managing California’s water supply, but their construction and operation has harmed freshwater ecosystems. We propose a novel approach to water management that treats the environment as a priority rather than a constraint on reservoir operations—and that may help to manage growing threats to the health of our rivers and estuaries.
blog post Groundbreaking Dam Removal Moves Forward on the Klamath By Lori Pottinger Jun 11, 2019 In coming years, four dams on the Klamath will be removed, creating the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the country. We talked to Lester Snow about this effort.
blog post Commentary: 3 Lessons for California’s Water Funding Challenges in Today’s Recession By Ellen Hanak, Jelena Jezdimirovic Oct 1, 2020 California’s water managers have been busy keeping water systems safe and operational during the COVID-19 pandemic. But addressing the fiscal consequences of the economic recession is just beginning.
blog post Sites Reservoir’s Novel Approach to Storing Water for the Environment By Gokce Sencan Mar 20, 2023 The proposed Sites Reservoir would take a novel approach to storing water to benefit freshwater ecosystems when they need it most. We spoke with Jerry Brown, executive director of the Sites Project Authority, to learn more about plans for the reservoir and its ecosystem water budget.
blog post Adapting to a Water-Scarce California By Ellen Hanak Jan 9, 2023 With the arrival of a series of atmospheric rivers, drought-weary Californians are now confronting the weather whiplash that’s a hallmark of our state’s climate. But the current deluge won’t erase California’s water challenges. PPIC Water Policy Center director Ellen Hanak reflects on what happened with California’s water in 2022—and explores how to manage the resource in our increasingly volatile climate.
