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.
Fact Sheet Groundwater in California By Kyle Greenspan, Spencer Cole, Caitlin Peterson Jun 5, 2024 Groundwater is a vital, but threatened, component of California’s water supply. Learn more about this important resource!
Fact Sheet Droughts in California By Jeffrey Mount, Alvar Escriva-Bou, Gokce Sencan Apr 13, 2021 California is highly prone to droughts, and climate change makes them worse. This fact sheet describes key challenges to managing dry times.
blog post New Water Laws Address Groundwater, Marijuana By Caitrin Chappelle, Henry McCann Oct 15, 2015 Two recent bill packages took important steps toward improving groundwater management and reducing the negative environmental impacts of marijuana farming.
blog post Reducing Drought Risks in Rural Communities By Alvar Escriva-Bou Jan 10, 2019 California’s rural communities are disproportionately exposed to drinking water shortages during drought. Improved planning efforts can help.
blog post Learning the Language of Groundwater By Lori Pottinger Jun 18, 2019 Managing groundwater sustainably is a complex topic. Knowing the language is key to engaging in the conversation. This glossary can get you started.
blog post Groundwater Sustainability Moves from Planning to Implementation By Lori Pottinger Aug 10, 2020 The completion of groundwater sustainability plans for the state’s most over-pumped basins was a major step toward bringing basins into long-term balance. What are next steps and possible pitfalls in the process?
blog post Sinking Lands, Damaged Infrastructure: Will Better Groundwater Management End Subsidence? By Alvar Escriva-Bou, Jelena Jezdimirovic, Ellen Hanak May 14, 2020 Excess groundwater pumping can cause land to sink and damage infrastructure. Groundwater plans are supposed to reduce this risk—but do they go far enough?
blog post Measuring Groundwater Overdraft in the Sacramento Valley By Spencer Cole, Kyle Greenspan, Andrew Ayres Nov 7, 2023 As the Sacramento Valley works to bring its groundwater basins into balance, we review the valley’s groundwater sustainability plans to understand how they’re estimating overdraft in their basins—and to see just how much overpumping they found.
blog post How Water Justice Groups View Groundwater Sustainability Planning By Caitrin Chappelle Oct 20, 2020 Groundwater overdraft has caused domestic wells to go dry in the San Joaquin Valley. Environmental justice experts explain flaws in groundwater planning in light of this problem.
