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California WaterBlog

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  • How engineers see the water glass in California

    How do engineers see the water glass in California? The same as they did two years ago when this blog was first posted, though with today’s drought the glass is perhaps down to a quarter full — or three-quarters empty.  By Jay R. Lund Depending on your outlook, the proverbial glass of water is either…

  • Shaping water storage in California

    By Jay Lund, Maurice Hall and Anthony Saracino With the continuation of California’s historic drought and the recent passage of Proposition 1, the potential value of additional water storage in the state is an area of vigorous discussion. In a new study released today, we look at the different roles of storage in California’s integrated water system and…

  • Aquatic plants: unsung but prime salmon habitat

    By Robert Lusardi and Ann Willis For decades, California’s management and restoration of salmon and trout populations have focused on principles rooted in coastal redwood streams, mostly fed by rainfall runoff. These concepts portray ideal salmonid habitat as deep pools, shallow riffles and “large woody debris,” such as fallen trees and limbs. Recent studies on…

  • Groundwater security, for the long term

    By Lauren Adams Under recently enacted legislation, local agencies in California are required for the first time to manage groundwater pumping and recharge sustainably. The law empowers local groundwater agencies to manage and use groundwater “without causing undesirable results,” leaving it up to them to determine how to best achieve this goal. Within the next…

  • Trick or treat? Aliens at the door

    By Chris Bowman Many of the alien species invading California’s lakes and streams would make for wickedly good Halloween costumes. Take the Shokihaze goby, Tridentiger barbatus (above and right), a native of Asian now common in Suisun Bay and the lower Sacramento River. Its spiky stubble of whisker-like barbels about the mouth and cheeks defines “ugly.” And…

  • Flagging problem dams for fish survival

    By Ted Grantham and Peter Moyle This drought year, as in those past, California water regulators have given away to cities and farms some river flows critical to fish and wildlife. It’s a dicey tradeoff considering most of our native fishes are in trouble even without the drought. There are, however, legal backstops to prevent…

  • Modernizing drought water allocations

    The State Water Resources Control Board recently solicited public comments on how to improve its drought curtailment of water rights. Here is a summary of insights and recommendations from a group of seven California water experts. By Ellen Hanak, Jeffrey Mount, Jay Lund, Greg Gartrell, Brian Gray, Richard Frank and Peter Moyle  This past year’s severe drought…

  • A tribute to California’s ‘First Lady of Water’

    By Tina Cannon Leahy As water policy consultant for the California Assembly, I occasionally research legislative history to iron out competing theories on a law’s meaning. So it was earlier this year when I visited the California State Archives to investigate the Davis-Dolwig Act of 1961. I took a manila folder from the nice clerk…

  • Drought Journal: Hope springs eternal

    Is the drought hastening the decline of California’s native fish? Will they be able to recolonize once normal conditions return? To help find out, a team of researchers with the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences took the pulse of about 70 streams and rivers across northern and central California this summer, examining habitat conditions and recording the…

  • Hike Tuolumne Meadows — without breaking a sweat

      Opening scene of the Tuolumne Meadows Virtual Hike. Source: UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, Google Maps. Take the Tuolumne Meadows Virtual Hike By Sarah Yarnell To enjoy the full sweep of Yosemite’s lush and lovely Tuolumne Meadows, as shown above, you need to head for the high country on the national park’s north side…

  • Groundwater reform more important than water bond

    By Jay Lund and Thomas Harter California lawmakers recently found extraordinary consensus in approving a $7.5 billion water bond for the November election ballot. If the measure wins, however, future generations will not necessarily reap many of the promised water supply benefits without additional actions. To significantly improve its resilience to drought, California must quickly…

  • California water rights: You can’t manage what you don’t measure

    By Ted Grantham and Joshua Viers California water experts have long known the amount of surface water granted by water rights far exceeds the state’s average supplies. Historically, the over-allocation has not raised much concern; in most years, there has been enough runoff of rain and snowmelt to go around. But circumstances are changing. California…

  • Drought journal: Search for Sierra fish goes from bad to worse

      Is the drought hastening the decline of California’s native fish? Will they be able to recolonize once normal conditions return? To help find out, a team of researchers with the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences are taking the pulse of about 70 streams and rivers across northern and central California this summer, examining habitat conditions…

  • Getting through the dry times

    California’s economy overall is weathering the worst drought in decades remarkably well, thanks in part to groundwater use and water market transfers. But as a recent UC Davis study noted, the resilience is tenuous because groundwater is treated like an unlimited savings account and water marketing is hobbled by red tape and lack of transparency.…

  • Why utilities shy from mandatory water saving during a drought

    By Jay Lund The State Water Board’s recent decision to outlaw some water-wasting activities under penalty of $500 fines helps alert urban residents and businesses to the seriousness of the drought. These water conservation actions, though, are fairly mild compared with the water rationing and other mandatory restrictions that Santa Cruz and a few other…

  • Reconciling ecosystem and economy

    Ecologist Michael Rosenzweig kicked off a UC Davis series of public talks exploring a “reconciliation” approach to improving California’s aquatic habitat. Video: UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. A growing number of ecologists say we need to rethink how we go about “saving nature.” We should not attempt to restore a wounded meadow, estuary or wetland…

  • Weathering the drought by drawing down the bank

    By Richard Howitt, Josué Medellín-Azuara, Duncan MacEwan and Jay Lund Today, UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences economists join the California Department of Food and Agriculture in releasing a second, more comprehensive and forward-looking report estimating the effects of the California drought on farm production. (UC Davis news release, Video of national press briefing) The study…

  • Challenging myth and mirage in California’s drought

    In a July 6, 2014 op-ed for The Sacramento Bee, three prominent California water experts challenge some claims that they say are hindering the search for solutions to California’s water shortages. We reprint the commentary here with a sidebar on some of the calculations supporting the article. By Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount and Ellen Hanak As the effects…

  • Could California weather a mega-drought?

    By Jay Lund In the past 1,200 years, California had two droughts lasting 120-200 years. Could the state’s water resources continue to supply enough water to drink, grow crops and provide habitat for fish with such an extreme, prolonged drought? With careful management, California’s economy in many ways could withstand such a severe drought. That’s…

  • Modernizing California’s groundwater management

      “A broad consensus appears to be building among California water users and policymakers that it is high time to establish an effective, statewide framework for groundwater management.” — Groundwater Resources Association of California, Contemporary Groundwater Issues Council As California strains under a third straight year of drought, Gov. Jerry Brown and many legislators have…

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