Author Archives: jaylund

This is another dry year.  How do California’s engineers see a partially-full water glass?  Mostly the same as they did in the original 2012 version of this post, but we’ve added a few more perspectives. by Jay R. Lund Depending … Continue reading →

by Jeffrey Mount and Peter Moyle Several years ago on this site, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Center for Watershed Sciences—what we termed a “really good idea.”  That blog described the founding principles of the Center that live … Continue reading →

by Nan Frobish April 1, 2022 Juvenile Chinook Salmon lack rearing habitat in the Central Valley due to pervasive land use change and altered hydrology. Historically, juvenile salmon (or parr) had access to roughly four million acres of seasonal floodplain … Continue reading →

by Jay Lund 2022 is another drought year, although we won’t know exactly how dry for about another month.  Precipitation and snowpack this year in California are below average.  In addition, the prolonged dry and warm months of January through … Continue reading →

by Jay Lund “Structured decision-making” and “decision biases” are all the rage, but methods to structure and make better decisions have been common for centuries.  A recent paper reviews structured approaches to water planning and policy discussions (Lund 2021).  This … Continue reading →

by Jay Lund After two years of solid drought, and four months into California’s “wet” season, we don’t know if this year will be wet or dry.  This is normal for California.  But this year’s monthly precipitation “whiplash” is unusual. … Continue reading →

By Kristin Dobbin and Amanda Fencl A key feature of California’s drinking water system is the large number of individual water systems. There are approximately 3,000 Community Water Systems (CWSs) in the state, meaning systems that serve a residential population … Continue reading →

by Jay Lund California’s 2021 calendar year is over, but its 2022 Water Year (which started October 2021) is already three months old and still early in its wet season.  So far this wet season is actually wet. It is … Continue reading →

by Jay Lund Last year, Northern California had very little precipitation in October and November, and we wondered if California was entering into a multi-year drought. Today, we know – last year became the 3rd driest year on record for … Continue reading →

by Jay Lund Segal’s Law: “Someone with one watch knows what time it is. Someone with two watches is never sure.”  Time is certain, but its estimation and measurement are uncertain, yet we are not in total ignorance. Many water … Continue reading →