Tag Archives: drought

Jobs per drop irrigating California crops

Posted on December 8, 2019 by jaylund

By Josué Medellín-Azuara, Jay Lund and Richard Howitt Reposted from Apr 28, 2015 (an oldie, but goodie!) Some of the most popular drought stories lately have been on the amount of what water needed to produce food from California, as a consumer … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Drought | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

The Earth is Falling! – Land Subsidence and Water Management in California

Posted on December 27, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Jay Lund, Thomas Harter, Rob Gailey, Rick Frank, and Graham Fogg Groundwater problems are mostly invisible.  However, as California has come to rely more on groundwater during the drought, land subsidence from groundwater drawdown and accumulating overdraft has become … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Drought, Groundwater, Planning and Management, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Watering up Halloween, California style

Posted on October 28, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Ghost Writer What better way to spook Californians this Halloween than to appear as a slobbering “Godzilla El Niño.” Or draped in a bedsheet as Godzilla’s opponent, “The Blob,” the amoeba-shaped patch of unusually warm Pacific water blocking storms … Continue reading →

Posted in Halloween, Wild and Wacky | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Capturing El Niño for the underground

Posted on October 13, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Philip Bachand, Helen Dahlke, William Horwath, Thomas Harter and Toby O’Geen A much-anticipated “Godzilla” El Niño this winter may refill California’s drought-diminished reservoirs, but it won’t do much to restock the severely depleted aquifers we rely upon to get … Continue reading →

Posted in Drought, El Niño | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The banality of California’s ‘1,200-year’ drought

Posted on September 23, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Jay Lund California’s ongoing drought will continue to break records and grab headlines, but it is unlikely to be especially rare from a water policy and management perspective. Estimates of the current drought’s rarity range from once in 15 … Continue reading →

Posted in Drought, Planning and Management | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Drought bites harder, but agriculture remains robust

Posted on August 18, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

Spanish version By Richard Howitt, Duncan MacEwan, Josué Medellín-Azuara and Jay Lund Today we release our second annual report estimating the economic impacts from prolonged drought. More than anything, the results of our 16-page analysis of the current growing season … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Drought | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Is California’s drought a ‘new normal’ ?

Posted on July 15, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Stephen Maples Many are wondering whether the current drought is the harbinger of a drier California with more frequent and longer multi-year dry spells. Some have already jumped to this conclusion. “This is the new normal,” Gov. Jerry Brown … Continue reading →

Posted in Drought | Tagged , | 5 Comments

California Drought: Virtual Water vs. Real Water

Posted on July 5, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

This article was originally published Feb. 27, 2014 By Jay Lund There has been considerable kvetching during this drought about California exporting agricultural products overseas, with some saying that this implies we are virtually exporting water that we should be using in … Continue reading →

Posted in Drought, Virtual Water | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

How to manage drought: Ask an economist

Posted on June 23, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

The economics of water scarcity is crucial to sustainable water management, particularly during droughts. California has long benefited from the insights of economists, though their ranks in state water agencies are thinning. Luckily, California has a wealth of young, talented … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Drought, Groundwater, Planning and Management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Making the most of little water — with spreadsheets

Posted on June 14, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Jenny Ta and Joshua Viers It seems inevitable that increasing numbers of California farmers will see their claims to surface water suspended this growing season as the drought persists into a fourth year. The State Water Resources Control Board said … Continue reading →

Posted in Drought, Planning and Management | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments