Tag: Jay Lund
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The California Drought of 2015: February
Feb. 4, 2015 drought update on Capital Public Radio By Jay Lund Odds are exceedingly good that February will top January’s contribution to precipitation in California. It’s hard to be drier than what was essentially zero rain and snowfall last month. The state’s driest January on record dropped the Northern Sierra Precipitation Index down from…
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The California Drought of 2015: January
By Jay Lund The California Department of Water Resources does a great job assembling data that can give insights on water conditions during the ongoing drought. They update the information daily (which can be addictive for some of us) on the California Data Exchange Center website. Here are highlights of water conditions as of January…
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New environmentalism needed for California water
By Jay Lund California needs a new environmentalism to set a more effective and sustainable green bar for the nation and even the world. For decades, we have taken a “just say no” approach to stop, prevent or blunt human encroachments onto the natural world – often rightly so. Early environmentalism needed lines in the…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Will California’s drought extend into 2015?
By Jay Lund and Jeffrey Mount Debates over how to manage California’s critically dry water supplies this year have displaced most discussion about water next year. This year’s drought is bad, but another dry year that begins with even lower groundwater and reservoir levels could be much worse. The state’s reservoir storage is already at near-record…
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Should California expand reservoir capacity by removing sediment?
By Jay Lund Removing sediment from reservoirs is often suggested as a potentially better way to expand storage capacity than raising dam heights or building new reservoirs. This is a natural notion to explore given the cost and likely environmental impacts of traditional expansions. For perspective, the construction cost of conventional reservoir expansion is about…
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Beyond bonds: Funding the governor’s Water Action Plan
Ellen Hanak, Brian Gray, Jay Lund, David Mitchell, Caitrin Chappelle, Emma Freeman, Dean Misczynski, James Nachbaur In late January, Gov. Jerry Brown released the California Water Action Plan, which outlines 10 strategic priorities for putting the state on a more sustainable water management path. The plan – intended to guide state water policy for the…
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Is shorting fish of water during drought good for water users?
By Jay Lund and Peter Moyle In drought years, California usually reduces “environmental water flows” — the amount of river flows needed to maintain aquatic ecosystems — to make more water available for farms and cities. The current drought has been no exception. Depriving fish of adequate river flows, however, might not be in the interests…
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Why California’s agriculture needs groundwater management
California’s agricultural prosperity increasingly depends on groundwater availability during drought. Global markets favoring high-value nuts, fruits and wine grapes are fueling a steady conversion of farmland from annual crops and pasture to orchards and vineyards. The growing profitability of these permanent crops, however, cannot be sustained unless agricultural communities commit to preserve and manage groundwater…
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Severe drought impacts to Central Valley agriculture forecast this year
By Richard Howitt, Josué Medellín-Azuara, Duncan MacEwan and Jay Lund This year’s drought will have severe impacts on irrigated agriculture in California’s Central Valley. To estimate this impact, we updated and applied the Statewide Agricultural Production (SWAP) model for estimated cutbacks in surface water supplies (based on interviews with Valley water providers) — with limitations on groundwater…
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A cheat sheet on the California drought
By Jay Lund Here’s a primer to keep the water-cooler conversation flowing when the subject turns to the California drought. Just how dry are we? We cannot know exactly, but we have some good indications: Northern Sierra. Currently, precipitation is about half of average. The region’s 8-station precipitation index is at 27 inches, compared with…
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UC Drought Summit, April 25: Managing water scarcity in California
Fellow Water Buffs, On April 25, the University of California will bring together a wide range of experts in the state Capitol for thoughtful discussion of drought and water supply issues. We are honored to host the daylong UC Drought Science, Policy & Management Summit, which is free and open to the public. Faculty from…