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California WaterBlog

Tag: streamflow

  • Water extinguishes fire, but how does fire affect water? (Part 2 of 2)

    By Brandon Ertis . . . Last week, we introduced our research topic and question (i.e., how does fire impact water?), identified relevant data sources, and determined our pre- and post-fire precipitation events. Following that, we assembled hourly streamflow data from the USGS gages1 and aligned the flows to the start of each precipitation event…

  • Water extinguishes fire, but how does fire affect water? (Part 1 of 2)

    By Brandon Ertis . . . Wildfires in California are increasing in frequency and intensity, resulting in a greater extent of areas being directly burned or otherwise impacted in recent years. I work for a water resources consulting firm called Davids Engineering (DE), and we have an office in Chico in the beautiful Sacramento Valley.…

  • Functional Flows are Good for California’s Native Fishes

    By Sarah Yarnell, Ethan Baruch, Andrew L. Rypel, and Rob Lusardi As California grapples with ongoing water management challenges, the question of “how much water to leave in streams” to support native fishes and aquatic species often arises. There is no easy answer to this question, as evidenced by the more than 200 environmental flow assessment methods that exist…

  • When Rivers Run Dry

    By Ted Grantham, Stephanie Carlson, and Albert Ruhi As we move into the full swing of summer, water managers are paying close attention to the remaining snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. Each year, water from melting snow flows into rivers, creating important environmental cues for native freshwater species and filling reservoirs, just as agricultural water demands peak…

  • Salmon and the Subsurface

    By David Dralle, Gabe Rossi, Phil Georgakakos, Jesse Hahm, Daniella Rempe, Monica Blanchard, Mary Power, Bill Dietrich, and Stephanie Carlson You’ve probably noticed that some streams flow year-round while others are seasonally dry, despite receiving similar amounts of rainfall. Through a recent NSF-funded effort (“Eel River Critical Zone Observatory”), we learned several things about how…