Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Water Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on November 1, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on water resilience. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Stories about water issues in California and the American West, including coverage of energy, climate change, agriculture, innovation, water policy and rights.
Follow via RSS
The drought has spurred a longer-term initiative to rethink the future of California’s urban water systems. In the first of a two-part interview, we talk with urban water expert David Sedlak, a professor at U.C. Berkeley.
The city is leveraging the power of green bonds by issuing the first certified under the Water Climate Bonds Standard to help fund projects to repair the city’s aging water infrastructure, including the stormwater and sewer systems.
SACRAMENTO BEE: The State Water Resources Control Board dropped tough statewide water conservation requirements for a new policy that lets water suppliers develop their own standards.
Fish need more than just water. Ecologist Jacob Katz says if we just make sure imperiled salmon can find enough food to eat, this could take a lot of pressure off California’s dwindling water supplies.
Satellite data from NASA show that more than half of the world’s major aquifers are in decline – and that those threatened aquifers support major food-producing regions, including California’s Central Valley.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council says drought legislation introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein could harm California salmon runs that support a $1.4 billion fishing industry and 23,000 jobs.
Based on the adage that you “can’t manage what you can’t measure,” the California Data Collaborative is hoping to give water managers better tools to fight drought by standardizing and analyzing water data.
In the arid Golden State, growers and agricultural researchers have been developing techniques to conserve precious water and use it more efficiently. Here are some things they’ve learned.
A new Executive Order by Gov. Jerry Brown and a draft plan by the State Water Resources Control Board staff puts in motion big changes to California’s emergency conservation mandate.
Three organizations have filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service to stop water withdrawals in the San Bernardino National Forest by Nestle, which uses the water for its Arrowhead bottled water brand.
A state law proposed by Senator Lois Wolk would require local governments to create a permit process for the digging of new wells. Those affected aren’t taking this lightly.
FRESNO BEE: Two irrigation districts could get the green light soon to build a new water bank project in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Water would be piped from the Friant-Kern Canal and percolate into a 560-acre recharge basin.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s conservation mandate for cities last year spurred water savings across Silicon Valley. Here are some of the highlights of what communities accomplished and how they did it.
California’s emergency water conservation mandate was extended until October, but the Water Board is contemplating changing it after pressure from water suppliers that would like to see regulations eased or eliminated.
FRESNO BEE – Millions of Sierra trees that are dead or dying from bark beetles and drought are now presenting a hazard as agencies struggle to find funds to remove them before fire season.
Drought is taking its toll on Mono Lake, which is hovering close to a level that endangers its vital bird habitat. Low lake levels also affect air quality and water diversions to Los Angeles.
Santa Clara County depends heavily on water imported through the Delta, which is why the county’s wholesale water provider may participate in an expensive plan to build new water conveyance tunnels under the Delta.
The legislative session in Sacramento has seen a number of bills introduced that could have an impact on California’s water supply issues, including the controversial plan to build two Delta tunnels.
A recently approved deal to remove four dams on the Klamath River could yield more water for farmers in the river’s upper basin and lead to a dramatic improvement in local salmon populations.
Many farmers contend that the water delivery system that pumps water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is broken – water to farms and cities must be cut to help fish species, but those species’ numbers are still plummeting. So what’s going on?
The small towns of coastal San Mateo county have weathered the drought very differently from most of the rest of Silicon Valley. Without large water projects, reservoirs or utilities to rely on, the fish, farms and people share limited water resources from creeks and aquifers.
Some California farmers will be getting 100 percent of their requested water allocation this year, but others only 5 percent. Here’s a look at why there are such stark differences in allocations, despite a much wetter year, and what this means for farmers and the environment.
Delta smelt are the endangered species most often blamed for water export cutbacks in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. But the latest cuts were triggered to protect salmon, a reminder that there’s a lot at stake in California’s complex plumbing system.
It is clear now that California’s drought is continuing in most of the state and we may also be in for a future of more extreme weather patterns – including more drought. Here’s a look at new research on the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, why El Niño disappointed and what all this means for water management.
The drought has highlighted the need to conserve water, but it is also spurring interest in recycling water to increase supply. Silicon Valley could be poised to greatly increase the use of recycled water at the home, business and municipal level, but first there are a few hurdles to overcome.
Currently, nowhere in California does direct potable reuse – often referred to as “toilet to tap” – but that could change in coming years. There are a number of reasons why direct potable reuse would be a high-quality option for California to increase its water supply.
We’ve engineered away most of the natural floodplain that used to exist in the Central Valley, and that’s bad news for juvenile salmon, which once relied on it for habitat. The Knaggs Nigiri Project is attempting to bring some of this back by flooding the fields of rice farmers.
FRESNO BEE: Farmers and water district managers in the San Joaquin Valley expressed concern at a public meeting about implementing the 2014 groundwater law. Of particular concern was the fact that multiple agencies would need to be involved in managing basins, which may make things difficult.
Silicon Valley’s population has skyrocketed in the last several decades and, to keep up, development is booming. Some residents are worried this will put a strain on water resources, which are especially tight during California’s drought. But experts say that smart development can also be water wise.
SACRAMENTO BEE: A 17,000-acre Yolo County farm is experimenting with using drip irrigation on a portion of their field to reduce water use. While the project will save water, some are worried that it will eliminate critical habitat for wild birds that rely on flooded rice fields.
Information is a key to behavioral change and that’s why Robb Barnitt started Dropcountr, an application that can help customers save water by using technology to better understand their usage and offer the best opportunities to conserve. Water Deeply spoke to Barnitt about his company and its impact.
Designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993, World Water Day helps put a spotlight on a range of global water issues. While water scarcity and pollution are most severe in developing countries, the United States has its share of concerns, too.
Many cities in Silicon Valley are working to develop new sources of water to avoid shortfalls in future decades, but East Palo Alto is already at a critical point. The city needs more water in order to spur much-needed economic development and new housing. Here’s how it hopes to get there.
It’s time to change the way urban customers pay for water. One way to do that is to divide bills into two parts. One part would cover the cost of providing the water and the other would be a value assigned based on the scarcity of water at that time, which would incentivize conservation.
The effort to pass federal legislation aimed at easing California’s drought is about to ramp up again in the second year of the current congressional session. In hopes of simplifying that process, we break down four critical issues to watch as the legislation evolves.
As chair of California’s Water Resources Control Board, Felicia Marcus has her hand in water rights, drinking water programs and conservation regulations, among other things. She recently talked to Water Deeply about her experiences helping to manage water resources during California’s drought.
Most of the water supplied to residents of Silicon Valley come from imported sources through either state and federal canals, or the Hetch Hetchy system. But now, water agencies are looking to develop new, local water sources thanks to the pressure from drought, climate change and population growth.
SACRAMENTO BEE: Much needed rainfall in California isn’t easing tensions over the allocation of water resources. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein last week called for more water pumping through the Delta for agriculture while fisheries advocates are warning that species are still imperiled.
In California water users can buy and sell water, but the system for doing that is so bad that most farmers don’t bother. This situation during the drought has renewed calls for the state to revamp its water market. Some experts share their idea of how that should be done.
California is the first state to have a law declaring the human right to water, and now it also has a resolution from the Water Board prioritizing it. But the legislation lacks enforcement and financing, even as nearly a million people in the state are without access to safe drinking water.
Have a story idea? Interested in adding your voice to our growing community?
Learn more