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].
Juliet Christian-Smith, a climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, talked to Water Deeply about the two things we need to ensure a reliable water supply in the future. And she explained why the best climate science should guide our water resources planning.
Canada’s youngest Arctic territory has the highest suicide rate in the country – and also one of the highest in the world. Last fall, its premier declared youth suicide a crisis, promising sweeping changes. But the territory has lagged on its promises before. This time, will it follow through?
The impact of climate change on Arctic communities is so great that it limits their ability to adapt, or at least that’s what has long been assumed. But according to a recent study in Nature Climate Change, it’s non-climatic factors that obstruct adaptation.
SACRAMENTO BEE: Rains have helped improve water levels in Folsom Lake, but the good news comes as the National Marine Fisheries Service report an alarming decline in the population of the juvenile winter-run Chinook salmon. Only 3 percent survived last year’s drought.
Author Cynthia Barnett tells Water Deeply what she’s learned researching, writing and promoting three books on water: There is no single Big Fix for our water problems, but there are many positive ways we can respond to the crisis, the most important of which is to develop a “water ethic”.
CLIMATE NEWS NETWORK: A new study shows that up to 30 percent of the Greenland ice-cap melting is due to cloud cover that is helping to raise temperatures by as much as 3C (5.4F) – like a blanket that keeps the surface warm − and so accelerate sea level rise.
California is still in a drought even though El Niño is bringing above average amounts of water for the time of year – while supplies are being replenished, they started from a very low point. Here’s a look at the impact of January’s wet weather and what’s in store for February.
Delta smelt have become so rare in the wild now that a mere six adults were found during a sample survey of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta carried out last spring. That’s why the U.C. Davis Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory has a backup plan.
For species like salmon and trout, the benefits to humans are straightforward. But what of the many less charismatic species that naturally occur in California? Do they matter? New research suggests they do. Here’s why.
The past decade of Arctic research has failed to address some of the scientific goals identified by policy makers and residents. A survey of studies finds Arctic research has yet to reach across fields and find ways to help stakeholders cope with the changing environment.
SACRAMENTO BEE: A Modesto almond orchard is serving as a testing ground for aquifer recharge as scientists and farmers team up to try and solve some of the area’s long-term groundwater depletion issues.
The latest three-month forecast for California contains both good news and bad. While the weather is expected to be wetter than usual, it will also be warmer. Here’s what this means in terms of the duration and severity of California’s drought.
Paleoclimatologist B. Lynn Ingram is the coauthor of “The West Without Water”, which documents the tumultuous climate of the West over 20 millenia. She shares her insights on what we can learn about California’s future weather and water prospects based on that history.
Dozens of California water agencies in 2015 opened recycled water “fill stations,” allowing customers to collect treated wastewater in jugs and tanks for free. It helped drought-weary residents maintain parched landscaping, and it also eased recycled water’s ill-deserved “yuck factor”.
The oil boom that began less than a decade ago is now on shaky ground, with U.S. crude oil prices crashing to below $27 per barrel this week. The collapse in prices will lead oil companies to put expensive drilling projects in areas such as the Arctic on hold.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has supported additional groundwater extraction in the San Joaquin Valley, where aquifer depletion is already damaging vital infrastructure. A new water-exchange project may also be spreading toxic soil contamination.
The mercury found in seafood can affect the brain development of children living in northern communities that consume a lot of fish, seal and whale. Elsie Sunderland, who studies global contaminants at Harvard University, says new hydroelectric dams and permafrost thaw could boost those risks.
MODESTO BEE: Despite milestones achieved by Stanislaus County’s Water Advisory Committee, three irrigation districts don’t want to participate in new studies to assess the condition of area groundwater. The county hopes to win over those still dragging their feet.
Researchers around the world are exploring how GMO technology might boost food production under hot, dry conditions. They aim to reduce global water demand – and also hope this new arena of research will ease consumer anxiety about genetic engineering.
CLIMATE NEWS NETWORK: Higher temperatures and permafrost thaw could cause an increase of up to 50 percent in emissions of methane from northern lakes and ponds by the end of the century. The greenhouse gas is many times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Leadership at the Arctic Council rotates among its members every two years. In April, Canada passed the chairmanship to the United States. With the new year underway, we take a look back at what the Arctic Council has accomplished since the U.S. took over the role.
In 2015 California’s second-largest city engaged in a prolonged series of disputes over water. San Diego continued a number of legal battles against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which it accuses of wanton spending and poor conservation choices, among other concerns.
One of the most difficult environments for water conservation is multi-family housing, because most units were built without water meters in each apartment or condominium. Ben Bahk’s company AQUEES installs meters and offers a conservation program that can save a good deal of money.
Much of the Canadian Arctic is still powered by old, diesel-fired power plants. In Nunavut, the reliance on diesel is total, and in the Northwest Territories it’s a drain on government funds. In both places, a post-carbon economy is for now a distant fantasy.
Black carbon, also known as soot, has an important role in global warming, especially in the Arctic. When it’s in the atmosphere, it traps heat, and when it falls on snow or ice, it speeds up melting. Curbing black carbon emissions could help slow down the planet’s warming.
The range of measures used to explain the California drought can be confusing. Here’s a simple summary of some of the most important drought numbers, from well failures to grants for water-system improvements, together with an idea of how these figures have changed as the crisis has developed.
As permafrost thaws, a portion of the carbon stored in these northernmost ecosystems may be released to the atmosphere and trigger runaway global warming. Wildfires have also become more frequent and are burning larger areas in this changing region.
Now that storms have begun moving into drought-plagued California, it’s time to think about making use of that water. You don’t need fancy rain barrels or cisterns. Just a simple flexible rain gutter extension to send the runoff from your roof to the spot in your yard that needs it.
The latest report on the Arctic by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finds dwindling sea ice and temperatures as much as 3C (5.4F) above average are disrupting walrus and fish populations and having major impacts on the ecosystem.
Microplastics found in fabrics and cosmetics accumulate in fish tissue, absorb pollutants and may harm human health. Studies estimate the United States dumps 8 trillion microbeads into its waters every day. The problem is particularly acute in San Francisco Bay, where water flushes out slowly.
Numerous efforts are under way to restore floodplains throughout the state to capture stormwater. The projects simply aim to reconnect rivers with their historic floodplains — long isolated by levees and land development — but require a different way of thinking about farming and land management.
CLIMATE NEWS NETWORK: With the U.N. climate conference still trying to agree on an effective way to tackle global warming, a scientific group warns that policy is ignoring the reality of the melting cryosphere, where change is happening faster and more dramatically than anywhere else on earth.
Arctic indigenous peoples’ groups are in Paris to attend the climate change summit and to urge negotiators to adopt an agreement that recognizes and protects their rights, as well as their culture and traditions – and to provide funding to support adaptation.
FRESNO BEE: In California’s arid San Joaquin Valley, “We are doing everything we can think of to keep going,” says one farmer. That includes looking for ways to recharge groundwater aquifers after decades of overexploitation. Young farmers say struggles imposed by the drought are teaching them valuable lessons.
After more than a century of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, the Earth is en route to record-high temperatures. But negotiators at this week’s climate talks in Paris will try to put the planet on a different path. Here’s what you need to know about COP21 – and why it matters to the Arctic.
The rapid retreat of Arctic sea ice is creating economic, social and environmental challenges that call for global discussion and new policies. But sound information on the Arctic is scattered and incomplete. It’s time to bring more depth and understanding to these issues.
SACRAMENTO BEE: California’s new groundwater legislation is likely to limit water extraction significantly, possibly forcing some areas of farmland in the state out of production; meanwhile, conversion to ‘solar farms’ could be the wave of the future.
The numbers used to explain the California drought can often be overwhelming and confusing. Here’s a simple summary of some of the most important measurements of the drought, with an idea of how they’ve changed as the crisis continues.
SACRAMENTO BEE: For the first time in more than a century, California is trying to regulate groundwater pumping. Complicated legal challenges and lengthy debates are expected, starting with the issue of who gets to decide how much water can be pumped.
A new industry survey found that many water-conscious Californians won’t buy a live Christmas tree this year because of the drought, and dry conditions have reduced the size of the harvest for some growers after a proportion of their trees dried out in the summer months.
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