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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.
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Community opinion pieces, Q&As, expert insight and more about water issues in California and the American West.
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During California’s five-year drought, residents started saving water long before the water agencies required it. That’s because they were motivated by heavy media coverage, says Stanford University’s Newsha Ajami.
Jeffrey Mount Senior Fellow, PPIC Water Policy Center
New research shows that three reforms could improve ecological conditions and reduce tensions over allocation of water, says Jeffrey Mount, senior fellow at the PPIC Water Policy Center.
John McManus President, Golden Gate Salmon Association
Meghan Hertel Interim State Codirector and Director, Land and Water Conservation at Audubon California
The Central Valley Project Improvement Act was an ambitious effort toward balanced and sustainable water policy and it holds lessons for today, write Audubon’s Meghan Hertel and Golden Gate Salmon Association’s John McManus.
Max Moritz Cooperative Extension Specialist, Wildland Fire
Policy and planning shortfalls in how we assess fire risk need to be addressed because we’re likely to see more wildfires tearing through urban neighborhoods, says fire expert Max Moritz of the University of California, Berkeley.
A new wireless sensor network in one Sierra Nevada watershed aims to fill yawning data gaps about snowpack, rainfall and runoff potential. The result could be safer flood forecasts and better water supply projections, says University of California professor Roger Bales.
Kerry Stackpole Chief Executive, Plumbing Manufacturers International
Western legislators can be leaders on two critical issues: water-saving tax reforms and funding the EPA’s WaterSense conservation program, says Kerry Stackpole of Plumbing Manufacturers International.
California’s State Water Board recently passed new policies that will regulate water impacts from marijuana growing operations. Erin Ragazzi and Scott Couch of the Water Board discuss the challenges.
New research used radar measurements from space to track groundwater in Silicon Valley, revealing that water conservation helped reduce overdraft, says the study’s author, Professor Estelle Chaussard.
Radhika Fox Chief Executive, U.S. Water Alliance
Millions of Americans lack safe, affordable drinking water. But more water agencies are developing equitable and inclusive approaches to water management, says the U.S. Water Alliance’s Radhika Fox.
Kirsten James Oversees the California Policy Program, Ceres
The California Water Commission will determine which water storage projects get $2.7 billion in funding. They should seriously consider those that help California expand underground storage, writes Ceres’s Kirsten James.
Richard Frank Professor of Environmental Practice, University of California, Davis School of Law
As the Trump administration prepares to weaken the Clean Water Rule, there are steps California’s Water Board can take to protect wetlands, streams and drinking water, says Richard Frank of the U.C. Davis School of Law.
A federal suit filed against the state of Colorado seeks to establish ‘personhood’ status for the mighty watercourse. Mari Margil, an attorney working on the case, explains what that would mean.
Dale Hall CEO, Ducks Unlimited
Rivers need to be reconnected with floodplains to provide essential nutrients for fish and needed habitat for birds, which will require targeted flows, says Dale Hall of Ducks Unlimited.
Jonathan Rosenfield Lead Scientist, Bay Institute
The Brown administration is denying scientific evidence when it comes to the impact that the proposed delta tunnels project would have on endangered species and fisheries, says scientist Jonathan Rosenfield of The Bay Institute.
Kirsten James Oversees the California Policy Program, Ceres
There is a growing awareness about water risk for businesses in the food and beverage industry. A new report from Ceres shows which companies are leading and lagging, writes Ceres’ Kirsten James.
A century of fire suppression followed by the worst drought in recorded history has put California’s forest landscapes and water supply at risk. A study led by Van Butsic of U.C. Berkeley proposes a new way to manage forests.
The website Maven’s Notebook has been a major source of California water information for years. Now Maven’s creator, Chris Austin, wants to take it one step further with a new digital library.
David O’Neill and Karyn Stockdale of the National Audubon Society talk about a recent report that highlights the threats to two major habitats used by migrating birds in the West: saline lakes and riparian habitat along the Colorado River.
No one yet knows how big the legalized recreational marijuana business will become. But as it grows, water consumption is sure to become a concern in the arid West. Brandy Keen gives one industry leader’s point of view.
Dan Keppen Executive Director, Family Farm Alliance
John Bezdek Attorney in Private Practice, Washington, D.C.
A recent federal audit over a water-banking program in the Klamath Basin lacks an understanding of the on-the-ground reality in the region, writes attorney John Bezdek and Family Farm Alliance’s Dan Keppen.
Meadows play an important role in water storage and flood prevention. But a new study shows that warming temperatures and resulting tree encroachment could doom these landscapes, except at very high elevations.
Steven Moore Vice Chair, State Water Resources Control Board
Water boards have improved their use of modern data management to change public habits on critical water issues and are hoping to do more in the future, writes Steven Moore, vice chair of the State Water Resources Control Board.
Scientist Thomas Galarneau finds that the previously unrecognized Chiricahua Gap, a 150-mile break between mountain ranges, is a vital conduit for wet monsoon storms moving from the Gulf of Mexico into Arizona.
The world watched the tragic flooding in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean. U.C. Davis’ Nicholas Pinter says the shocking events should spur states like California to think about and improve their own flood management.
Kirby Brill Former General Manager, Mojave Water Agency in Southern California
Among water users and agencies, data is often kept in private and hidden from public view, but that’s beginning to change, writes Kirby Brill, former general manager of the Mojave Water Agency.
Kirsten James Oversees the California Policy Program, Ceres
The state should tackle its water problems the same way it has worked to curb climate change and that includes passing a package of bills to reduce water waste and improve efficiency, writes Ceres’ Kirsten James.
A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey looks at more than 200 dam removals and finds that fish species and habitat can change rapidly, although examples from very large dams are rare.
Not everyone sees drought, pollution and water woes as issues in Colorado. A report by Conservation Colorado hopes to change that by evaluating the health of eight major rivers in the state.
New research from California’s Modoc National Forest shows an exploding population of wild horses is devastating natural springs that are vital to wildlife and public uses. And there’s no clear solution in sight.
James Hobbs Research Scientist, U.C. Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology
Peter Moyle U.C. Davis Professor Emeritus of Fish Biology and an Associate Director, Center for Watershed Sciences
Scientists Peter Moyle and James Hobbs give their reasoning for qualified support for the controversial tunnels project that will affect Delta fish and fisheries.
Gabriel Diaz Montemayor Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Texas Austin
Instead of a wall, landscape architecture professor Gabriel Diaz Montemayor wants to see the formation of a binational park that showcases the beauty of the landscape shared between the U.S. and Mexico.
Mark Muir Board Chair, San Diego County Water Authority
San Diego County has embraced water conservation and been a statewide leader on the issue, says the board chair of the San Diego County Water Authority.
Kirsten James Oversees the California Policy Program, Ceres
A coalition of diverse interests is backing Senate Bill 623, which would create a fund to help pay for clean drinking water projects needed by the state’s rural communities, writes Ceres’ Kirsten James.
A handful of storms each year could provide enough water to offset annual groundwater overdraft in California’s Central Valley. But Tiffany Kocis of U.C. Davis explains that work is needed to capture and distribute that water.
The Sites Reservoir project in Colusa County has funding commitments from 32 water agencies throughout California. But the developers still plan to seek state bond funds to leverage environmental benefits.
Michael Kiparsky Director, Wheeler Water Institute, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, University of California, Berkeley
Nell Green Nylen Senior Research Fellow, Wheeler Water Institute
Markets may help management of a limited resource, but they can also have unintended consequences, which is why California needs to think carefully about the risks, say experts Nell Green Nylen and Michael Kiparsky.
University of Utah scientists have conducted the first study to document landscape water use on a city-wide scale. Among other findings, trees are shown to be an excellent water-saving tool in grassy landscapes.
Water crises in the West have pushed some companies to apply sustainability labels to their beverages, clothes and other water-dependent products. Kellen Klein, a senior manager at Future 500, helps sort through the claims.
Matt O’Malley Executive Director and Attorney, San Diego Coastkeeper
As California considers legislation to make conservation a permanent strategy, it needs support from Southern California water agencies like the San Diego County Water Authority, writes Matt O’Malley of San Diego Coastkeeper.
New research by Robert Allen, a climatologist at the University of California, Riverside, suggests that climate change may actually result in more precipitation – and more floods and storms.
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