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].
California grows 80 percent of the world’s almonds, generating $11 billion annually for the state’s economy. Richard Waycott of the Almond Board of California explains what the industry is doing to use less water and stretch every drop.
Kirsten James Oversees the California Policy Program, Ceres
Farming and food production use most of the world’s water and produce 13 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. A number of major growers and processors are taking steps to reduce those impacts, writes Ceres’ Kirsten James.
Jay Ziegler
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is set to expire on September 30, and Congress has made no move to revive it. That’s a mistake, as the fund is important to protect landscapes that deliver essential water supplies.
Ted Kowalski Senior Environment Program Officer, Walton Family Foundation
New evidence tells us water shortages aren’t going away in the Colorado River Basin. They’ll likely just get worse. Survival requires new funding sources and a new commitment to conservation.
Size matters when the political debate turns to water storage in Colorado. Some candidates want as much as possible, some are only OK with small reservoirs. Either way, more Front Range water diversions are a touchy subject.
Statewide regulations and local innovations are contributing to making water conservation a ‘California way of life.’ Listen to two experts explain the implications of new water efficiency laws and highlight promising trends in conservation throughout the state.
Taylor Graham Water and Environmental Journalist
Utah is proposing two large water developments to augment supplies, while the state has some of the highest consumption in the country, writes Taylor Graham of the Utah Rivers Council.
A pilot program for irrigators in the Colorado River’s upper basin states will not continue past 2018, according to a recent decision by the Upper Colorado River Commission. But water conservation and storage remain a priority.
The state’s new per capita limit on indoor water use is groundbreaking, but there is no practical way to enforce it. Rather, it is intended to inspire more conservation and guide larger efforts by water utilities.
Erik Porse Research Engineer in the Office of Water Programs, CSU-Sacramento
California has learned a lot since the last drought about how much water urban areas are using, but research engineer Erik Porse examines whether it can help answer the complex question about how much water should be used.
An annual report by the nonprofit American Rivers is turning the spotlight on rivers that face threats from the rollback of environmental protections, resource development and other policy decisions.
Most homeowners in Utah benefit from a unique resource: Cheap untreated irrigation water for their yards. The state has no idea how much people consume, even as it ponders investing billions in new water development projects.
Dozens of local water agencies are opposing state regulations to ban wasteful water practices, partly due to issues relating to the water board’s authority.
Cap-and-trade systems have yet to be used for water conservation efforts, but that could change. Stanford University’s Newsha Ajami has developed a system to help water districts meet water conservation goals.
San Francisco is helping to grow adoption of onsite nonpotable water reuse systems by requiring them in large new buildings. Now there is interest in a statewide regulation to streamline permitting while ensuring health and safety.
The Southern California city is building a number of big projects with the goal of becoming completely self-sufficient in water by 2020, according to Dean Kubani, its chief sustainability officer.
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.
With millions in state funding, a new startup incubator has begun luring water innovators to Las Vegas. The goal is to create a destination for water entrepreneurs akin to the culture of Silicon Valley.
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.
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.
Although there’s been some uptick in consumption since mandatory water conservation measures were lifted in April, many parts of the state continue to conserve.
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.
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.
Mary Ann Dickinson President and Chief Executive, Alliance for Water Efficiency
Water rates may be rising in some places, but new research shows that they don’t rise as much with conservation, says Mary Ann Dickinson of the Alliance for Water Efficiency.
Liz Crosson Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
As the state works to build a long-term framework for conservation and efficiency, Los Angeles is setting its own course, writes Liz Crosson, the deputy chief sustainability officer for Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti.
State officials want a new conservation approach that imposes a “water budget” on millions of urban customers. Some local water agencies say it’s a regulatory excess that could cost them dearly.
Five state agencies in California have collaborated to come up with a draft plan aimed at improving California’s long-term water conservation efforts beyond emergency regulations as California’s drought is now in its sixth year.
In her new book, author Judith Schwartz argues that fixing land management problems and restoring native wildlife species are, in reality, water supply projects.
Max Gomberg Water Conservation and Climate Change Manager, State Water Resources Control Board
Officials and regulators need to work together to help water managers face new challenges, says Max Gomberg, water conservation and climate change manager at the State Water Resources Control Board.
A new water conservation process adopted by the state allows local agencies to avoid strict water conservation mandates. Analysts worry these ‘stress tests’ may cause problems if the drought worsens.
Overhead irrigation technology, typically used in center-pivot irrigation, has been common for decades all across North America. It’s slowly being embraced in California as a relatively affordable water-saving tool.
Kate Poole Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council
Should more water be diverted from the Delta? The state already decided this years ago with the Delta Plan, writes Kate Poole, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Climate change will lead to hotter, drier weather in San Diego, but also more frequent floods caused by larger storms. Water supply will be diminished but demand is expected to increase.
It takes energy to get clean drinking water to our homes. So when California embraced new conservation mandates last year, it meant savings of not just water but also energy. And researchers from U.C. Davis found out just how much energy.
SACRAMENTO BEE: Results of the spring survey tracking the number of delta smelt in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta found very few of the fish, which already have critically low numbers.
When California searches for relief from the drought, and explores different solutions, from conserving water to desalination, one avenue that often gets overlooked is what’s under our feet – soil.
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.
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.
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.
Kirsten James Oversees the California Policy Program, Ceres
California may be in danger of losing the gains it has worked hard to achieve in the last year in water conservation. A wet winter doesn’t mean California is in the clear.
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