Colorado River Storage Project of 1956

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | April 11th, 1956

Colorado River water supply is predictable on multi-year timescales owing to long-term ocean memory

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | October 9th, 2020

Skillful multi-year climate forecasts provide crucial information for decision-makers and resource managers to mitigate water scarcity, yet such forecasts remain challen

Skillful multi-year climate forecasts provide crucial information for decision-makers and resource managers to mitigate water scarcity, yet such forecasts remain challenging due to unpredictable weather noise and the lack of dynamical model capability. Here we demonstrate that the annual water supply of the Colorado River is predictable up to several years in advance by a drift-free decadal climate prediction system using a fully coupled climate model. Observational analyses and model experiments show that prolonged shortages of water supply in the Colorado River are significantly linked to sea surface temperature precursors including tropical Pacific cooling, North Pacific warming, and southern tropical Atlantic warming. In the Colorado River basin, the water deficits can reduce crop yield and increase wildfire potential. Thus, a multi-year prediction of severe water shortages in the Colorado River basin could be useful as an early indicator of subsequent agricultural loss and wildfire risk.

Colorado River Water: Challenges for California

Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) | October 16th, 1997

The Secretary of the Interior has directed California to come up with a plan to live within its entitlement of 4.4 million acre-feet of water per year. We provide findin

The Secretary of the Interior has directed California to come up with a plan to live within its entitlement of 4.4 million acre-feet of water per year. We provide findings and recommendations regarding this directive.

Colusa County | Managed Aquifer Recharge: benefitting aquifers, farmers, and migratory birds

Nature Conservancy | September 3rd, 2018

In partnership with growers and the Colusa Groundwater Authority (CGA), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is implementing a pilot multiple-benefit managed aquifer r

In partnership with growers and the Colusa Groundwater Authority (CGA), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is implementing a pilot multiple-benefit managed aquifer recharge (MAR) program on farmland in California’s Central Valley, Colusa County. This program will benefit local groundwater users by replenishing critical domestic and agricultural groundwater supplies in a Severely Disadvanateged Community (SDAC). Participating farmers will benefit economically through incentive payments, and migratory shorebirds will benefit through the creation of critical winter habitat on farms through our specific field and water depth specificiations. MAR sites will be selected where and when it is appropriate and cost-effective to do so based on farming practices, soil suitability, water availability, basin water balances, and migratory/shorebird habitat requirements. The relevance and success of this program for Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs), Severely Disadvantaged Communities (SDACs), and Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) will require all of these stakeholders and project participants to collaborate on its design. Thus, TNC will engage growers, water managers, and other stakeholders in a variety of formal and informal ways to ensure that this program will meet the needs of all parties involved in GSP development. This program serves as a model for other GSAs and stakeholders seeking to deliver multiple benefits through on-farm recharge in the Central Valley where such a program is appropriate.

Colusa Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Colusa Groundwater Authority | December 3rd, 2021

The purpose of this GSP is to characterize groundwater conditions in the Subbasin, evaluate and report on existing conditions relating to the six sustainability indicator

The purpose of this GSP is to characterize groundwater conditions in the Subbasin, evaluate and report on existing conditions relating to the six sustainability indicators, describe existing monitoring, 14 management programs and policies relating to groundwater resource use, document public outreach and communication, establish sustainability goals, and describe projects and management actions (PMAs) the GSAs will implement to achieve sustainable groundwater management within 20 years of implementing the GSP. Due to size, this file has been divided into 16 parts Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16

Combined Modeling of US Fluvial, Pluvial, and Coastal Flood Hazard Under Current and Future Climates

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | December 16th, 2020

Comment Letter on the Draft Water Resilience Portfolio for the State of California

Pacific Institute | February 7th, 2020

This comment letter conveys summary comments and suggestions on the draft Water Resilience Portfolio released by California state agencies, drawing on the considerable ex

This comment letter conveys summary comments and suggestions on the draft Water Resilience Portfolio released by California state agencies, drawing on the considerable experience Pacific Institute has around themes of water efficiency, stormwater management, and the Salton Sea. The letter was authored by staff at Pacific Institute and directed to the Governor’s Water Portfolio Program at the California Natural Resources Agency.

Comment Letter on the Draft Water Resilience Portfolio for the State of California Regarding a Multi-Benefit Approach

Pacific Institute | February 7th, 2020

This comment letter focuses on how the California Water Resilience Portfolio can incorporate multiple benefits when prioritizing and funding water management strategies t

This comment letter focuses on how the California Water Resilience Portfolio can incorporate multiple benefits when prioritizing and funding water management strategies throughout the state. It was sent on behalf of a group of interested parties with significant experience in evaluating and considering the multiple benefits of water-related projects, and it was directed to the Governor’s Water Portfolio Program at the California Natural Resources Agency.

Comment on “Short-lived pause in Central California subsidence after heavy winter precipitation of 2017” by K. D. Murray and R. B. Lohman

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | June 12th, 2019

In a study by Murray and Lohman (M&L), the authors suggest that remote sensing data are useful for monitoring land subsidence due to aquifer system compacti

In a study by Murray and Lohman (M&L), the authors suggest that remote sensing data are useful for monitoring land subsidence due to aquifer system compaction. We agree. To infer aquifer dynamics, we provide a more detailed and joint analysis of deformation and groundwater data. Investigating well data in the Tulare Basin, we find that groundwater levels stabilized before 2015 and show that M&L’s observed continued subsidence through July 2016 is likely caused by the delayed compaction of the aquitard. Our analysis suggests the observed 2017 transient uplift is not due to recharge of the aquifer system after heavy winter rainfall because it requires an unrealistic vertical hydraulic gradient nearly five orders of magnitude larger than that typical of Tulare Basin. We find that, regardless of the amount of rainfall, transient annual uplifts of ~3 cm occur in May to June. Using an elastic skeletal storage coefficient of 5 × 10−3, we link this ground uplift to annual groundwater level changes.

Comments of San Francisco Baykeeper et al re: Draft Staff Report on Sacramento/Delta Updates

San Francisco Baykeeper | January 19th, 2024

In the face of a growing and severe ecological crisis, the Board has spent the better part of two decades crafting updates to the Bay-Delta Plan to reasonably protect fi

In the face of a growing and severe ecological crisis, the Board has spent the better part of two decades crafting updates to the Bay-Delta Plan to reasonably protect fish and wildlife beneficial uses. These delayed and too often meager efforts have so far done nothing to reverse the catastrophic path we are on, despite the potential permanent loss of these beneficial uses. The Draft Staff Report’s proposed project and the Voluntary Agreement alternatives will not change our course.