Living with Water Scarcity

David Zetland | August 5th, 2014

“Don’t panic. It is easy to live with water scarcity. Use politics to allocate community water before using economics to ration commodity water," says author David Z

“Don’t panic. It is easy to live with water scarcity. Use politics to allocate community water before using economics to ration commodity water," says author David Zetland. Scarcity is a perception. Shortage is a fact. Most of us deal with scarcity every day. We spend our time going places, doing things and seeing people. We spend our money on products and services. We wouldn’t mind a bit more time and money, but at least we get some of what we want. Shortage is worse than scarcity because you can’t get any of what you want, even if you have time or money. Increasing water scarcity is forcing us to choose among competing wants. Some lucky people do not face these choices, but an increasing number do. Those people need to manage scarcity if they want to avoid shortage. This book is not about measuring scarcity, a perception that changes from one place to another and one community to another. This book describes appropriate solutions for living with—perhaps even thriving with — water scarcities in both quantity and quality.

Local and synoptic mechanisms causing Southern California’s Santa Ana winds

Climate Dynamics (Springer) | August 25th, 2009

The cool, moist fall and winter climate in Southern Cali- fornia is often disrupted by dry, hot days with strong winds blowing out of the desert. These ‘‘Santa Ana’

The cool, moist fall and winter climate in Southern Cali- fornia is often disrupted by dry, hot days with strong winds blowing out of the desert. These ‘‘Santa Ana’’ winds are a dominant feature of the fall and wintertime climate of Southern California (Conil and Hall 2006), and have important human and ecological impacts. First, and most pronounced, is their effect on wildfires: following the hot, dry summer, the extremely low relative humidities and gusty strong winds that occur during Santa Anas introduce extreme fire risk which often culminates in wildfires with large economic loss.

Local Groundwater Withdrawal Permitting Laws in the South?Western U.S.: California in Comparative Context

National Groundwater Association (NGWA) | December 13th, 2016

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) aims to control, for the first time in California's history, the state's significant use and depletion of groundwa

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) aims to control, for the first time in California's history, the state's significant use and depletion of groundwater. SGMA gives local agencies a high degree of discretion in relation to a new permitting power, but the discretion is a double-edged sword: agencies gain maximum flexibility to tailor their regime to local conditions, yet the statute provides no direction on appropriate components of a groundwater permitting regime. We introduce SGMA and the broader legislative context to its permitting power, and we explain the continuing common law context in which the legislation operates. This information is used as the foundation for a comparative legal analysis of fundamental elements of permitting regimes. We compare a selection of six other south-western permitting regimes established in legislation for areas recognized as requiring intensive management through permitting: “special permitting areas” (SPAs). We find that permitting regimes in south-western SPAs share a structure containing several almost universal elements, although the policy settings that apply to those elements vary widely. The established permitting regimes in the other south-western states' SPAs may inform Californian agencies seeking to use their new permitting power for the first time, as well as water agencies further afield, as to important components of a permitting regime, and the different policy settings that could apply to those components. Californian local agencies, and its Department of Water Resources, which is charged with providing local agencies technical advice, should have regard to these permitting possibilities.

Local hydraulics influence habitat selection and swimming behavior in adult California Central Valley Chinook salmon at a large river confluence

Fisheries Research (Elsevier) | February 2nd, 2023

Local Water Governance in the Delta

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | April 8th, 2014

As the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta (Delta) evolved from an historic tidally-influenced marshland to a diverse agricultural region, local water governance structures also

As the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta (Delta) evolved from an historic tidally-influenced marshland to a diverse agricultural region, local water governance structures also evolved to meet the water needs of the area. The purpose of this report is to outline the development of these local water governance structures.

Long-Distance High-Tension Transmission of Power in California

Scientific American | May 16th, 1903

In the vast developments of electric power and its transmission California is fast solving the problem of cheaper fuel and power. The remarkable development that has o

In the vast developments of electric power and its transmission California is fast solving the problem of cheaper fuel and power. The remarkable development that has occurred in the long-distance high-tension transmission of power as well as the approximate magnitude of the transmission industry is directly traceable to the absence of coal in material quantities in this State and the corresponding high price of mechanical power. The great cost of steam power at the time of earliest efforts toward electric transmission was responsible for the turn of the California tide of engineering effort from the coal pile to the waterfall as the most promising source of energy whence to operate the rapidly growing electrical industries of the Golden State.

Long-Term Central Valley Project Operations Criteria and Plan CVP-OCAP

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | July 1st, 2004

This document has been prepared to serve as a baseline description of the facilities and operating environment of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project

This document has been prepared to serve as a baseline description of the facilities and operating environment of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP). The Central Valley Project - Operations Criteria and Plan (CVP-OCAP) identifies the many factors influencing the physical and institutional conditions and decision-making process under which the project currently operates. Regulatory and legal requirements are explained, alternative operating models and strategies described. The immediate objective is to provide operations information for the Endangered Species Act, Section 7, consultation. The long range objective is to integrate CVP-OCAP into the proposed Central Valley document.  It is envisioned that CVP-OCAP will be used as a reference by technical specialists and policymakers in and outside Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in understanding how the CVP is operated. The CVP-OCAP includes numeric and nonnumeric criteria and operating strategies. Emphasis is given to explaining the analyses used to develop  typical operating plans for simulated hydrologic conditions. All divisions of the CVP are covered by this document, including the Trinity River Division, Shasta and Sacramento River Divisions, American River Division, Delta Division, West San Joaquin Division, and Friant Division.

Long-term climate and competition explain forest mortality patterns under extreme drought

Ecology Letters (Wiley) | December 20th, 2016

Rising temperatures are amplifying drought‐induced stress and mortality in forests globally. It remains uncertain, however, whether tree mortality across drought‐stri

Rising temperatures are amplifying drought‐induced stress and mortality in forests globally. It remains uncertain, however, whether tree mortality across drought‐stricken landscapes will be concentrated in particular climatic and competitive environments. We investigated the effects of long‐term average climate [i.e. 35‐year mean annual climatic water deficit (CWD)] and competition (i.e. tree basal area) on tree mortality patterns, using extensive aerial mortality surveys conducted throughout the forests of California during a 4‐year statewide extreme drought lasting from 2012 to 2015. During this period, tree mortality increased by an order of magnitude, typically from tens to hundreds of dead trees per km2, rising dramatically during the fourth year of drought. Mortality rates increased independently with average CWD and with basal area, and they increased disproportionately in areas that were both dry and dense. These results can assist forest managers and policy‐makers in identifying the most drought‐vulnerable forests across broad geographic areas.

Long-term groundwater depletion in the United States

National Groundwater Association (NGWA) | December 15th, 2014

The volume of groundwater stored in the subsurface in the United States decreased by almost 1000 km3 during 1900–2008. The aquifer systems with the three largest volu

The volume of groundwater stored in the subsurface in the United States decreased by almost 1000 km3 during 1900–2008. The aquifer systems with the three largest volumes of storage depletion include the High Plains aquifer, the Mississippi Embayment section of the Gulf Coastal Plain aquifer system, and the Central Valley of California. Depletion rates accelerated during 1945–1960, averaging 13.6 km3/year during the last half of the century, and after 2000 increased again to about 24 km3/year. Depletion intensity is a new parameter, introduced here, to provide a more consistent basis for comparing storage depletion problems among various aquifers by factoring in time and areal extent of the aquifer. During 2001–2008, the Central Valley of California had the largest depletion intensity. Groundwater depletion in the United States can explain 1.4% of observed sea‐level rise during the 108‐year study period and 2.1% during 2001–2008. Groundwater depletion must be confronted on local and regional scales to help reduce demand (primarily in irrigated agriculture) and/or increase supply.

Long-term Monitoring of Pollutants in Fish and Mussels Documents Major Improvements and Persistent Problems

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | December 1st, 2007

Of the 390 sites sampled between 1998 and 2003, 32 percent fell into the “low” contamination category. These sites were scattered throughout the state, with

Of the 390 sites sampled between 1998 and 2003, 32 percent fell into the “low” contamination category. These sites were scattered throughout the state, with a particular prevalence in the Sierra Nevada and the area north of San Diego. Unfortunately, the Delta region had relatively few sites with low concentration of pollutants. In general, PCB and DDT levels in fish and mussels across California have declined greatly since the 1970s, and many species have bounced back in response to the decline in DDT levels. However, the report also found that present concentrations of pollutants in fish collected from many California water bodies are high enough to cause concern for possible effects on human health and to have a significant impact on the fishing beneficial use. The report found that fish in 68 percent of the water bodies sampled have “moderate to very high levels of mercury or persistent organics (such as PCBs and organochlorinated pesticides like DDT).” Consumption advisories exist for only a fraction of the water bodies likely to need them. Many water bodies with elevated contaminant levels in fish are near population centers and are popular for fishing. Furthermore, subsistence fishing is increasing, and consumption of contaminated fish is an environmental justice issue.