The Untapped Potential of California’s Water Supply

Pacific Institute | June 10th, 2014

California could be saving up to 14 million acre-feet of untapped water – providing more than the amount of water used in all of California’s cities in one year – w

California could be saving up to 14 million acre-feet of untapped water – providing more than the amount of water used in all of California’s cities in one year – with an aggressive statewide effort to use water-saving practices, reuse water, and capture lost stormwater, according to a new analysis released by the Pacific Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Our current approach to water use is unsustainable, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t enough water to meet our needs,” said Kate Poole, NRDC senior attorney with the water program. “At a time when every drop counts, we need to employ sensible and cost-effective 21st century solutions that will help us reduce uses today while promising new, resilient supplies for cities and farms tomorrow.” “As climate change brings more extreme weather, including droughts, ramping up forward-thinking solutions now will help us be more resilient,” said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute. “With widespread adoption of available water conservation and efficiency improvements, demand can be met more readily, less expensively, and with less pressure on our tapped-out rivers and groundwater basins. Moreover, water reuse and stormwater capture can help boost local supplies.”

The Use of Smolt Survival Estimates to Quantify the Effects of Habitat Changes on Salmonid Stocks in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers, California

Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) | July 1st, 1989

The value of ecosystem services in global marine kelp forests

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | April 18th, 2023

While marine kelp forests have provided valuable ecosystem services for millennia, the global ecological and economic value of those services is largely unresolved. Kelp

While marine kelp forests have provided valuable ecosystem services for millennia, the global ecological and economic value of those services is largely unresolved. Kelp forests are diminishing in many regions worldwide, and efforts to manage these ecosystems are hindered without accurate estimates of the value of the services that kelp forests provide to human societies. Here, we present a global estimate of the ecological and economic potential of three key ecosystem services - fisheries production, nutrient cycling, and carbon removal provided by six major forest forming kelp genera (Ecklonia, Laminaria, Lessonia, Macrocystis, Nereocystis, and Saccharina). Each of these genera creates a potential value of between $64,400 and $147,100/hectare each year. Collectively, they generate between $465 and $562 billion/year worldwide, with an average of $500 billion. These values are primarily driven by fisheries production (mean $29,900, 904 Kg/Ha/year) and nitrogen removal ($73,800, 657 Kg N/Ha/year), though kelp forests are also estimated to sequester 4.91 megatons of carbon from the atmosphere/year highlighting their potential as blue carbon systems for climate change mitigation. These findings highlight the ecological and economic value of kelp forests to society and will facilitate better informed marine management and conservation decisions.

The value of marsh restoration for flood risk reduction in an urban estuary

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | March 21st, 2024

The Value of Water Supply Reliability in Urban Water Systems

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (Elsevier) | January 4th, 1994

Reliability is an important dimension of urban water supply. While out-of-pocket losses appear small, water customers place high values on reliability. This demand for re

Reliability is an important dimension of urban water supply. While out-of-pocket losses appear small, water customers place high values on reliability. This demand for reliability can be measured by contingent valuation methods, while the costs of providing various levels of reliability can be estimated through hydrologic simulation. A framework for optimizing reliability is presented and the contingent valuation survey is described. Results from three Colorado towns are presented.

The Vernalis Adaptive Management Program (VAMP): Report of the 2010 Review Panel

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | May 11th, 2010

Panel members were asked by the Delta Science Program to carry out an independent review of a 12-year VAMP (Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan) experimental program design

Panel members were asked by the Delta Science Program to carry out an independent review of a 12-year VAMP (Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan) experimental program designed to develop water management measures that would provide protection to juvenile Chinook salmon migrating through the San Joaquin River system and associated Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) waterways. The Charge to the Panel was expressed as a series of three questions that the Panel was obligated to address: 1) Do the results to date from the VAMP study provide useful scientific information about the relationship between salmon survival and each of the following factors: Flows, Exports, and Barrier installation at the head of Old River? 2) How can the results from the VAMP to date be used to inform the State Water Resources Control Board's (SWRCB) current efforts to review and potentially revise the San Joaquin River flow objectives and their implementation? 3) How can the experiences to date from the VAMP study be used in a scientific manner to inform future monitoring and study efforts related to determining appropriate flow, operational, and water quality requirements to protect San Joaquin River fisheries (specifically Chinook salmon and steelhead)?

The vertical distribution and biological transport of marine microplastics across the epipelagic and mesopelagic water column

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | July 6th, 2019

Plastic waste has been documented in nearly all types of marine environments and has been found in species spanning all levels of marine food webs. Within these marine en

Plastic waste has been documented in nearly all types of marine environments and has been found in species spanning all levels of marine food webs. Within these marine environments, deep pelagic waters encompass the largest ecosystems on Earth. We lack a comprehensive understanding of the concentrations, cycling, and fate of plastic waste in sub-surface waters, constraining our ability to implement effective, large-scale policy and conservation strategies. We used remotely operated vehicles and engineered purpose-built samplers to collect and examine the distribution of microplastics in the Monterey Bay pelagic ecosystem at water column depths ranging from 5 to 1000 m. Laser Raman spectroscopy was used to identify microplastic particles collected from throughout the deep pelagic water column, with the highest concentrations present at depths between 200 and 600 m. Examination of two abundant particle feeders in this ecosystem, pelagic red crabs (Pleuroncodes planipes) and giant larvaceans (Bathochordaeus stygius), showed that microplastic particles readily flow from the environment into coupled water column and seafloor food webs. Our findings suggest that one of the largest and currently underappreciated reservoirs of marine microplastics may be contained within the water column and animal communities of the deep sea.

The Water Districts of California

Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) | April 1st, 1979

The Water Footprint of California’s Energy System, 1990–2012

Pacific Institute | February 1st, 2015

A new article by Julian Fulton and  Heather Cooley  evaluates the amount of water consumed in meeting California’s energy needs – also referred to as the water foot

A new article by Julian Fulton and  Heather Cooley  evaluates the amount of water consumed in meeting California’s energy needs – also referred to as the water footprint of energy. The article, published in Environmental Science and Technology, examines how the water footprint of energy changed between 1990 and 2012 – finding that the amount of water consumed substantially increased over recent decades without utilizing more of the state’s water resources, but rather by relying more heavily on water resources from outside the state. Much of that increase is attributable to the production of bioethanol, which recent energy policies have promoted to meet state greenhouse gas targets. Fulton and Cooley demonstrate that while efforts to mitigate climate change in California have been successful in reducing greenhouse gases, these policies may have shifted burdens from energy to water, rather than alleviate them. They conclude that more integrated analysis and planning of water and energy systems are needed to ensure that climate adaptation and mitigation strategies do not work at cross purposes. Abstract: California’s energy and water systems are interconnected and have evolved in recent decades in response to changing conditions and policy goals. For this analysis, we use a water footprint methodology to examine water requirements of energy products consumed in California between 1990 and 2012. We combine energy production, trade, and consumption data with estimates of the blue and green water footprints of energy products. We find that while California’s total annual energy consumption increased by just 2.6% during the analysis period, the amount of water required to produce that energy grew by 260%. Nearly all of the increase in California’s energy-related water footprint was associated with water use in locations outside of California, where energy products that the state consumes were, and continue to be, produced. We discuss these trends and the implications for California’s future energy system as it relates to climate change and expected water management challenges inside and outside the state. Our analysis shows that while California’s energy policies have supported climate mitigation efforts, they have increased vulnerability to climate impacts, especially greater hydrologic uncertainty. More integrated analysis and planning are needed to ensure that climate adaptation and mitigation strategies do not work at cross purposes.

The water footprint of water conservation using shade balls in California

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | July 16th, 2018

The interest in quick technologic fixes to complex water problems increases during extreme hydroclimatic events. However, past evidence shows that such fixes might be ass

The interest in quick technologic fixes to complex water problems increases during extreme hydroclimatic events. However, past evidence shows that such fixes might be associated with unintended consequences. We revisit the idea of using shade balls in the Los Angeles reservoir to reduce evaporation during the recent drought in California, and question its sustainability by revealing the water footprint of this technologic water conservation solution.