From the Sierra to the Sea: The Ecological History of the San Francisco Bay-Delta Watershed

Bay Institute | January 1st, 1998

A vast watershed connects the mountain streams surrounding California’s Central Valley with San Francisco Bay and the ocean beyond. Over the course of the last two cent

A vast watershed connects the mountain streams surrounding California’s Central Valley with San Francisco Bay and the ocean beyond. Over the course of the last two centuries, much of the natural productivity, biodiversity and ecological integrity of the watershed has been destroyed by modifying the environment without fully understanding the long-term environmental consequences. Long the site of some of the nation’s most intensive conflicts over the use of land and water resources, this system is now emerging as the focus of one of the most ambitious ecological restoration efforts ever undertaken in the United States. This report was designed to provide a coherent and defensible ecological framework and information base for restoration. The need for such an historical, broad-scale perspective on system ecology stems from two fundamental principles of ecological restoration - the need to manage toward a natural template and to manage at ecosystem and landscape levels.

From wastewater treatment plants to decentralized resource factories

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | June 10th, 2024

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment: Alteration of streamflow magnitudes and potential ecological consequences: a multiregional assessment

Ecological Society of America (Wiley) | October 19th, 2010

Human impacts on watershed hydrology are widespread in the US, but the prevalence and severity of streamflow alteration and its potential ecological consequences have not

Human impacts on watershed hydrology are widespread in the US, but the prevalence and severity of streamflow alteration and its potential ecological consequences have not been quantified on a national scale. We assessed streamflow alteration at 2888 streamflow monitoring sites throughout the conterminous US. The magnitudes of mean annual (1980–2007) minimum and maximum streamflows were found to have been altered in 86% of assessed streams. The occurrence, type, and severity of streamflow alteration differed markedly between arid and wet climates. Biological assessments conducted on a subset of these streams showed that, relative to eight chemical and physical covariates, diminished flow magnitudes were the primary predictors of biological integrity for fish and macroinvertebrate communities. In addition, the likelihood of biological impairment doubled with increasing severity of diminished streamflows. Among streams with diminished flow magnitudes, increasingly common fish and macroinvertebrate taxa possessed traits characteristic of lake or pond habitats, including a preference for fine-grained substrates and slow-moving currents, as well as the ability to temporarily leave the aquatic environment.

Functional Flows in Modified Riverscapes: Hydrographs, Habitats and Opportunities

Oxford University Press (OUP) | August 5th, 2015

Building on previous environmental flow discussions and a growing recognition that hydrogeomorphic processes are inherent in the ecological functionality and biodiversity

Building on previous environmental flow discussions and a growing recognition that hydrogeomorphic processes are inherent in the ecological functionality and biodiversity of riverscapes, we propose a functional-flows approach to managing heavily modified rivers. The approach focuses on retaining specific process-based components of the hydrograph, or functional flows, rather than attempting to mimic the full natural flow regime. Key functional components include wet-season initiation flows, peak magnitude flows, recession flows, dry-season low flows, and interannual variability. We illustrate the importance of each key functional flow using examples from western US rivers with seasonably predictable flow regimes. To maximize the functionality of these flows, connectivity to morphologically diverse overbank areas must be enhanced in both space and time, and consideration must be given to the sediment-transport regime. Finally, we provide guiding principles for developing functional flows or incorporating functional flows into existing environmental flow frameworks.

Fundamentals of estimating the net benefits of ecosystem preservation: The case of the Salton Sea

Hydrobiologia (Springer) | July 15th, 2008

This article, both theoretical and methodological in nature, argues the potential merits of using a net benefits’ framework as a tool to aid policy-makers in their eff

This article, both theoretical and methodological in nature, argues the potential merits of using a net benefits’ framework as a tool to aid policy-makers in their efforts to compare Salton Sea restoration alternatives and inform the public as to the potential magnitude and distribution of trade-offs associated with each alternative. A net benefits approach can provide a more accurate comparison and evaluation of the potential net returns from public spending on Salton Sea restoration than what wouldbe provided under the suggested criteria of current legislative mandates. Furthermore, a net benefits framework provides a more lucid and systematic accounting framework by which to enumerate the full array of benefits and costs of each alternative for policy analysis. Finally, net benefits’ analysis serves to add transparency to the decision-making process sothat the public gains an understanding of how its scarce resources, including both financial and natural capital, are being appropriated. Additionally, we illustrate and emphasize the importance of estimating the non-market values associated with many of the ecosystem services provided by the Salton Sea and describe the major techniques that do so.

Funding Mechanism Inventory and Evaluation

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | December 13th, 2018

This document supports information contained in Chapter 4 of the California Water Plan Update 2018. The purpose of this document is to provide a description of th

This document supports information contained in Chapter 4 of the California Water Plan Update 2018. The purpose of this document is to provide a description of the current and novel funding mechanisms, as well as assumptions used in the funding analysis (described in Funding Scenario Analysis supporting document). The Funding Mechanism Inventory and Evaluation supporting document evaluates the current and novel funding mechanisms available to implement water resources management actions. Funding mechanisms need to be appropriate for the management actions being funded (i.e., have a nexus and applicability), be available when needed (i.e., have inter-annual reliability), and have political support (i.e., political viability). Many potential funding mechanisms are available for financing water resources management from State, local, federal, or private sources. Any of these could be applied for different capital and ongoing management actions. This document discusses a range of funding mechanisms and their potential use for capital or ongoing management actions. For capital management actions, the mechanisms include (1) existing, authorized funding streams, such as the State general fund or local taxes and assessments, and (2) limited-duration capital finance mechanisms, such as general obligation (GO) bonds or local bonds. Ongoing management actions are best supported by consistent reliable funding from mechanisms such as general fund, taxes, rates, or assessments. The characteristics of each funding mechanism are detailed in this document and are important considerations for the funding analysis in Chapter 4 of the California Water Plan Update 2018. Novel mechanisms are included in the funding analysis for demonstration and are not a substitute for the studies and legislation required for creation of these mechanisms. Local and federal mechanisms also are included to provide an understanding of historical and future cost sharing potentials. For additional information on historical expenditure levels of State, local, and federal funding mechanisms, seeHistorical Expenditures and Current and Future Funding Needs supporting document.

Funding Opportunity for Voluntary Participation in the Lower Colorado Conservation and Efficiency Program

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | October 12th, 2022

Funding Scenario Analysis

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | December 13th, 2018

This document supports information contained in Chapter 4 of the California Water Plan Update 2018. The purpose of this document is to provide a description of the fundin

This document supports information contained in Chapter 4 of the California Water Plan Update 2018. The purpose of this document is to provide a description of the funding analysis as well as the scenarios evaluated by the funding analysis. This supporting document provides the analysis called out for in the California Water Plan Update 2013 Finance Planning Framework Component 8, which recommended the development of a decision support system (DSS) to provide guidance to the State on tradeoffs in a funding plan. To respond to this recommendation, this supporting documentation describes a funding tool used in the funding analysis and how scenarios were used in the tool to evaluate tradeoffs of different approaches to funding the recommended actions described in Chapter 3 of the California Water Plan Update 2018. The funding analysis used information about historical expenditures and funding need developed in the Historical Expenditures and Current and Future Funding Needs supporting document and information about existing and novel funding mechanisms developed in the Funding Mechanism Inventory and Evaluation supporting document. 

Funding Water in Times of Financial Uncertainty: The Case for a Public Goods Charge in California

Stanford University | January 15th, 2015

Funding for water-related public purpose projects has become increasingly scarce in California. Utilities are facing new challenges that require additional capital while

Funding for water-related public purpose projects has become increasingly scarce in California. Utilities are facing new challenges that require additional capital while the state’s legal system has restricted the ability of local governments to raise funds. This fiscal landscape requires the water sector to find new ways to finance water-related public interest projects, including conservation and efficiency programs, monitoring and evaluation, and infrastructure maintenance and modernization. California must also generate supplementary funds for new water technology research, development, and dissemination if the state is to continue to grow despite dwindling water supplies. In recent decades, California has relied heavily on general obligation (GO) bonds to finance a variety of water-related projects. GO bonds, however, are unreliable funding mechanisms as they require voter approval if they survive the legislative process, and they can be costly in the long run as they are repaid with interest. Additionally, GO bonds violate the beneficiary-pays principle as the entire state repays a debt that benefits taxpayers in certain regions more than others. This research paper looks at a supplemental funding mechanism, a Public Goods Charge (PGC), as an additional way for California to provide for water investment in the future. In a PGC scheme, ratepayers are charged a small, usage-related fee, and the funds are subsequently allocated to public interest projects at the local, utility, state, and broader scales. This method was used to fund electricity public purpose programs in California from 1998-2011, resulting in over $5.8 billion collected by the state’s three main Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs), with additional funds collected by local Publicly Owned Utilities (POUs), for energy innovation over 14 years. Utilities and the state as a whole benefitted economically and environmentally from the increased funding for energy efficiency, renewables, and research and development. The electricity PGC helped to transform California’s energy landscape into one that includes more modern and sustainable infrastructure systems. Significant energy savings were also achieved during the PGC era.

Further Trade Wars Will Harm California Agriculture

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | September 30th, 2024

As protectionist policies gain momentum in the United States, the future of California’s agricultural trade faces pessimism. With proposals to expand tariffs on imports

As protectionist policies gain momentum in the United States, the future of California’s agricultural trade faces pessimism. With proposals to expand tariffs on imports from China and other nations, California farmers—who depend on global markets as an outlet for their almonds, wine, and other agricultural goods—are aware that there would be trade retaliation from our trading partners. If a significant new trade war develops, California could see a quarter of its agricultural exports wiped out, costing the state’s economy $6 billion annually.