North Lahontan

Targeting Public Trust Suits

Social Science Research Network (SSRN) | February 22nd, 2021

The California public trust doctrine empowers private individuals and interest groups to protect the public trust and to enforce state laws that protect the public trust.

The California public trust doctrine empowers private individuals and interest groups to protect the public trust and to enforce state laws that protect the public trust. California has long led the development of the doctrine in the United States, becoming the first state to allow citizen suits to protect the public trust in 1971. A number of other states have followed California’s lead, resulting in a significant expansion in environmental standing. This broadened standing seems to be settled law. In contrast, two California Court of Appeal decisions create some uncertainty about appropriate defendants in public trust lawsuits. These decisions counsel some caution as private parties pick their targets for public trust litigation.

The 1976–1977 California drought: A review

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | May 1st, 1978

This is the fifth and final Department of Water Resources' report on the 1976-1977 California drought, the worst in the state's history, which saw 1076, the fourth driest

This is the fifth and final Department of Water Resources' report on the 1976-1977 California drought, the worst in the state's history, which saw 1076, the fourth driest year of record, give way to 1977, the driest ever. These reports provide the most comprehensive documentation of a drought in history.  

The 2025-26 Budget: Proposition 4 Spending Plan

Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) | February 12th, 2025

The Agricultural Significance of Sunshine as Illustrated in California

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) | September 4th, 1919

The Alkaline and Boracic Lakes of California

Scientific American | July 7th, 1877

Immediately east of the range of the Sierra Nevada is an extensive region of alkaline lakes and hot springs, of which very large areas are almost totally barren, the onl

Immediately east of the range of the Sierra Nevada is an extensive region of alkaline lakes and hot springs, of which very large areas are almost totally barren, the only vegetation consisting of wild sage, yucca, a few cacti, and scanty tufts of bunch-grass. This district affords, in its many extensive craters and in its lavas, basalts, and obsidians, the most conclusive evidence of its volcanic origin, while its solfataras and boiling springs may be regarded as the last representatives of active volcanicity. Although this region is one of great scientific interest, and may eventually become industrially important, it appears to be but little known in this country, and it has therefore been thought that a brief description of the district, as well as that of the borax lakes, lying on the western side of the Sierra, might not be without interest to English readers. The most remarkable of the alkaline lakes of this portion of California are Mono and Owens Lakes.

The Application of Ground-Water Flow Models as Predictive Tools—A Review of Two Ground-Water Models of Eastern Honey Lake Valley, California-Nevada

Geological Society of America (GSA) | January 9th, 1992

In the late 1980's Washoe County, Nevada, entered into an agreement with a private water development company to develop and export groundwater from the Nevada portion of

In the late 1980's Washoe County, Nevada, entered into an agreement with a private water development company to develop and export groundwater from the Nevada portion of the arid Honey Lake Valley to the rapidly growing Reno-Sparks area. The proposed project is known as the Truckee Meadows Project (TMP). Honey Lake Valley is 35 mi north of Reno, Nevada; but is located predominantly in California. Computer groundwater models of the valley were prepared by the USGS and the TMP proponents and presented to the Nevada State Engineer to evaluate the impacts of the proposed exportation of 15,000 ac-ft annually from eastern Honey Lake Valley. By using assumptions, numbers, and data which are not justified by the scientific data, both models place unreasonable and, in some instances, artificial constraints on the geology and hydrogeology of the groundwater system rather than allowing the geology and hydrogeology to constrain the models. Neither model is useful as a predictive tool. However, the major problems with the two models fall into two fundamentally different classes. The USGS model exceeded the technical limitations of the model code and made large, inappropriate adjustments to the water budget to compensate for these undetected errors. The TMP model used a water budget that was not technically justified or explained and placed the spatial distribution of ground-water recharge and discharge beyond the realm of hydrogeologic reality.  

The Basin Characterization Model—A Regional Water Balance Software Package

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | March 22nd, 2021

This report documents the computer software package, Basin Characterization Model, version 8 (BCMv8)—a monthly, gridded, regional water-balance model—and provides det

This report documents the computer software package, Basin Characterization Model, version 8 (BCMv8)—a monthly, gridded, regional water-balance model—and provides detailed operational instructions and example applications. After several years of many applications and uses of a previous version, CA-BCM, published in 2014, the BCMv8 was refined to improve the accuracy of the water-balance components, particularly the recharge estimate, which is the most difficult to accurately assess. The improvement of the various water-balance components targeted the actual evapotranspiration component, which, in turn, reduced the uncertainty of the recharge estimate. The improvement of this component was enabled by the availability of a national, gridded actual-evapotranspiration product from the U.S. Geological Survey that was unique in its scope to combine remotely sensed spatial variability and ground-based long-term water-balance constraints. This dataset provided the ability to assess monthly actual evapotranspiration for 62 vegetation types and to perform regional calibration in watersheds throughout California with the objective of closing the water balance using improved estimates for each component. The refinements, including vegetation-specific evapotranspiration, enabled the development of applications that could explore various aspects of landscape disturbance, such as wildfire, forest management, or urbanization. The improvements to BCMv8 also provided the ability to assess long-term sustainability of water resources under a variety of management applications or future climate projections.

The Benefits of Headwater Forest Management

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | April 1st, 2020

Forests in California are increasingly vulnerable to major wildfires and droughts that threaten the benefits they provide. Improving the health of headwater forests in th

Forests in California are increasingly vulnerable to major wildfires and droughts that threaten the benefits they provide. Improving the health of headwater forests in the Sierra, in particular—where most of the state’s surface water supplies originate—will provide an array of social, economic, and environmental benefits across multiple sectors and geographies. Research by forest ecologists and wildfire behavior experts finds that the best way to realize these benefits is to reestablish and maintain lower densities of trees, which will help make these forests more resilient to fire, drought, and pests.  Healthier forests can support rural communities, reduce air quality impacts from wildfires, securely store carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect water quality from post-fire erosion, and increase water supply. The broad base of beneficiaries of headwater forest management includes rural communities in the headwater region, regions that are vulnerable to smoke impacts from major wildfires, and major urban areas and agricultural regions that receive water and hydropower from headwater forests.  Improving forest health will require a substantial lift from an array of private and public entities—along with new policies and sources of funding to facilitate complex, collaborative management. Clarifying the benefits and beneficiaries of forest management is a critical step in motivating long-term stewardship, and will inform efforts to craft financial tools, policies, and other governance solutions needed to make this heavy lift. By assessing what is known about the benefits of forest management, this report provides crucial information for ongoing policy discussions on long-term stewardship of California’s headwater forests. 

The California Water Atlas

Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) | October 24th, 1979

This book sets out to tell the biggest story in the richest and most populous state in the Union. Water lies at the basis of the modern prosperity of California, and th

This book sets out to tell the biggest story in the richest and most populous state in the Union. Water lies at the basis of the modern prosperity of California, and the history of the state is in large part the history of water development. The problems of water supply and delivery for the future are emerging among the critical issues facing not only California but the entire American Southwest over the next ten years. And yet, at a time when environmental consciousness is high and complex problems of world energy supply and international finance are part of the normal fare in our daily newspapers, water remains probably the least popularly understood of our natural resources. For a higher resolution copy, click here to be taken to Digital Commons of California State University, Monterey Bay

The California Water Plan: Projected Use and Available Water Supplies to 2010

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | December 15th, 1983