San Francisco Bay

The Economic Value of Efficiency for California Water Service: Lower Water Bills

Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) | June 28th, 2024

Prior to 2009, California Water Service Company (Cal Water) did not meter all its water customers, did not have conservation rates, and did not offer a robust set of cons

Prior to 2009, California Water Service Company (Cal Water) did not meter all its water customers, did not have conservation rates, and did not offer a robust set of conservation programs. Per capita water use had been flat or increasing prior to this period. In 2009, Cal Water adopted conservation rate designs (increasing block rates, IBRs), increased conservation program expenditures by more than three-fold and implemented an accelerated schedule to convert unmetered customers to metered water service. Per capita water demand has decreased steadily since 2009. These innovative strategies related to water efficiency, conservation, and rates over the years pose the questions: What would the economic impact on bills have been if none of these activities occurred? Are bill-paying customers better or worse off?

The Economics of Ending Delta Water Exports Versus the Peripheral Canal: Checking the Data of the PPIC

University of the Pacific | December 16th, 2008

This economic analysis was written by Dr. Jeffrey Michael with the University of the Pacific Eberhardt School of Business. He writes, "The issue of a peripheral canal

This economic analysis was written by Dr. Jeffrey Michael with the University of the Pacific Eberhardt School of Business. He writes, "The issue of a peripheral canal has returned to the center of the debate about the future of the Delta. The case for building a peripheral canal has recently received a major boost from a report by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) that endorses the peripheral canal as the best long-run solution for the Delta. The PPIC report considers alternative strategies, most notably ending Delta water exports. They find that ending Delta water exports is significantly better for the environment than a peripheral canal, but reject the strategy because it is too costly. However, the PPIC’s cost estimates are exaggerated. They depend on inaccurate assumptions that utilize outdated, undocumented, or fabricated sources. When adjustments are made to their population growth, water recycling cost, and desalination cost assumptions to reflect the best, documented sources, the cost of ending Delta exports are likely to be similar to a peripheral canal. With similar costs, ending Delta exports is the best strategy due to its superior environmental benefits."

The Economy of the State Water Project

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | December 14th, 2023

The State Water Project (SWP) is among the world's most extensive water conveyance projects, featuring a 705-mile-long network of dams, reservoirs, hydroelectric faciliti

The State Water Project (SWP) is among the world's most extensive water conveyance projects, featuring a 705-mile-long network of dams, reservoirs, hydroelectric facilities, pumping plants, and canals. The State Water Project plays a key role in the state’s economy. It supplies over 27 million Californians, a majority of the state’s population, along with commercial and industrial customers, including in the technology and manufacturing sectors, that account for a majority of the state’s economic activity. Project deliveries also supply water to the agricultural sector, supporting the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, and nuts, particularly in the Central Valley, the nation’s most productive agricultural region. This reliable water source not only ensures the livelihood of residents, businesses, and farmers but also contributes significantly to the state’s economy through technology, manufacturing, and agricultural exports. This report consolidates publicly available data from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and other agencies to provide policymakers with a comprehensive overview of the economy that is supported by the State Water Project.

The effects of aquatic area abundance, buffer, and hydrology on depressional wetland condition based on CRAM

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | April 1st, 2016

The effects of kaolin clay on the amphipod Eohaustorius estuarius: Part Two

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | April 3rd, 2017

A number of lines-of-evidence suggest that the amphipod Eohaustorius estuarius has variable tolerance to clay in sediments. In Phase 1 of the current RMP special study, l

A number of lines-of-evidence suggest that the amphipod Eohaustorius estuarius has variable tolerance to clay in sediments. In Phase 1 of the current RMP special study, laboratory dose-response experiments were conducted in 2014 with kaolin clay to evaluate whether clay effects varied with amphipod size. The results indicated that smaller amphipods were more tolerant of clay than larger individuals. Average survival was 81%, 79%, and 65% for small, medium and large amphipods, respectively, in concentrations > 50% clay. As part of Phase 2 confirmation studies conducted in 2015-2016, the original kaolin dose-response experiments were repeated. Results of this experiment showed that average amphipod survival was 88%, 63%, and 41% for small, medium and large amphipods, respectively, in concentrations > 50% clay. Standard 96-hour reference toxicant tests with cadmium chloride (CdCl2) were conducted to determine whether there were size-specific differences in response to this metal reference toxicant. The CdCl2 median lethal concentrations (LC50s) for small, medium and large amphipods were 6.78, 5.13, and 4.63 mg/L, respectively. Responses of all three size classes to cadmium were within historic confidence intervals for this reference metal, and were not significantly different from one another based on overlapping confidence intervals. Additional experiments with high clay reference site sediments from San Francisco Bay were conducted to confirm the size related response with field sediments. The results confirm that use of smaller amphipods in routine monitoring of high clay sediments will reduce the influence of this factor on test results. 

The Effects of Salmon Fisheries on Southern Resident Killer Whales

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | November 30th, 2012

The evolution of dam induced river fragmentation in the United States

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | June 28th, 2023

The Extraordinary California Drought of 2013/2014: Character, Context, and The Role of Climate Change

American Meteorological Society (AMS) | September 30th, 2014

Nearly the entire state of California experienced extremely dry conditions during 2013 (Fig. 2.1a). Statewide, 12-month accumulated precipitation was less than 34% of

Nearly the entire state of California experienced extremely dry conditions during 2013 (Fig. 2.1a). Statewide, 12-month accumulated precipitation was less than 34% of average (Fig. 2.1b), leading to a wide range of impacts. In early 2014, state and federal water agencies announced that agricultural water users in the Central Valley would receive no irrigation water during 2014 (DWR 2014; USBR 2014), and that a number of smaller communities throughout California could run out of water entirely within a 90-day window (USDA 2014a). Low rainfall, unusually warm temperatures, and stable atmospheric conditions affected the health of fisheries and other ecosystems (CDFW 2014), created highly unusual mid-winter wildfire risk (CAL FIRE 2014), and caused exceptionally poor air quality (BAAQMD 2014). Such impacts ultimately resulted in the declaration of a state-level “drought emergency” and the federal designation of all 58 California counties as “natural disaster areas” (USDA 2014b). *From Explaining Extreme Events of 2013 from a Climate Perspective, Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 95 (9), S1–S96.

The Final State Water Project Delivery Capability Report 2019

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | August 26th, 2020

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has authority under state law to construct, operate, and maintain the State Water Project (SWP) to manage, store and de

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has authority under state law to construct, operate, and maintain the State Water Project (SWP) to manage, store and deliver water for the benefit of the State. This report is intended to provide information about the key factors affecting the operation of the SWP in California, its long-term capability as a source of water for beneficial use, and an estimate of its current delivery capability. This report meets the requirements of Attachment B to the Monterey Plus Settlement Agreement of May 2003. Water provided by the SWP is a major source of the water supplies available to many SWP contractors. SWP contractors consist of 29 public entities that include cities, counties, urban water agencies, and agricultural irrigation districts. SWP contractors’ local/regional water users have long-term contracts with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) for all, or a portion of their water supply needs. Thus, the delivery capability of water from the SWP system is an important component in the water supply planning of its recipients, and ultimately affects the amount of water available for beneficial use in California. The availability of these water supplies may be highly variable. A sequence of relatively wet water years1 may be followed by a varying sequence of dry or critically dry years. Having good and reliable estimates on how much water each water user under contract with DWR will receive in a given year—whether it be a wet water year, a critical year, or somewhere in between—gives Contractors a better sense of the degree to which they may need to implement increased conservation measures, or plan for new facilities or back up sources of water to meet their needs. The geography of California and the infrastructure of water transfer from the source areas, located in the Sierra Mountain Range, to areas of demand for water, makes the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta a key feature of the SWP’s ability to deliver water to its agricultural and urban Contractors in the North Bay, the South Bay, California Central Valley, and Southern California. All but five of the 29 SWP Contractors receive water deliveries by diversions from the Delta. These water diversions are pumped by either the Harvey O. Banks or Barker Slough pumping plants. DWR, and the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), the managing entities of the two statewide systems of water transfer in California, face numerous challenges in the operation of their diversion facilities in the Delta, and are regulated by several state and federal agencies to maintain, and enhance the Delta’s long-term sustainability. Maintaining suitable quality of water flowing in the channels of the Delta for the numerous in-basin beneficial uses, and the protection of endangered and threatened fish species, are important factors of concern for the operators of the Delta export diversion facilities. Ongoing regulatory restrictions, such as those aimed at protecting the estuary’s resident and migratory fish species are major challenges to a reliable, and at the same time, sustainable water delivery capability of both, SWP and the Central Valley Project (CVP) systems. Complications induced by climate change also pose the threat of increased variability in floods and droughts, and the projected sea level rise, caused by the increase in average temperature, complicate efforts to manage salinity levels in the channels affected by tides. Higher ocean levels could result in more frequent water quality degradation in the Delta channels requiring additional outflow from the Delta to maintain water quality objectives, and reduced delivery capability. Among the other challenges are continued subsidence of Delta islands, many of which are already below sea level, maintained by relatively unstable levee system, and the related threat of a catastrophic levee failure as water pressure increases on fragile levees. The analyses in this report factor in all the current regulations governing SWP and CVP operations in the Delta and upstream, and assumptions about water uses upstream in the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River watersheds. Analyses were conducted that considered the amounts of water that SWP Contractors use, and the amounts of water they choose to hold for use in a subsequent year.

The Future of California’s Water-Energy-Climate Nexus

Pacific Institute | September 9th, 2021

Water and energy are inextricably linked in California and, as one resource faces constraints or challenges, so does the other. With the state looking to both reach its c

Water and energy are inextricably linked in California and, as one resource faces constraints or challenges, so does the other. With the state looking to both reach its climate change goals and decarbonize its economy through a transition to 100 percent clean energy, water will play an integral role. Water is a key input for energy production, and energy is integral to all aspects of water management and use in California—including collection, treatment, heating, and wastewater management. Prior studies have estimated that about 20 percent of California’s total statewide electricity use, a third of non-power plant natural gas consumption, and 88 billion gallons of diesel consumption are related to water—from collection and treatment to use and wastewater management—with a large share associated with heating water. These interdependencies between water and energy supplies are commonly referred to as the water-energy nexus.