San Joaquin River

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 Agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | February 9th, 2023

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.

The futures market for water rights trading in California: Analyzing the emergence of a controversial experiment

Environmental Challenges (Elsevier) | March 29th, 2025

This paper presents a qualitative case study of the world's first water futures contract in California, a market that enables hedgers and speculators to bet on water pric

This paper presents a qualitative case study of the world's first water futures contract in California, a market that enables hedgers and speculators to bet on water prices. It is attempted to explain which factors shaped the emergence of the unique market by applying the Political Process Inherent Dynamics Approach (PIDA), an analytical framework from the field of environmental policy analysis. In addition, the topics of heated debate that have surrounded the new market are summarized and contextualized. To obtain the relevant information, expert interviews, complemented by online sources, were subjected to a Qualitative Content Analysis. It is concluded that the launch of the contract is an extreme case of private business actors shaping water governance, made possible by a longstanding market philosophy in the US, that gives leeway for actors of financialization to create facts. In the political-administrative realm, a lack of accountability and will to interfere seems to prevail. However, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other actors have led efforts to abolish the market, criticizing water futures in ways that resonate with broader debates about privatization and food futures.

The Great California Delta Trail: Blueprint Report for Contra Costa and Solano Counties

Delta Protection Commission (DPC) | September 1st, 2009

The Delta Trail concept was born out of Senate Bill 1556, created by Senator Torlakson and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger to facilitate the planning and feasibility pr

The Delta Trail concept was born out of Senate Bill 1556, created by Senator Torlakson and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger to facilitate the planning and feasibility process for the establishment of the Delta Trail in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The bill requires the Delta Protection Commission (DPC) to facilitate the trail’s planning and feasibility process.  This Blueprint Report reflects the outreach, feasibility, and planning process developed for the Delta Trail in Solano and Contra Costa counties through work with a broad cross-section of local agencies and stakeholders. It provides a template to be considered for the trail planning process in the other three Delta counties – Sacramento, San Joaquin and Yolo. The Blueprint Report establishes a specific vision, goals and policies for the Delta Trail. It provides a review of the Solano and Contra Costa Counties settings, a summary of related adopted policies, a review of regional trail technical issues and best practices, and an action plan to implement the vision and goals, recommended outreach and engagement strategies, a description of potential trail concepts, and information on funding opportunities.

The human factor in water disasters

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | December 14th, 2023

When water inundated parts of New York City in September 2023, 28 people had to be rescued from their cars and basement apartments. Thankfully, no one died this time. In

When water inundated parts of New York City in September 2023, 28 people had to be rescued from their cars and basement apartments. Thankfully, no one died this time. In 2021, flooding in New York killed 11 people. Neighbourhoods in the city also flooded in 2020 and 2022, and it’s not just New York. Floods are becoming increasingly frequent and severe globally, as are droughts. Steve Bowen, chief science officer for reinsurance firm Gallagher Re in London, described the most recent New York floods on X (formerly Twitter) as “the latest example of ageing infrastructure built for a climate that no longer exists”. Such sentiments are common, and frequently followed by calls for more infrastructure: bigger levees and seawalls, larger pipes and stormwater tanks, and more dams, aqueducts and desalination plants.

The Human Right to Water Bill in California

University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) | July 1st, 2013

The impact of pricing structure change on residential water consumption: A long-term analysis of water utilities in California

Water Resources and Economics (Elsevier) | February 10th, 2024

California's demand-side urban water management policies, such as shifting water pricing structures from non-conservation to conservation-based rates, have received much

California's demand-side urban water management policies, such as shifting water pricing structures from non-conservation to conservation-based rates, have received much attention in terms of meeting the state's short- and long-term water conservation policies. This paper quantifies the effect of pricing structure changes on residential water consumption using a survey dataset of 189 major California water utilities from 1994 to 2019. Results of our study demonstrate that residential per capita per day water consumption was reduced by an average of 2.6% when water agencies switched from non-conservation-based to conservation-based pricing structures. We also found evidence that the longer a utility maintained a non-conservation-based rate structure before switching to conservation-based pricing, the larger the water consumption reduction in that utility's service area. In addition, utilities that reverted to non-conservation rates after having longer-term conservation pricing structures experienced smaller increases compared to having long-term non-conservation ones in water use in their service areas. This suggests evidence of a crowding-in effect for transitions from conservation-based to non-conservation-based pricing structures.