Water and wastewater infrastructure inequity in unincorporated communities

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | December 3rd, 2024

Water availability and subsidence in California’s Central Valley

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | September 5th, 2015

California’s Central Valley covers about 52,000 square kilometers (km2) and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. More than 250 different c

California’s Central Valley covers about 52,000 square kilometers (km2) and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. More than 250 different crops are grown in the broad alluvial filled structural trough, with an estimated value exceeding $20 billion per year (Faunt 2009) (Figure 1). Central Valley agriculture depends on state and federal water systems that divert surface water, predominantly originating from Sierra Nevada snowmelt, to agricultural fields. Because the valley is semi-arid and the availability of surface water varies substantially from year to year, season to season, and from north to south, agriculture, as it grew, developed a reliance on groundwater for irrigation.

Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley Economic Impact Analysis: Phase One Results

Water Blueprint for San Joaquin Valley | February 15th, 2020

Water Distribution System Efficiency: An Essential or Neglected Part of the Water Conservation Strategy for Los Angeles County Water Retailers?

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | November 2nd, 2015

The water governance system in Los Angeles County is complex and fragmented. Potable water supply in metropolitan Los Angeles County relies on over 100 water retailers, b

The water governance system in Los Angeles County is complex and fragmented. Potable water supply in metropolitan Los Angeles County relies on over 100 water retailers, both public and private. It is unclear how the current system with many small water retailers will succeed in promoting integrated water resource management. Among other changes, there will need to be a shifting of water supply sources from predominantly imported to more local resources through conservation, recycled water usage, stormwater capture and groundwater management. The institutional capacity of water retailers to instigate this transition will depend heavily on their capacity to maintain reliable water deliveries without significant losses from leakage and failing infrastructure. Additionally, with drought conditions prevalent in eleven of the last fourteen years in California, and increasing evidence of climate change impacts on all water resources in California, it is crucial that water retailers minimize water losses through their distribution systems to match the increasingly stringent conservation efforts required of their customers, and to efficiently utilize scarce supplies.  Until this year, existing regulations for water agencies in California only requested information about system losses for potable water systems with more than 3000 connections. These numbers were reported through Urban Water Management Plans every five years. However, loss estimates through breaks and leaks have not been separated out from other non-revenue uses of water. To date, the most effective efforts to monitor water losses in California are voluntary and limited to members of the California Urban Water Conservation Council. To understand water distribution efficiency in urban Los Angeles County, we developed a questionnaire regarding leakage monitoring, system-wide water losses, and the implementation of pre-emptive best management practices. We surveyed 10 of the approximate total of 100 water retailers. The sample was representative of retailers of many types, sizes, and geographical locations in metropolitan Los Angeles and divided into tiers of size (small, mid-sized and large) based on the number of connections served. The survey questionnaire also addressed other metrics including per capita water consumption, leakage volumes, water loss estimation methodology, water loss estimates and infrastructure monitoring and replacement. The survey indicated several findings. First, the percentage of water loss due to breaks and leaks, though possibly misrepresentative, is still a widely used metric to measure water losses. Sixty percent of the agencies sampled still monitor only ‘unaccounted for water’ and not ‘real losses’. Retailers that do measure real losses reported them to be between 3-4% of total water supplied, which is an improbably low compared to international estimates as elaborated in the literature review section. Different water retailers were divided on the efficacy of leak detection technologies, which demands more education on available leak detection technology and their usage.  Larger retailers reported greater use of most of the best management practices addressed by our survey to maintain storage and distribution systems. Most small retailers did not report prioritizing adoption and implementation of best management practices to minimize water loss. Also, small Mutual Water Companies that we contacted did not have information on distribution water losses available publicly. To improve water efficiency, small retailers could pool resources and expertise to better detect, monitor and reduce distribution water losses. Investor-owned utilities and special water districts serve a large customer base, but as a group, they were least responsive of all the sample water retailers we contacted. In summary, California water regulations should aim at recommending crucial best management practices, ensuring accurate and verifiable water loss monitoring and prescribing an effective water loss metric and maximum acceptable standard as a roadmap for water retailers 

Water Features of the Smith River Plain, Del Norte County, California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | December 1st, 1957

Water for Growth: California’s New Frontier

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | July 25th, 2005

California’s population is expected to add another 14 million people by 2030, reaching a total of 48 million. One of the most serious concerns of policymakers is wh

California’s population is expected to add another 14 million people by 2030, reaching a total of 48 million. One of the most serious concerns of policymakers is whether the state will be able to supply the water needed to sustain such a population. Although many large water projects in the past were undertaken with state and federal leadership, most current options are local or regional in scope. The frontline agencies responsible for water supply are the hundreds of municipal utilities serving the state’s residential and commercial customers. In this report, the author examines how well California is faring in meeting the water supply challenges of growth throughout the state and the extent to which local governments are integrating water supply concerns into their land-use planning. The report also evaluates progress in implementing the new “show me the water” laws, SB 610 and SB 221, which require up-front screening of water availability for large development projects.

Water from the Colorado River

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) | July 1st, 1931

It is the purpose of this booklet to outline the Boulder Canyon Dam project on the Colorado River and the Metropolitan Aqueduct. Furthermore, it seems pertinent to indica

It is the purpose of this booklet to outline the Boulder Canyon Dam project on the Colorado River and the Metropolitan Aqueduct. Furthermore, it seems pertinent to indicate the extent of the population, industrial and agricultural resources of the Metropolitan area, which stand behind and urgently require Colorado River development.

Water is a master variable: Solving for resilience in the modern era

Water Security, Elsevier | November 21st, 2019

Resilience is increasingly recognized as an imperative for any prospect of sustainable development, as it relates to our ability to sustain human well-being and progress

Resilience is increasingly recognized as an imperative for any prospect of sustainable development, as it relates to our ability to sustain human well-being and progress under the planetary and societal changes that we face now and into the future. Yet, we are ill-prepared to meet this challenge. We neither fully understand nor manage consistently for resilience of the human and natural systems that we must steward through extraordinary change. A unifying approach and common currency would help us to understand and manage for resilience under uncertain futures. Water is an essential, defining element in human and natural systems. Human civilization and water systems have co-evolved as a coupled system, with the majority of natural freshwater systems transformed to meet our demands. Shifting patters of water availability in space and time will define key pathways and tipping points for our resilience, and thus requirements for water system resilience must guide the trajectories and boundaries of human development. Here, we consider the thesis that water offers a key to unlocking the complex challenge of designing and managing for the resilience of coupled human-natural systems. We examine what constitutes a resilient system, what drives freshwater resilience, and how pathways to human resilience may be charted and navigated through the medium of water. Our theoretical treatise frames a portfolio of research that tests this thesis, including modeling and applications to water and water-dependent systems.

Water Recommendations to the Next President

Pacific Institute | September 14th, 2020

The United States faces several severe and worsening water problems. Continuing to neglect these problems will impoverish and sicken this and future generations,

The United States faces several severe and worsening water problems. Continuing to neglect these problems will impoverish and sicken this and future generations, destroy beneficial aquatic ecosystems, and threaten our economy and food supply. Smart water policies will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, improve public health, and speed our economic recovery. In this letter, we offer a short assessment of four key problems and specific recommendations for addressing them.

Water Reliability in the West - 2021 SECURE Water Act Report

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | January 4th, 2021

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is the largest wholesaler of water in the country. Reclamation delivers water for municipal, agricultural, tribal, and environment

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is the largest wholesaler of water in the country. Reclamation delivers water for municipal, agricultural, tribal, and environmental water uses, including providing one out of five farmers in the Western United States (West) with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland that produce 60 percent of the Nation’s vegetables and 25 percent of its fruits and nuts. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11), Subtitle F of Title IX of the Act (Science and Engineering to Comprehensively Understand and Responsibly Enhance [SECURE] Water Act) recognizes that changes to temperature, precipitation (rainfall and snowfall), and the timing and quantity of snowpack and runoff pose a significant challenge to the protection and use of water resources. Every 5 years, Reclamation submits a report to Congress under the SECURE Water Act that analyzes projected risks to water supplies in the West using the best available science and highlights collaborative efforts to mitigate those risks. This Water Reliability in the West - 2021 SECURE Water Act Report (2021 Report) provides a West-wide assessment of expected changes to water supplies, uses, and demands; highlights progress; and describes actions taken to increase water supply reliability since the 2016 SECURE Water Act Report. Reclamation has a broad range of programs and projects that help increase the reliability of water and power deliveries. Our activities include science and research, planning, infrastructure sustainability, efficient hydropower production, and on-the-ground actions to increase reliable water supplies to meet water demands. These activities are undertaken in collaboration with our customers, stakeholders, and partners. In the West, competing demands for water for farms, cities, Tribes, the environment, recreation, hydropower, and other uses can lead to conflict. Conflict escalates particularly during droughts, which are expected to be more frequent and severe with climate change. Fostering strong relationships is essential to carry out Reclamation’s everyday operations, conduct long-term planning efforts, and avoid unnecessary conflicts. Reclamation operators and planners rely on information about precipitation, snowpack, streamflow, temperatures, water demands, and groundwater to make informed decisions. Reclamation’s 2021 West-Wide Climate and Hydrology Assessment (2021 Assessment) builds on our 2011 and 2016 West-wide assessments of future temperature and precipitation change by using several complementary approaches, including analyses based in paleohydrology derived from tree rings (dendochronology) that help answer this question: “If droughts in the distant past were to occur today, how would water systems perform?” With our Federal, State, Tribal, and local partners, we address challenges resulting from climate change and shifting demographics. We use a multi-faceted approach to support reliable water and hydropower deliveries; to help maintain healthy ecosystems; to protect federally-listed fish, wildlife, and plants, as well as designated critical habitat; and to manage risks (e.g., droughts, floods, and fires). Implementing the SECURE Water Act has served as a catalyst for collaboration and innovation, improving our understanding of climate change impacts to water resources and our ability to address those impacts.