The California Peripheral Canal: Who Backed It, Who Fought It

California Agriculture (UCANR) | January 3rd, 1983

The Colorado River Aqueduct

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) | July 5th, 2021

The Complete Story of the Project: Its Purposes, Plans, and Progress of Construction

Scientific American | September 1st, 1932

IN THE Black Canyon of the Colorado, where the river forms the boundary between the states of Arizona and Nevada, the Government of the United States through the Depa

IN THE Black Canyon of the Colorado, where the river forms the boundary between the states of Arizona and Nevada, the Government of the United States through the Department of the Interior and directly by the Bureau of Reclamation has started construction of Hoover Dam. On September 17, 1930, constructional activities were formally inaugurated by Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur, and since that date, under the supervision and control of the Bureau of Reclamation, headed by Commissioner Elwood Mead, the building of the dam has progressed rapidly. Construction operations are carried out under the direction of R. F. Walter, Chief Engineer of the Bureau of Reclamation, represented in the field by the writer.

The Delta Plan: Ensuring a reliable water supply for California, a healthy Delta ecosystem, and a place of enduring value

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | May 16th, 2013

The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is the grand confluence of California’s waters, the place where the state’s largest rivers merge in a web of channels—and in

The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is the grand confluence of California’s waters, the place where the state’s largest rivers merge in a web of channels—and in a maze of controversy. The Delta is a zone where the wants of a modern society come into collision with each other and with the stubborn limitations of a natural system. In 2009, seeking an end to decades of conflict over water, the Legislature established the Delta Stewardship Council with a mandate to resolve long-standing issues. The first step toward that resolution is the document you have before you, the Delta Plan.

The economic value of local water supplies in Los Angeles

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | May 21st, 2018

Los Angeles imports water over long distances to supplement local supplies. Reduced reliability of the available imports is driving many local agencies to promote conserv

Los Angeles imports water over long distances to supplement local supplies. Reduced reliability of the available imports is driving many local agencies to promote conservation and enhance local water sources. These include stormwater capture, water reuse and groundwater. But financial considerations are often a significant impediment to project development, especially when comparing new and existing sources. Here we demonstrate a comprehensive approach for evaluating the economic implications of shifting to local water reliance in Los Angeles County. We show that local water supplies are economically competitive. Results from integrated hydroeconomic modelling of urban water in Los Angeles identify cost-effective water supply portfolios and conservation targets. Considering costs across the ‘full-cycles’ of urban water supply that span agency boundaries yields better comparisons of planning alternatives. Throughout the region, many water retailers could successfully mitigate effects of imported water cuts while still supporting drought-tolerant landscapes, but some would suffer due to over-reliance on imports. Updating economic assessment methods would support needed innovations to achieve local reliance in Los Angeles, including infrastructure investments, institutional reforms, many more drought-tolerant landscapes and reallocated groundwater rights.

The evolution of dam induced river fragmentation in the United States

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

The Evolution of the Urban Infrastructure in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

National Academy of Sciences (NAS) | December 3rd, 1984

This chapter* discusses the origins and development of the urban capital infrastructure in the United States since 1790. Urban infrastructure is defined as the "sinews"

This chapter* discusses the origins and development of the urban capital infrastructure in the United States since 1790. Urban infrastructure is defined as the "sinews" of the city: its road, bridge, and transit networks; its water and sewer lines and waste disposal facilities; its power systems; its public buildings; and its parks and recreation areas.1 In developing an analysis, the chapter draws on history in three ways: to furnish perspectives on the evolution of the urban infrastructure over time; to point to critical stages, paradigm shifts, and key turning points in history; and to provide analogies between the contemporary so-called crisis of the infrastructure and similar events in the past (see Stearns and Tarr, 1982). The chapter is structured around questions concerning the demand for public works; the factors affecting their supply; the character of the provider (public, public-private, or private); and the relationship of urban infrastructure to financial, political, technological, spatial, public health, social, and demographic considerations. *Chapter 1, Perspectives on Urban Infrastructure, edited by Royce Hanson, National Academy Press, 1984

The Future of Agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley

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

The Governance Gap: Climate Adaptation and Sea-Level Rise in the San Francisco Bay Area

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | June 27th, 2017

This report summarizes the results of an extensive study of governance for climate adaptation and sea-level rise in the San Francisco Bay Area (SF Bay Area), wh

This report summarizes the results of an extensive study of governance for climate adaptation and sea-level rise in the San Francisco Bay Area (SF Bay Area), where the concept of sea-level rise adaptation also includes coastal flooding from high tides and extreme storm events. We focus on the “governance gap” that exists between the problem of sea-level rise and the implementation of adaptation solutions that increase resilience. We take a broad view on governance as the set of institutional arrangements, governmental authorities, and public stakeholders who collectively plan and implement adaptation activities, including identifying funding strategies and the agreeing on the information basis for decision making. While most stakeholders recognize the risk of sea-level rise and other climate impacts, and have good ideas about potential on-the-ground solutions, realizing these solutions requires overcoming a series of governance challenges. All of these governance challenges are barriers to stakeholder cooperation at multiple geographic levels—local, regional, state, and federal. There are many different governmental and non-governmental actors facing the same sea-level rise problem (in “the same boat”), and coordination is required to have them “row in the same direction.” The imperative for multi-level cooperation becomes more poignant as the science on sea-level rise continues to advance, and considers the possibilities of higher average levels of sea-level rise and rapid and extreme sea-level rise due to accelerated melting of the Antarctic ice sheet. This report summarizes the major challenges, identifies the menu of possible solutions, and develops some specific recommendations on the next steps needed to remedy the governance gap and enhance the adaptive capacity of the SF Bay Area. The governance analysis is a component of the larger UC Davis/Berkeley research project called Resilience of Infrastructure as Seas Rise (RISeR), See Figure 1, which is funded by National Science Foundation to analyze the interactions between sea-level rise adaptation, transportation infrastructure, and governance in the SF Bay Area. The governance analysis was conducted in Fall 2016-Winter 2017, and is based on a qualitative case study that combines in-person interviews, focus groups, document analysis, and content analysis of interview responses. The draft report was made available to study participants in Spring 2017, along with two webinars for receiving feedback. Participants included leaders of governmental and non-governmental organizations across the SF Bay Area region. The research focused mainly on sea-level rise and coastal flooding, but also linked to broader issues of climate adaptation when appropriate. Focus groups deliberated on the best possible solutions to solving the identified governance challenges. Respondents identified the overarching governance challenge as the imperative for multi-level cooperation among all sea-level rise adaptation stakeholders. Sea-level rise adaptation entails interdependencies, where the vulnerabilities and adaptation decisions of local actors impose regional costs and benefits. While regional cooperation is beginning to emerge, most stakeholders see a critical need for shared learning, coordination and planning. The recommendations provided in this report are intended to accelerate the processes of learning and cooperation needed to address the increasingly urgent problem of sea-level rise and coastal flooding.

The human impact on North American erosion, sediment transfer, and storage in a geologic context

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | November 26th, 2020