Tribal Communication Plan

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | June 1st, 2008

Tulare Lake Fact Sheet

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | October 12th, 2023

UC groundwater research: A survey

California Agriculture (UCANR) | March 13th, 2018

As California implements the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), UC research is building knowledge and supporting innovation in groundwater recharge, groundwat

As California implements the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), UC research is building knowledge and supporting innovation in groundwater recharge, groundwater accounting, groundwater quality, groundwater governance and more. Here's a sample of work from across the UC system: whole watershed accounting; water availability for recharge; precision data on snowmelt; spatial data on well vulnerability; large scale groundwater recharge and agricultural systems; groundwater-surface water interactions; groundwater quality and salinity; water supply, land use and rural communities; data on water use and water rights; managed aquifer recharge on farmland; soil suitability for recharge; distributed stormwater collection; net metering for groundwater; geophysical imaging; groundwater governance; lessons on groundwater permitting from around the West; supporting Groundwater Sustainability Plan development; the economics of sustainable groundwater management; and considerations for groundwater markets.

Urban hydrology and water management— Present and future challenges

Urban Water (Elsevier) | March 1st, 1999

Urban hydrology is an applied science that will have an increasing role to play in the sustainability of human societies. Facing present growth of urban population, it is

Urban hydrology is an applied science that will have an increasing role to play in the sustainability of human societies. Facing present growth of urban population, it is increasingly difficult to find and utilize new sources of water necessary to satisfy growing water demand. For the poor, the residents of peri-urban and squatter areas, an ultimate poverty, the poverty of lacking clean water, is a result. To remove this kind of poverty should be a first priority target for all people and, especially, for people dealing with water management in urban areas. Growth of urban areas brings significant changes in physical properties of land surface increasing integrated vulnerability of inhabitants, agricultural land and rural ecological life supporting systems. Performance of technical solutions depends on climate as well as on social, economical and cultural conditions. Findings from urban hydrological studies based on collection of urban hydrological data, calculations and modeling constitute a necessary fundamental for meaningful water management not only in urban areas but also in entire river basins. Future challenges in urban water management include development of new technical solutions as well as logistic and organizational methods in order to turn present problems into future opportunities. The following current and emerging challenges are discussed in the paper: delivery of drinking water supply for growing cities, water for sanitation versus sanitation without water, recycling of wastewater nutrients, wastewater irrigation, urban agriculture, water to feed depleted aquifers, thoughts about possible future new system solutions, social equity and transfer of knowledge and new technology.

Urban Water Conservation in the Sacramento, California Region During the 2014-2016 Drought

ProQuest Dissertations Publishing | December 30th, 2019

Using Watershed Science to Build Consensus and Maximize Benefits of L.A. County’s Safe Clean Water Program

Accelerate Resilience LA (ARLA) | January 31st, 2022

To meet its diverse goals, SCWP scoring criteria, processes, and guidelines were initially developed to incentivize projects that simultaneously address water, environmen

To meet its diverse goals, SCWP scoring criteria, processes, and guidelines were initially developed to incentivize projects that simultaneously address water, environmental, MS4 compliance, and social issues. However, the first two SCWP funding cycles of Stormwater Investment Plans (SIP) featured extensive committee debate and public comments concerning the balance of these goals. This public debate illuminated the need for an assessment of the extent to which SCWP guidance, criteria, structure, and processes are successfully driving meaningful progress toward the fourteen SCWP Goals.

Wastewater surveillance for public health

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | January 5th, 2023

Water and Culture (Resource Management Strategy)

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 29th, 2016

This resource management strategy report presents the emerging thinking of many California Water Plan Advisory Committee members and other stakeholders regarding the impo

This resource management strategy report presents the emerging thinking of many California Water Plan Advisory Committee members and other stakeholders regarding the importance of linking cultural considerations to water management. In many respects, this resource management strategy report represents more of an annotated outline than a fully developed strategy. Even so, the water plan stakeholders asked that this resource management strategy report be included, if only to improve awareness of the need for the strategy and to continue dialogue on what it should include. Water and culture are connected in myriad ways, with subtle and complex implications for water management in California. Some cultural relationships to water are so pervasive, they may be easy to overlook. Other cultural considerations are less apparent and may be difficult to recognize. Increasing the awareness of how cultural values, uses, and practices are affected by water management, as well as how they affect water management, will help inform policies and decisions. Even regulations reflect cultural values, particularly by how they are put into practice when water is viewed as a commodity, and all the more by the sum total of laws, regulations, and policies intended to control water. Water resources have shaped the history of California, contributing to the current social, cultural, and economic patterns across the state. The presence of freshwater sources has influenced the location of settlements and communities for hundreds, even thousands, of years. Water resources have also been pivotal to key economic activities, such as fishing, mining, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and recreation. These historic aspects of development continue to have ramifications for water managers today. Water and water-dependent resources also shape individual and collective experiences that contribute to individual and community well-being, sense of identity, and connection with the natural world. These experiences are inextricably linked to values, traditions, and lifestyles, which in turn inform perspectives and expectations regarding water resources and conditions. Cultural considerations by their nature are inherently linked to every resource management strategy. More importantly, the consideration of culture in water management decisions is, in many cases, legally mandated by State and federal laws. Utilizing cultural considerations in the framing, development, and promotion of management decisions is vital to ensuring legal compliance and sustainable practices.

Water and wastewater infrastructure inequity in unincorporated communities

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

Water Demand Projection Accuracy and Demand Management Trends in California Cities

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | November 21st, 2025

This study investigates the accuracy of long-term water demand projections and tracks the evolution of water demand management incentives across 61 California water suppl

This study investigates the accuracy of long-term water demand projections and tracks the evolution of water demand management incentives across 61 California water suppliers from 2000 to 2020. Through a systematic analysis of Urban Water Management Plans, we find that water suppliers consistently overestimated future demand by an average of 25% for 5-year projections and 74% for 20-year projections. This overestimation stems primarily from assumptions about per capita water demand rather than population growth estimates. While suppliers generally projected stable or increasing per capita demand, actual water demand per capita declined by 1.9% annually between 2000 and 2020, leading to a decoupling of water demand from population growth. Concurrently, we document a substantial increase in water demand management incentives, with non-voluntary regulations emerging as the dominant demand management approach by 2020, largely driven by state policies like the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance and California Green Building Standards. Demand management efforts have evolved from primarily indoor and educational initiatives toward outdoor-focused non-voluntary regulations and rebates. This shift appears closely linked to the reduction in per capita demand that suppliers failed to fully capture in their water demand projections. Our findings underscore the importance of incorporating dynamic conservation trends into demand projections and suggest that suppliers should develop more sophisticated forecasting methods that account for the continuing evolution of water efficiency incentives. This research provides valuable insights for water resource planners seeking to improve the accuracy of water demand projections in an era of increasing conservation and climate uncertainty.