Impacts of California’s Ongoing Drought: Hydroelectricity Generation 2015 Update

Pacific Institute | February 1st, 2016

The Pacific Institute has released a comprehensive assessment of the costs to California of lost hydroelectricity during the four years of drought from October 2011 to th

The Pacific Institute has released a comprehensive assessment of the costs to California of lost hydroelectricity during the four years of drought from October 2011 to the end of September 2015 (the official California “water year” runs from October 1 to September 30). Under normal conditions, electricity for the state’s millions of users is produced from a blend of many sources, with natural gas and hydropower being the top two. Since the drought has reduced the state’s river flows that power hundreds of hydropower stations, natural gas has become a more prominent player in the mix. This is an expensive change. According to the Institute’s new report, the four years of drought led to an increase in electricity costs of more than $2.0 billion. The additional combustion of fossil fuels for electric generation also led to a 10 percent increase in the release of carbon dioxide from California power plants. “The impacts of the California drought – which is the driest and the hottest in 120 years of instrumental records and one of the worst in history – has had widespread  impacts on all water users, including farmers, industries, cities, and natural ecosystems,” said the report’s author, Pacific Institute President Peter Gleick. “And in fact, all California ratepayers are affected by the drought as they pay for electricity that is both dirtier and more expensive than in non-drought years.” In addition, the report notes that the ability to expand California’s hydroelectric capacity is limited, as there are few undammed rivers, little unallocated water, and growing environmental, economic, and political constraints to adding new hydropower capacity.

Impacts of the California Drought from 2007 to 2009: Surprising Outcomes for California’s Agriculture, Energy, and Environment

Pacific Institute | June 16th, 2011

California’s three-year drought, which ended with this season’s cool and wet weather, had complicated and serious impacts that have been poorly understood and reporte

California’s three-year drought, which ended with this season’s cool and wet weather, had complicated and serious impacts that have been poorly understood and reported. Some of the impacts were expected; others were surprising. The Pacific Institute has just completed a nine-month assessment of new data from California’s agricultural, energy, and environmental sectors to evaluate actual consequences of the drought for the state. Analysis of state and federal data released over the past year finds that contrary to much of the media reporting, California’s agricultural community proved flexible and resilient, generating agri­cultural revenues in 2007, 2008, and 2009 that were the highest on record. And agriculture-related occupations remained a stable portion of total jobs available in areas directly impacted by water supply restrictions. Less frequently reported were the substantial impacts on energy production and aquatic ecosystems during the drought, which were economically and environmentally significant. “More severe drought is inevitable, and the U.S. – and California in particular – has not reformed drought monitoring, evaluation, planning, and response strategies the way other countries and regions have,” said Juliet Christian-Smith, senior research associate at the Pacific Institute and lead author of the report. “To become more resilient to future droughts, it will be critical to shift from crisis-driven responses to long-term mitigation strategies.” The Pacific Institute analysis, Impacts of the California Drought from 2007-2009, focused on three drought-sensitive sectors: agricultural production, energy production, and ecosystem health.  

Independent Forensic Team Report: Oroville Dam Spillway Incident

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | January 5th, 2018

The Oroville Dam spillway incident was caused by a long-term systemic failure of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), regulatory, and general i

The Oroville Dam spillway incident was caused by a long-term systemic failure of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), regulatory, and general industry practices to recognize and address inherent spillway design and construction weaknesses, poor bedrock quality, and deteriorated service spillway chute conditions. The incident cannot reasonably be “blamed” mainly on any one individual, group, or organization. During service spillway operation on February 7, 2017, water injection through both cracks and joints in the chute slab resulted in uplift forces beneath the slab that exceeded the uplift capacity and structural strength of the slab, at a location along the steep section of the chute . The uplifted slab section exposed the underlying poor quality foundation rock at that location to unexpected severe erosion, resulting in removal of additional slab sections and more erosion . Responding to the damage to the service spillway chute necessitated difficult risk tradeoffs while the lake continued to rise. The resulting decisions, made without a full understanding of relative uncertainties and consequences, allowed the reservoir level to rise above the emergency spillway weir for the first time in the project’s history, leading to severe and rapid erosion downstream of the weir and, ultimately, the evacuation order. . . . There were many opportunities to intervene and prevent the incident , but the overall system of interconnected factors operated in a way that these opportunities were missed. Numerous human , organizational, and industry factors led to the physical factors not being recognized and properly addressed, and to the decision-making during the incident.

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

United States Congress | August 6th, 2022

Click "get document" for the entire bill. Scroll below to see its drought relief amendment.

Click "get document" for the entire bill. Scroll below to see its drought relief amendment.

Integrated Water Operations in California: Hydropower, Overdraft, and Climate Change

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | July 16th, 2015

Several management and climate cases are evaluated with the updated CALVIN, a hydro-economic optimization model of California’s inter-tied water supply infrastructure.

Several management and climate cases are evaluated with the updated CALVIN, a hydro-economic optimization model of California’s inter-tied water supply infrastructure. Updates to the CALVIN model include new projected 2050 agricultural target demands and scarcity penalties, improvements to network-flow representation, especially agricultural, urban, and wildlife refuge demands, and extended surface and ground water hydrology, now covering an 82-year historical inflow hydrology. A new energy price scheme is applied to CALVIN, which incorporates hourly energy price variations into monthly CALVIN operations. Using one constant average price for a month underestimates hydropower revenue and overestimates pumping costs. Hourly-varying moving average prices improved representation of hydropower revenue without creating significant scarcities to agricultural and urban water users. Effects of ending long-term groundwater overdraft in the Central Valley are evaluated with several management cases using CALVIN. The cases include effects of Delta outflow and Delta exports from a “no overdraft” policy. The least cost overdraft that minimizes groundwater pumping and scarcity costs is calculated for the 82-year period. Prohibiting Delta exports result in severe water scarcities south of the Delta. Water operations are more economical when overdraft is ended with adaptations, such as more Delta exports, increased groundwater banking, and water trades, than historical operations with overdraft. Finally, climate change effects under a warmer and drier climate scenario are studied and results are compared to historical hydrology. A drier and warmer climate shifts the timing and magnitude of stream flows. Spring snowmelt decreases and winter flows increase. Modelled reduction in rim inflows averages about 28%. This warmer-drier climate increases water scarcities, but adverse effects can be diminished with water sales, higher Delta exports, more conjunctive use, and wastewater recycling. 

Key Issues in Seawater Desalination in California: Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Pacific Institute | May 1st, 2013

Interest in seawater desalination in California is high, with 17 plants proposed along the California coast and two in Mexico. But removing the salt from seawater is an e

Interest in seawater desalination in California is high, with 17 plants proposed along the California coast and two in Mexico. But removing the salt from seawater is an energy-intensive process that consumes more energy per gallon than most other water supply and treatment options. A new report from the Pacific Institute series Key Issues for Seawater Desalination in California describes the energy requirements and associated greenhouse gas emissions for desalinated water and evaluates the impact of short- and long-term energy price variability on the cost of desalinated water. Energy requirements are key factors that will impact the extent and success of desalination in California. Key Issues for Seawater Desalination in California: Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions shows energy requirements for seawater desalination average about 15,000 kWh per million gallons of water produced. By comparison, the least energy-intensive options of local sources of groundwater and surface water require 0 – 3,400 kWh per million gallons; wastewater reuse, depending on treatment levels, may require from 1,000 – 8,300 kWh per million gallons; and energy requirements for importing water through the State Water Project to Southern California range from 7,900 – 14,000 kWh per million gallons. “Beyond the electricity required for the desalination facility itself, producing any new source of water, including through desalination, increases the amount of energy required to deliver and use the water produced as well as collect, treat, and dispose of the wastewater generated,” said Heather Cooley, co-director of the Pacific Institute Water Program and report author. Conservation and efficiency, by contrast, can help meet the anticipated needs associated with growth while maintaining or even reducing total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.” Desalination is a reliable source of water, which can be especially valuable during a drought. However, building a desalination plant may reduce a water utility’s exposure to water reliability risks at the added expense of an increase in exposure to energy price risk. Energy is the largest single variable cost for a desalination plant, varying from one-third to more than one-half the cost of produced water. Because of its high energy use, desalination creates or increases the water supplier’s exposure to energy price variability.

Land subsidence caused by the East Mesa geothermal field, California, observed using SAR interferometry

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | April 15th, 1997

Interferometric combination of pairs of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images acquired by the ERS-1 satellite maps the deformation field associated with the activity o

Interferometric combination of pairs of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images acquired by the ERS-1 satellite maps the deformation field associated with the activity of the East Mesa geothermal plant, located in southern California. SAR interferometry is applied to this flat area without the need of a digital terrain model. Several combinations are used to ascertain the nature of the phenomenon. Short term interferograms reveal surface phase changes on agricultural fields similar to what had been observed previously with SEASAT radar data. Long term (2 years) interferograms allow the study of land subsidence and improve prior knowledge of the displacement field, and agree with existing, sparse levelling data. This example illustrates the power of the interferometric technique for deriving accurate industrial intelligence as well as its potential for legal action, in cases involving environmental damages. *Correction appended

Land-use interactions, Oil-Field infrastructure, and natural processes control hydrocarbon and arsenic concentrations in groundwater, Poso Creek Oil Field, California, USA

Elsevier | May 7th, 2024

Long-Distance High-Tension Transmission of Power in California

Scientific American | May 16th, 1903

In the vast developments of electric power and its transmission California is fast solving the problem of cheaper fuel and power. The remarkable development that has o

In the vast developments of electric power and its transmission California is fast solving the problem of cheaper fuel and power. The remarkable development that has occurred in the long-distance high-tension transmission of power as well as the approximate magnitude of the transmission industry is directly traceable to the absence of coal in material quantities in this State and the corresponding high price of mechanical power. The great cost of steam power at the time of earliest efforts toward electric transmission was responsible for the turn of the California tide of engineering effort from the coal pile to the waterfall as the most promising source of energy whence to operate the rapidly growing electrical industries of the Golden State.

Management of the Colorado River: Water Allocations, Drought, and the Federal Role

Congressional Research Service (CRS) | April 4th, 2024

From its headwaters in Colorado and Wyoming to its terminus in the Gulf of California, the Colorado River Basin covers more than 246,000 square miles. The basin spans sev

From its headwaters in Colorado and Wyoming to its terminus in the Gulf of California, the Colorado River Basin covers more than 246,000 square miles. The basin spans seven U.S. states (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California) and two countries (the United States and Mexico). Pursuant to federal law, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), a component of the Department of the Interior (DOI), plays a prominent role in the management of the basin’s waters. In the Lower Basin (i.e., Arizona, Nevada, and California), Reclamation also serves as water master on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, a role that elevates the status of the federal government in basin water management. The federal role in managing Colorado River water is magnified by the multiple federally owned and operated water storage and conveyance facilities in the basin, which provide low-cost water and hydropower supplies.