Delta Conveyance Project: Modernizing California’s Water Infrastructure, Fast Facts 2024

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | September 13th, 2023

Delta Vision Strategic Plan

State of California | October 17th, 2008

When it was created by Governor Schwarzenegger’s Executive Order S-17-06 in 2006, the charge of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force (Task Force) was nothing less th

When it was created by Governor Schwarzenegger’s Executive Order S-17-06 in 2006, the charge of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force (Task Force) was nothing less than to create a vision to repair the ecological damage to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta), and then prepare a strategic plan which would sustain the Delta in future decades while ensuring a reliable water supply for the two-thirds of California’s population who depend in whole or in part on water from the Delta.

Delta Vision Strategic Plan -- from Phil Isenberg, 1939-2023

State of California | October 17th, 2008

When it was created by Governor Schwarzenegger’s Executive Order S-17-06 in 2006, the charge of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force (Task Force) was nothing less th

When it was created by Governor Schwarzenegger’s Executive Order S-17-06 in 2006, the charge of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force (Task Force) was nothing less than to create a vision to repair the ecological damage to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta), and then prepare a strategic plan which would sustain the Delta in future decades while ensuring a reliable water supply for the two-thirds of California’s population who depend in whole or in part on water from the Delta.

Depletion and response of deep groundwater to climate-induced pumping variability

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | January 23rd, 2017

Groundwater constitutes a critical component of our water resources. Widespread groundwater level declines have occurred in the USA over recent decades, including

Groundwater constitutes a critical component of our water resources. Widespread groundwater level declines have occurred in the USA over recent decades, including in regions not typically considered water stressed, such as areas of the Northwest and mid-Atlantic Coast. This loss of water storage reflects extraction rates that exceed natural recharge and capture. Here, we explore recent changes in the groundwater levels of deep aquifers from wells across the USA, and their relation to indices of interannual to decadal climate variability and to annual precipitation. We show that groundwater level changes correspond to selected global climate variations. Although climate-induced variations of deep aquifer natural recharge are expected to have multi-year time lags, we find that deep groundwater levels respond to climate over timescales of less than one year. In irrigated areas, the annual response to local precipitation in the deepest wells may reflect climate-induced pumping variability. An understanding of how the human response to drought through pumping leads to deep groundwater changes is critical to manage the impacts of interannual to decadal and longer climate variability on the nation’s water resources.

Desalination and sustainability - An appraisal and current perspective

Water Research, Elsevier | February 1st, 2016

Desalination technologies have evolved and advanced rapidly along with increasing water demands around the world since 1950s. Many reviews have focused on the techno-econ

Desalination technologies have evolved and advanced rapidly along with increasing water demands around the world since 1950s. Many reviews have focused on the techno-economic and environmental and ecological issues of the desalination technologies and emphasized the feasibility of desalination industry as an alternative to meet the water demands in many water scarce regions. Despite these efforts, many perceptions about desalination processes hinder their applications for potential water supplies. This article has two specific aims: 1) provide an overview of the desalination trends around the world and discuss the sustainability components of desalination processes in comparison with other water supply alternatives; and 2) discuss case studies for desalination, and drivers and factors that influence sustainable desalination and other alternative water sources for desalination to increase our current understanding on the sensitive and futuristic issues of water supply and resource management options for drought facing regions. Although some of the facts and recent developments discussed here show that desalination can be affordable and potentially sustainable, contributions that meaningfully address socio-economic and ecological and environmental issues of desalination processes are urgently required in this critical era of severe water stress for the present context and the future development of desalination technologies.

Development and Calibration of a Two-Dimensional Digital Model for the Analysis of the Ground-Water Flow System in the San Antonio Creek Valley, Santa Barbara County, California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | August 1st, 1985

Development of a Groundwater-Simulation Model in the Los Angeles Coastal Plain, Los Angeles County, California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | September 28th, 2021

The Los Angeles Coastal Plain (LACP) covers about 580 square miles and is the largest coastal plain of semiarid southern California. The LACP is heavily developed with mo

The Los Angeles Coastal Plain (LACP) covers about 580 square miles and is the largest coastal plain of semiarid southern California. The LACP is heavily developed with mostly residential, commercial, and industrial land uses that rely heavily on groundwater for water supply. In 2010, the LACP was home to about 14 percent of California’s population, or about 5.4 million residents. The LACP is also a major commercial and industrial hub with industries including manufacturing, aerospace, entertainment, and tourism. There has been a heavy reliance on groundwater from the LACP for many years. An average of 305,000 acre-feet per year (acre-ft/yr) of groundwater was used annually from the LACP from 1971 to 2015. The need to replenish the groundwater basins within the LACP was recognized as far back as the 1930s, when spreading grounds were first used to replenish groundwater basins and store water underground during times of water surplus to meet demands in times of shortage. Seawater intrusion resulting from freshwater pumping was first observed in the 1940s. As a result, injection of imported water through wells at what is now the West Coast Basin Barrier Project began on an experimental basis in 1951. Managed aquifer recharge from the spreading grounds and barrier wells is now a substantial component of the LACP’s groundwater supply. The average annual recharge from water spreading from 1971 to 2015 was about 120,000 acre-ft/yr, and the average annual injection into the barrier wells was about 33,000 acre-ft/yr. Other inflows include areal recharge, underflow from San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys, and onshore flow from the ocean. The average annual recharge from these sources was 100,000 acre-feet (acre-ft) from 1971 to 2015. Additionally, cross-boundary flow from Orange County into the western Orange County subareas of the LACP was simulated as 48,000 acre-ft from 1971 to 2015. This study, conducted in cooperation with the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD), involved an assessment of the historical and present status of groundwater resources in the LACP and the development of tools to better understand the groundwater system. These efforts were built upon results from previous studies and incorporate new information and developments in modeling capabilities to provide a more detailed analysis of the aquifer systems. This study includes a comprehensive compilation of geologic and hydrologic data (Chapter A), development of a chronostratigraphic model that provides a detailed description of the LACP aquifer systems (Chapter B), characterization of the groundwater hydrology of the LACP, including a down-hole analysis of grain size using lithologic and geophysical logs (Chapter C), and development and application of the Los Angeles Coastal Plain Groundwater-flow Model (LACPGM) to simulate past groundwater conditions, estimate groundwater-budget components and flow paths, and approximate future groundwater conditions under different scenarios (Chapter D).

Disappearing Arctic sea ice reduces available water in the American west

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | March 24th, 2004

Recent decreases in Arctic sea ice cover and the probability of continued decreases have raised the question of how reduced Arctic sea ice cover will influence extrapo

Recent decreases in Arctic sea ice cover and the probability of continued decreases have raised the question of how reduced Arctic sea ice cover will influence extrapolar climate. Using a fully coupled earth system model, we generate one possible future Arctic sea ice distribution. We use this ‘‘future’’ sea ice distribution and the corresponding sea surface temperatures (SSTs) to run a fixed SST and ice concentration experiment with the goal of determining direct climate responses to the reduction in Arctic sea ice that is projected to occur in the next 50 years. Our results indicate that future reductions in Arctic sea ice cover could significantly reduce available water in the American west and highlight the fact that the most severe impacts of future climate change will likely be at a regional scale.

Distribution of Lakes in the United States

Scientific American | June 12th, 1880

There are numerous lacustrine basins to be found in the States bordering the Pacific Ocean. As in other regions of the globe, their distribution is determined by the co

There are numerous lacustrine basins to be found in the States bordering the Pacific Ocean. As in other regions of the globe, their distribution is determined by the configuration of land, or, more specifically, by the forms of the great hydrographic basins in the interior of the continent; hence some general idea of the topography of the western portions of the United States is an essential preliminary.

Distribution of Landfalling Atmospheric Rivers on the U.S. West Coast During Water Year 2018 Through April

Scripps Institution of Oceanography at U.C. San Diego | March 1st, 2018

Forty-four atmospheric rivers (ARs) made landfall on the West Coast during the 2018 water year through April compared to 68 the year before, report meteorologists Chad H

Forty-four atmospheric rivers (ARs) made landfall on the West Coast during the 2018 water year through April compared to 68 the year before, report meteorologists Chad Hecht and Marty Ralph from the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at U.C. San Diego. This notes the ARs' landfall patterns, strength, geographic distribution, and timing.