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 Resilience Plan: Rapid Assessment -- Preliminary Identification of Needs and Strategies with Significant Impact on the Region’s Water

Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW) | May 1st, 2017

This document represents one of the items set forth in the Water Resilience Work Plan presented to the Board of Supervisors in June 2016. The Rapid Assessment pre

This document represents one of the items set forth in the Water Resilience Work Plan presented to the Board of Supervisors in June 2016. The Rapid Assessment presents some of the early findings of the research to identify the most promising approaches and related financial need. As a piece of the larger Water Resilience Plan, a first draft of which Public Works plans to present to the Board in summer 2017, the Rapid Assessment provides a targeted snapshot of the research outcomes and underscores the greatest perceived needs relevant to building regional water resilience. The context of climate change and unpredictable rainfall in Southern California has greatly diminished the reliability of imported water supplies and our ability to replenish groundwater in recent years. This new reality calls for practical, effective strategies to access significant amounts of locally available water to supplement and build resilience in the region’s water supply . Currently, the County of Los Angeles manages to capture and store enough stormwater to meet the demand of one and a half million residents each year. Research has shown that implementation of a portfolio of regional stormwater capture projects could increase this amount between two- and three-fold by ensuring the region can capitalize on less regular, more intense rain events. While other sustainable sources of water should be considered and integrated into a comprehe nsive water management strategy for the region, stormwater represents an accessible, abundant resource with limited funding opportunities. Potable and recycled water are underwritten by ratepayer revenue that also supports improvement and expansion of related infrastructure. Available funding for existing stormwater capture supports current County operations and maintenance, but is insufficient for any significant expansion. Desalination has limited dedicated funding , but relies on costly treatment options that have unclear environmental impacts for the region. Significant investment in regional stormwater capture projects would have substantial impact on local water supply while contributing to improvements in overall watershed health. Stormwater capture strategies, in particular, provide unparalleled opportunities to improve water quality and enhance communities through the integration of multi-benefit approaches. New funding opportunities will be necessary to facilitate the design, implementation, and operations of centralized projects with regional benefits.

Water storage decisions will determine the distribution and persistence of imperiled river fishes

Ecological Society of America (Wiley) | December 17th, 2020

Managing the world’s freshwater supply to meet societal and environmental needs in a changing climate is one of the biggest challenges for the 21st century. Dams provid

Managing the world’s freshwater supply to meet societal and environmental needs in a changing climate is one of the biggest challenges for the 21st century. Dams provide water security; however, the allocation of dwindling water supply among reservoirs could exacerbate or ameliorate the effects of climate change on aquatic communities. Here, we show that the relative sensitivity of river thermal regimes to direct impacts of climate change and societal decisions concerning water storage vary substantially throughout a river basin. In the absence of interspecific interactions, future Colorado River temperatures would appear to benefit both endemic and nonnative fish species. However, endemic species are already declining or extirpated in locations where their ranges overlap with warmwater nonnatives and changes in water storage may lead to warming in some of the coolest portions of the river basin, facilitating further nonnative expansion. Integrating environmental considerations into ongoing water storage negotiations may lead to better resource outcomes than mitigating nonnative species impacts after the fact.

Water Stress and a Changing San Joaquin Valley

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | March 1st, 2017

The San Joaquin Valley—California’s largest agricultural region, and an important contributor to the nation’s food supply—is in a time of great change and growing

The San Joaquin Valley—California’s largest agricultural region, and an important contributor to the nation’s food supply—is in a time of great change and growing water stress. Agriculture is a leading economic driver and the predominant water user. The region’s farms and related manufacturing businesses account for 25 percent of the valley’s revenues and 16 percent of local jobs—and 89 percent of annual net water use. The latest drought underscored valley agriculture’s vulnerability to water scarcity and long-term declines in groundwater reserves. The region has a greater abundance of productive farmland than local water supplies for irrigation. In most years since the mid-1980s, groundwater has been used faster than it is being replenished (“groundwater overdraft”). Over the past three decades, overdraft has averaged nearly 2 million acre-feet per year, or 13 percent of net water use. This has contributed to increased pumping costs, dry wells, sinking lands, and declining reliability of this vital drought reserve.

Water Supply and Habitat Resiliency for a Future Los Angeles River: Site-Specific Natural Enhancement Opportunities Informed by River Flow and Watershed-Wide Action

Nature Conservancy | December 15th, 2016

The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. As the Conservancy engages with the Los Angeles region, they are inve

The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. As the Conservancy engages with the Los Angeles region, they are investigating what it means to carry out this mission in the highly urbanized Los Angeles River ecosystem. As a starting point, it is known that the basic ecological principles of science apply to all environmental systems, regardless of their location. Therefore, the Conservancy is testing these principles by applying them in the Elysian Valley of the Los Angeles River and identifying habitat enhancement requirements, opportunities, and constraints. As a basic principle of ecological systems, a watershed’s hydrology determines the flow characteristics of its river system. These flows define what the biological characteristics of that river will be, which in turn determine what kinds of habitat enhancement projects will succeed at various locations along a river. The study of the Elysian Valley included one full year of multi-taxa biological surveys, a historical ecology investigation of the Elysian Valley, and a review of historic and existing hydrological and hydraulic conditions. Major findings of this study are: Multiple Flow Scenarios = Uncertainty: There are currently multiple visions for the flow characteristics of the Los Angeles River as a whole due to differing management priorities of the agencies and stakeholders that have governance over different aspects of this hydrologic system. Bringing the various hydrologic plans and possibilities for the watershed into a single integrated vision of system flow characteristics will allow certainty and clarity at the site level for the design of habitat projects anywhere in the River system, including the Conservancy’s study area. Flows Drive Biology: The study area currently has higher flood and much higher dry weather flow rates than its historic condition. These high flow rates are supporting and encouraging non-native and invasive species. This leads to a lower level of biological diversity and resiliency than what would exist under lower flow rates, particularly during dry weather conditions. Prioritize Complementary Habitats: Enhancing and increasing the amount of perennial riparian habitat in-stream alone will not create as much biological value as identifying complementary enhancement opportunities outside of the River channel in adjacent upper terrace floodplain and upland habitats (e.g. alluvial scrub, mulefat scrub, willow scrub, oak-sycamore woodland, sage scrub, and grassland). River Adjacent Land Use: Land uses adjacent to the River and throughout the watershed are a part of the solution and part of the Los Angeles River’s biological and hydrologic system. The landscaping and hydrology of these areas should be designed to provide a value-added role to the habitat functions of the Los Angeles River ecosystem. Next steps for advancing the discussion of habitat enhancement include working with local stakeholders and agencies to find consensus on a flow condition for the River and its Watershed as a whole. In the study area itself there are six complementary project opportunities that could be implemented in the near term to advance understanding of habitat enhancement for the Los Angeles River. These smaller, localized projects can be used as pilot projects for the complicated jurisdictional and regulatory processes that all future habitat projects will have to navigate. They will provide a manageable and controlled process that will bring the necessary agencies together to identify the most effective processes for future projects throughout the Los Angeles River ecosystem.

Water Temperature Modeling Platform Mid-Term Review

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | October 21st, 2021

Water Wasted to the Sea?

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | July 15th, 2017

Water, Sanitation, and Climate Change in the United States Series, Part 2

Pacific Institute | October 15th, 2024

In the United States, federal, tribal, state, and local laws and policies exist to govern the provision of water and sanitation services to communities and homes. The law

In the United States, federal, tribal, state, and local laws and policies exist to govern the provision of water and sanitation services to communities and homes. The laws are designed to ensure the protection of public health and the environment; deliver sufficient, safe water for drinking, bathing, cooking, and other household needs; and remove and treat domestic (i.e., household) waste. People without complete plumbing or safe water live within the “water access gap.” As explored in the first report in this series, climate change—from extreme temperatures to droughts, floods, extreme storms, and wildfires—is making it hard to close this gap and keep it from growing. Water and sanitation systems in frontline communities already feel the disproportionate “first and worst” impacts of climate change to these systems and to their access to water and sanitation. Laws and policies should help anticipate and plan  or the incremental and catastrophic impacts of climate change and protect those most harmed by the effects. Unfortunately, in most cases, the climate is changing faster than the law can respond, thereby leaving frontline communities’ water and sanitation systems vulnerable to damage or destruction. This is part two in the three-part Water, Sanitation, and Climate Change in the United States series. Click here for part one and here for part three.

Watershed Action Plan Santa Ana Region - Riverside County

Riverside County | January 18th, 2017

The Watershed Action Plan (WAP) for the Santa Ana Watershed Region of Riverside County (SAR) and its Permittees is a requirement of the Riverside County Municipal Separat

The Watershed Action Plan (WAP) for the Santa Ana Watershed Region of Riverside County (SAR) and its Permittees is a requirement of the Riverside County Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4), Permit Order No. R8-2010-0033 as adopted by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) in January 29, 2010 (2010 MS4 Permit). The purpose of this requirement is to coordinate existing watershed approaches to address water quality and hydromodification impacts resulting from urbanization within the SAR. This requirement is to be achieved by evaluating existing programs relating to the integration of water quality, stream protection, stormwater management, and re-use strategies with land planning policies, ordinances, and plans within each jurisdiction to the maximum extent practicable (MEP). Throughout implementation of the 2010 MS4 Permit along with the development of this plan, the Regional Board has emphasized that the plans for each jurisdiction should address cumulative impacts of development on vulnerable streams; preserve or restore, consistent with the MEP standard, the structure and function of streams; and protect surface water and groundwater quality.

Watershed Condition, Turbidity, and Implications for Anadromous Salmonids in North Coastal California Streams

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | May 21st, 2008

It is widely acknowledged that historically intensive human disturbances increased erosion and sediment delivery rates to extreme levels in the 1950s through the 1970s ac

It is widely acknowledged that historically intensive human disturbances increased erosion and sediment delivery rates to extreme levels in the 1950s through the 1970s across the north coast, and are likely continuing to affect turbidity durations to some degree. A more controversial question is to what extent contemporary land use is affecting present-day erosion, sediment delivery and turbidity. Using turbidity exceedence levels to indicate watershed disturbance, we approached this question from several perspectives. Part A of this report follows up and expands on an earlier analysis (Klein, 2003) for which turbidity data sets from only eight sites were available. In the present study, annual turbidity data sets were assembled from up to 28 continuous turbidity and stage recording stations located on small streams in the northcoast region from Del Norte County in the north to Mendocino County in the south. Data spanning three water years (WY2003-2005) were processed to calculate lengths of time turbidity was higher than several thresholds. Turbidity thresholds ranged from 25 (frequently cited in the salmonid literature as causing ill effects when exceeded) to 1000 FNU. Turbidity exceedence analyses, similar to conventional flow exceedence analyses, were also performed, allowing comparison of turbidity levels at various exceedence probabilities. Part B of this report uses turbidity relationships to harvest rate to model potential effects on anadromous salmonids within a cumulative watershed effects (CWE) framework. To evaluate CWEs on anadromous salmonids and the stream ecosystem, annual turbidigraphs were produced from WY1991 through WY2005 at annual average harvest rates of 0% to 6% for an 8 mi2 old second-growth watershed in North Coastal California. The turbidigraphs were very conservative in that they used the ‘Lower Bound Lines’ to estimate turbidity from discharge, rather than a line of best fit. Turbidity thresholds established at 10, 25, and 50 FNU were applied to assess chronic background, moderate, and severe stress to stream ecosystems in each water year. A simple model of smolt growth and survival-to-adult-return (SAR), as influenced by the annual turbidigraph, indicated the minimum supportable adult steelhead population size could be more than halved at the 2% average annual timber harvest rate compared to that supported by an old second-growth watershed.