Preparing for New Risks: Addressing Climate Change in California’s Urban Water Management Plans

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | June 20th, 2013

Urban Water Management Plans (UWMPs) are a central component of California’s efforts to assure reliable water supplies, particularly during drought conditions that are

Urban Water Management Plans (UWMPs) are a central component of California’s efforts to assure reliable water supplies, particularly during drought conditions that are frequently experienced in the state. Prepared by water suppliers every five years, UWMPs include supply and demand projections for the next 20 years, and describe strategies to assure adequate supplies during average, single-­year, and multi-­year drought conditions. UWMPs also contain plans to implement a 20% reduction in per capita urban water use by the year 2020, as required under the Water Conservation Act of 2009 (SBX7-­7). Climate change is introducing new risks in water planning, such as increasing temperatures, reduced snowpack, changing precipitation patterns, and accelerating sea level rise, which are already being observed in the state. It is increasingly important for water suppliers to consider how these trends are impacting water supply, demand, and drought patterns. Water suppliers can also make important contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), through energy savings from water conservation as well as other measures. In its guidance to water suppliers for preparing 2010 UWMPs, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) included an optional section focused on consideration of climate change impacts and GHG emissions. This study assesses how water suppliers have incorporated these factors into their 2010 plans. Drawing upon a sample of 2010 UWMPs, it examines the nature and extent of climate change discussion and analysis, and assesses how climate change risks have been incorporated into water supply and demand projections. The report also provides recommendations for how DWR could improve its guidance for 2015 UWMPs to support water suppliers in addressing climate change. All public and investor-­owned utilities serving 3,000 customers or supplying at least 3,000 acre-­feet of water annually are required to submit an Urban Water Management Plan to DWR every five years. Of the approximately 400 agencies submitting UWMPs, most are relatively small, with 90% serving less than 300,000 people, and 40% serving less than 50,000.  Most are public entities, but some are private companies, including three investor-­owned utilities with multiple service areas across the state. Large and small water suppliers tend to differ in their access to resources for planning and analysis of issues such as climate change. For many small suppliers, UWMP preparation serves as their primary long-­term planning process. Suppliers also vary in the nature of their vulnerability to drought and the impacts of climate change. Larger suppliers usually have multiple sources of supply, while small suppliers are more likely to rely on a single source, especially groundwater. These small utilities are less likely to have relationships with other suppliers, thereby reducing their options for coping with severe droughts. This study is based on an analysis of 49 individually submitted UWMPs, seven regional UWMPs, and UWMPs from three investor-­owned utilities with multiple service areas across the state. The sample was stratified so that it represents water suppliers of all sizes. It includes all large suppliers (serving 300,000 or more customers), and 10% of medium-­sized and small suppliers (serving 50,000 – 300,000 and less than 50,000 customers, respectively). Each UWMP was analyzed for its content related to climate change, and classified according to the degree and focus of discussion. This report is also informed by informal consultations with representatives of water supply agencies of different sizes.

Preparing Scientists, Policy-Makers, and Managers for a Fast-Forward Future

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | June 15th, 2021

Preseason Report I Stock Abundance Analysis and Environmental Assessment Part 1 for 2019 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations (PRE I)

Pacific Fishery Management Council | March 1st, 2019

Preseason Report II Proposed Alternatives and Environmental Assessment Part 2 for 2019 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations (PRE II)

Pacific Fishery Management Council | March 21st, 2019

Preseason Report III Council Adopted Management Measures and Environmental Assessment Part 3 for 2019 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations (PRE III)

Pacific Fishery Management Council | April 30th, 2019

Pricing Practices in the Electricity Sector to Promote Conservation and Efficiency: Lessons for the Water Sector

Pacific Institute | September 11th, 2013

Because water utilities are dependent on the sale of water to recoup costs, reduced sales can result in deficits – and per capita water demand in California has been st

Because water utilities are dependent on the sale of water to recoup costs, reduced sales can result in deficits – and per capita water demand in California has been stagnant or decreasing for the past several decades. Over the coming years, California municipal water utilities are required to reduce water use by 20%. Thus, the “new normal” or an era of declining demand and rising costs is a trend that is likely to continue. Water utilities can learn from a number of electricity pricing practices to help adapt to this “new normal” while staying fiscally solvent and providing fair prices. “California’s energy sector has implemented many pricing policies that seek to balance a commitment to energy conservation with utility financial health,” said Kristina Donnelly of the Pacific Institute, lead author of the report. “Both water and energy utilities are coping with similar financial challenges related to demand reductions and stand to benefit from a greater exchange of information and lessons learned.” In order to understand how some of these practices might be relevant to the water sector, the Pacific Institute examined a range of electricity pricing practices and policies that California electric utilities use to remain financially stable even when per capita demand is decreasing. The paper, Pricing Practices in the Electricity Sector to Promote Conservation and Efficiency: Lessons for the Water Sector, helps inform discussion at the local, regional, and state level about water pricing in light of recent and future reductions in water demand.

Primary Production in the Delta: Then and Now

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | October 3rd, 2016

To evaluate the role of restoration in the recovery of the Delta ecosystem, we need to have clear targets and performance measures that directly assess ecosystem function

To evaluate the role of restoration in the recovery of the Delta ecosystem, we need to have clear targets and performance measures that directly assess ecosystem function. Primary production is a crucial ecosystem process, which directly limits the quality and quantity of food available for secondary consumers such as invertebrates and fish. The Delta has a low rate of primary production, but it is unclear whether this was always the case. Recent analyses from the Historical Ecology Team and Delta Landscapes Project provide quantitative comparisons of the areal extent of 14 habitat types in the modern Delta versus the historical Delta (pre-1850). Here we describe an approach for using these metrics of land use change to: (1) produce the first quantitative estimates of how Delta primary production and the relative contributions from five different producer groups have been altered by large-scale drainage and conversion to agriculture; (2) convert these production estimates into a common currency so the contributions of each producer group reflect their food quality and efficiency of transfer to consumers; and (3) use simple models to discover how tidal exchange between marshes and open water influences primary production and its consumption. Application of this approach could inform Delta management in two ways. First, it would provide a quantitative estimate of how large-scale conversion to agriculture has altered the Delta's capacity to produce food for native biota. Second, it would provide restoration practitioners with a new approach—based on ecosystem function—to evaluate the success of restoration projects and gauge the trajectory of ecological recovery in the Delta region.

Primary Production in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: A Science Strategy to Quantify Change and Identify Future Potential

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | May 20th, 2019

Today’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is an unusually low-productivity estuary. The constraints on primary production and the relative importance of different production

Today’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is an unusually low-productivity estuary. The constraints on primary production and the relative importance of different production sources to the food web are major ecological uncertainties in the Delta system. Understanding how the extensive historical changes in the Delta landscape have altered primary production has the potential to inform restoration planning and management across the region.  The Delta Landscapes Project (SFEI-ASC 2014) has recently produced information that allows us, for the first time, to answer questions about historical primary production and carrying capacity from quantified changes in the areal extent and spatial configuration of habitat types in the Delta since the mid-19th century. Our focus is on estimating primary production because the potential capacity of ecosystems to support fish, bird and other wildlife populations is set by primary production – the supply of food required to produce animal biomass. 

Principles and Requirements for Federal Investments in Water Resources

Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) | March 22nd, 2013

Chapter I – Principles for Federal Investments in Water Resources 1. Purpose and Scope 2. The Federal Objective 3. Guiding Principles A. Healthy and Resilient Ecosy

Chapter I – Principles for Federal Investments in Water Resources 1. Purpose and Scope 2. The Federal Objective 3. Guiding Principles A. Healthy and Resilient Ecosystems B. Sustainable Economic Development C. Floodplains D. Public Safety E. Environmental Justice F. Watershed Approach Chapter II – Requirements 1. General Requirements A. Evaluation Framework B. Best Available Science and Commensurate Level of Detail C. Collaboration D. Risk & Uncertainty i. Climate Change ii. Future Land Use iii. Adaptive Management E. Water Use F. Nonstructural Approaches G. International Concerns H. Design of Alternatives I. Transparency in Decision Making J. Plan Selection 2. Interagency Guidelines 3. Effective Date 4. Approval

Principles for Agreement on Bay-Delta Standards Between the State of California and the Federal Government

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | December 15th, 1994

In order to provide ecosystem protection for the Bay-Delta Estuary, representatives of the State and Federal governments and urban, agricultural and environmental interes

In order to provide ecosystem protection for the Bay-Delta Estuary, representatives of the State and Federal governments and urban, agricultural and environmental interests agree to the implementation of a Bay-Delta protection plan through the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) consistent with the following principles.These Principles describe changes to the California Urban Water Agency/-Agricultural Water Users (CUWAIAG) proposal as the base case for Bay-Delta protections, which are intended to be in force for three years, at which time they may be revised.