Managing Drought in a Changing Climate: Four Essential Reforms

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | September 12th, 2018

California’s climate is changing. Hotter temperatures, a shrinking snowpack, shorter and more intense wet seasons, rising sea level, and more volatile precipita

California’s climate is changing. Hotter temperatures, a shrinking snowpack, shorter and more intense wet seasons, rising sea level, and more volatile precipitation—with wetter wet years and drier dry years—are stressing the state’s water management system. Recent climate projections indicate that the pace of change will increase. To avoid unwanted social, economic, and environmental consequences, the water system will need to adapt to greater climate extremes and growing water scarcity. While California is making good progress in some areas of drought management, a more focused plan of action is needed. Successful adaptation will require strong leadership at the state and local levels, and cooperation on all fronts. The 2012–16 drought—the hottest in the state’s recorded history and one of the driest—offered a window into the future under a warming climate and lessons for managing future droughts. Using these lessons as a starting point, this report offers a road map of essential reforms to prepare for and respond to droughts in California’s changing climate. Key reforms include: Plan ahead. Stronger drought planning is critically important for urban water management, groundwater sustainability, safe drinking water in rural communities, and freshwater ecosystems. Upgrade the water grid. California needs a comprehensive program to address above- and below-ground storage, conveyance, and operational challenges by mid-century, including repairing facilities that are broken, expanding conveyance and storage capacity, and modernizing and integrating operations. Update water allocation rules. California should comprehensively update its water allocation governance. The goals should be to find equitable and efficient ways to allocate limited supplies among competing demands during dry times while promoting efforts to capture and store water during wet times. Find the money. Reliable funding is crucial for adapting to climate change. New sources are needed to pay for necessary water-management investments and to fill funding gaps in the state’s water system. The focus of this reform agenda is on drought, because drought―more than any other aspect of California’s climate―reveals the vulnerabilities of watermanagement systems. Importantly, these reforms will improve drought resilience for today’s conditions, not just for the future.

Managing Freshwater Discharge to the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary―The Scientific Basis for an Estuarine Standard

San Francisco Estuary Project | October 26th, 1992

Aquatic resources of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and upper portions of San Francisco Bay have undergone significant declines over the past several decades. Species c

Aquatic resources of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and upper portions of San Francisco Bay have undergone significant declines over the past several decades. Species characteristic of the Delta and rivers, such as striped bass and salmon, began to decline during the late 1970s. Prolonged drought, large diversions of fresh water, and dramatic increases in populations of introduced aquatic species during the 1980s and 1990s brought a number of indigenous aquatic species to extremely low levels. Species that spend more of their lives downstream of the Delta, including Delta smelt, longfin smelt, and many zooplankton, maintained large populations through the 1970s, but declined sharply after the mid-1980s. Declines in aquatic resources have led to curtailed fishing seasons, to petitions for endangered species status, and general concern about the health of the estuarine ecosystem.

Mapping aquifer salinity gradients and effects of oil field produced water disposal using geophysical logs: Elk Hills, Buena Vista and Coles Levee Oil Fields, San Joaquin Valley, California

PLOS | March 28th, 2022

The effects of oil and gas production on adjacent groundwater quality are becoming a concern in many areas of the United States. As a result, it has become increasingly i

The effects of oil and gas production on adjacent groundwater quality are becoming a concern in many areas of the United States. As a result, it has become increasingly important to identify which aquifers require monitoring and protection. In this study, we map the extent of groundwater with less than 10,000 mg/L TDS both laterally and vertically near the Elk Hills, Buena Vista and Coles Levee Oil Fields in the San Joaquin Valley, California and note evidence of effects of produced water disposal on salinity within the Tulare aquifer. Subsurface maps showing the depth at which groundwater salinity is less than 10,000 mg/L (or Base 10K) in the Tulare aquifer are generated using geophysical logs and verified by comparison to water sample analyses. The depth to Base 10K ranges from 240 m (800 ft) in Elk Hills to 800 m (2650 ft) in the adjacent Buena Vista syncline and is 670 m (2,200 ft) deep in the Coles Levee area to the east. Log-calculated salinities show a relatively smooth increase with depth prior to disposal activities whereas salinities calculated from logs collected near and after disposal activities show a more variable salinity profile with depth. The effect of produced water injection is represented by log resistivity profiles that change from low resistivity at the base of the sand to higher resistivity near the top due to density differences between the saline produced water and the brackish groundwater within each sand. Continued post-disposal logging in new wells in the 18G disposal area on the south flank of Elk Hills shows that injected water has migrated approximately 1,200 m (4,000 ft) downdip (south) over a period of 20 years since the inception of disposal activity.

Mapping saltwater intrusion with an airborne electromagnetic method in the offshore coastal environment, Monterey Bay, California

Journal of Hydrology (Elsevier) | April 1st, 2019

Study Region: The northern coast of the Monterey Bay, California, USA, extending from the coastline to 3.5 km offshore. Study Focus: Three-hundred and twenty line-kil

Study Region: The northern coast of the Monterey Bay, California, USA, extending from the coastline to 3.5 km offshore. Study Focus: Three-hundred and twenty line-kilometers of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data were acquired offshore. These data spanned 20 km of coastline, extending up to 3.5 km offshore in water up to 18m in depth. Inversion of these data resulted in resistivity models extending to depths between 50 and 200m below sea level. The data were interpreted in conjunction with onshore monitoring well data, hydrologic and geologic reports, and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data to locate the freshwater/saltwater interfaces throughout the region. A resistivity-to-water-quality transform was established using well-based water quality and resistivity logging measurements. For resistivity values that could not be converted to water quality with this transform, local auxiliary information was used on a case-by-case basis to interpret the observed features. Some low resistivity anomalies were identified near the shore at depth, which were interpreted to be artifacts of the 1D assumption in the inversion scheme used for these AEM data. New Hydrogeological Insights for this Region: We found that the acquisition of AEM data provided valuable information about water quality in the offshore extents of the aquifers, a region inaccessible to traditional monitoring methods, but one that plays an important role in the modeling, prediction, and management of saltwater intrusion.

Mapping selected trace elements and major ions, 2000-2012, Mojave River and Morongo Groundwater Basins, Southwestern Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County, California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | July 1st, 2015

The population of the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins has grown rapidly during the last several decades, increasing from an estimated population of almost 273

The population of the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins has grown rapidly during the last several decades, increasing from an estimated population of almost 273,000 in 1990 (Mojave Water Agency, 2004) to more than 453,000 in 2010 (Mojave Water Agency, 2014). Groundwater is the primary source of potable water in both basins (Mojave Water Agency, 2014). Previous studies noted elevated concentrations of several trace elements, nitrate, and total dissolved solids in groundwater in portions of the two basins (Christensen and Fields-Garland, 2001; Ball and Izbicki, 2004; Izbicki and others, 2008; Mathany and Belitz, 2009; Wright and Belitz, 2010; Dawson and Belitz, 2012; and Izbicki and others, 2012). Since 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected water-quality data annually from a network of wells and has provided quality-assurance for Mojave Water Agency (MWA) data that are stored in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) database. The new data and results from the joint State of California and USGS Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) program assessments of regional water quality (these data are also stored in NWIS), in combination with ongoing MWA/USGS groundwater-quality monitoring provide a timely opportunity for mapping of groundwater quality in the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins. The purpose of this report is to provide maps and time-series plots of concentrations of selected water-quality constituents (arsenic, boron, chromium-6, total chromium, dissolved oxygen, fluoride, iron, manganese, nitriate plus nitrite as nitrogen, total dissolved solids, uranium, and vanadium) in the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins using data collected by the USGS and MWA from 2000 to 2012. These maps and plots can be accessed on this website.

Mark/Recapture Experiments at Clifton Court Forebay to Estimate Pre-Screening Loss to Juvenile Fishes: 1976-1993

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) | September 30th, 1997

From October 1976 through November 1993, the California Department of Fish and Game conducted mark/recapture experiments at Clifton Court Forebay, designed to estimate pr

From October 1976 through November 1993, the California Department of Fish and Game conducted mark/recapture experiments at Clifton Court Forebay, designed to estimate pre-screen loss to entrained juvenile fishes. Ten studies were conducted; eight evaluated losses to hatchery-reared juvenile chinook salmon, and two evaluated losses to hatchery-reared juvenile striped bass. Pre-screen loss was calculated from the proportion of marked fish released at the radial gates that were subsequently recaptured during salvage operations at Skinner Fish Facility. The proportion was adjusted for handling mortality, fish facility louver effiCiency, and any subsampling at the facility. Studies were conducted across a wide range of environmental conditions and State Water Project operations, with a wide range in the size ofexperimental fish. Pre-screen loss estimates for juvenile chinook salmon were 63-99%. Potential biases in estimates of pre-screen loss may be due to (1) the calculation for pre-screen loss, (2) underrepresentative and over-representative salvage of experimental fish at Skinner Fish Facility, and (3) the introduction of experimental fish directly into Clifton Court Forebay. A multiple-regression analysis of pre-screen loss to juvenile salmon showed that 91% of the variance in pre-screen loss can be explained by export rate, experimental fish size, and water temperature. 

Matching Water Quality to Use (Resource Management Strategy)

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

Matching water quality to use is a management strategy that recognizes that not all water uses require the same water quality. One common measure of water quality is its

Matching water quality to use is a management strategy that recognizes that not all water uses require the same water quality. One common measure of water quality is its suitability for an intended use; a water quality constituent often is only considered a contaminant when that constituent adversely affects the intended use of the water. High-quality water sources can be used for drinking and industrial purposes that benefit from higher quality water and lesser quality water can be adequate for some uses. For example, a water supplier chooses to use a groundwater source for municipal use, which requires less treatment before delivery, rather than a natural stream. The potential benefit to the municipal user could be reduced disinfection byproducts in the delivered drinking water source and a secondary benefit would accrue to the natural riparian system because water would be left instream. Further, some new water supplies, such as recycled water, can be treated to a wide range of purities that can be matched to different uses. The use of other water sources, like recycled water, can serve as a new source of water that substitutes for uses not requiring potable water quality. Instream uses are directly influenced by discharges from wastewater treatment and stormwater flows and these source discharges can provide benefits and challenges to uses such as aquatic life and recreation.

McMullin Area Groundwater Sustainability Agency Groundwater Sustainability Plan

McMullin Area Groundwater Sustainability Agency (MAGSA) | November 6th, 2019

Memo: Effect of SWANCC vs. United States on the 401 certification program

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | January 25th, 2001

This memorandum has been prepared to explain the effect of the recent US Supreme Court decision of Solid Waste Association of Northern Cook Counties v. United States Corp

This memorandum has been prepared to explain the effect of the recent US Supreme Court decision of Solid Waste Association of Northern Cook Counties v. United States Corps of Engineers (hereinafter “SWANCC”), which was issued on January 9th. The memo is intended to address the impact of the decision on the 401 program (33 U.S.C. § 1341), and to indicate alternative regulatory avenues available to the Regional Boards for waters that are no longer covered by section 404/401 jurisdiction.

Merced Groundwater Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Merced Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (MSGSA) | November 12th, 2019