Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Water Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on November 1, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on water resilience. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Exploring the impacts of drought on farmers, farmworkers and food.
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June 30 is the state’s deadline for the creation of groundwater sustainability agencies, the first significant step required to implement California’s 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Farmers, regulators and an economist teamed up to launch a first-of-its kind groundwater market in California. Matthew Fienup, who was involved in the effort, explains how it works and the plans for its expansion.
Mark Squillace Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School
When it comes to protecting the West’s rivers, water markets are not the problem, says University of Colorado law professor Mark Squillace. Instead, it’s our failure to protect the public interest.
A proposal to designate the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a National Heritage Area has been kicking around Congress for six years. Erik Vink explains what the designation would do – and not do.
Maurice Hall Associate Vice President, Environmental Defense Fund’s Western Water Program
California’s recent wet year was an important reminder that the state needs to plan for not just drought, but years of abundance as well, says Maurice Hall of the Environmental Defense Fund.
William L. Rukeyser Former Reporter, Worked for Environmental Nonprofits
A water pipeline plan dismissed years ago may not be an attractive option to save the beleaguered Salton Sea, but it may be the best way to buy the region more time.
Laura Ziemer Senior Water Counsel, Trout Unlimited
Dan Keppen Executive Director, Family Farm Alliance
Farmers and conservationists have already demonstrated that collaborative water projects work, but more funding is needed, say representatives from Trout Unlimited and the Family Farm Alliance.
California’s giant desert lake is key to negotiations over the future of Colorado River water supplies. It’s a battle between millions of water users and a complex and troubled ecosystem.
Those pushing to build Sites Reservoir hope funding designated for new water storage in Proposition 1 will help seal the deal, but the project must prove beneficial both to the public and to aquatic ecosystems.
Research in the Cosumnes River watershed in the eastern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region has shown the benefits to water storage and wildlife from floodplain restoration that could prove useful across the state.
One of California’s driest climates is poised to become a farming hub for recreational marijuana, legalized by voters in 2016. This will plant a new farming industry in a place of chronic groundwater problems.
The drought may be easing, but that doesn’t mean hardships are over for California’s farmers. Instead, flooding caused by weeks of wet weather creates a different set of risks for growers, explains agronomist Karen Lowell.
Northern California has become the center of the state’s cannabis-growing industry, with inevitable environmental consequences. Will legalization and new regulations ease its impact or make the situation worse?
Through captivating stories and thoughtful prose, William and Rosemarie Alley take readers on a journey to better understand groundwater in their new book, “High and Dry: Meeting the World’s Growing Dependence on Groundwater.”
Environmental Defense Fund is launching a new Western water strategy that aims to solve the problems of groundwater depletion and habitat restoration by working jointly with farmers.
Subsidence from the overpumping of groundwater has gotten so bad in the San Joaquin Valley that critical infrastructure is at risk. A new book, High and Dry, on the global groundwater crisis explains how things got so bad.
Under pressure because of their thirsty crop, almond growers have actually been working to save water for a long time. Now the Almond Board of California is offering a new manual to help them conserve in progressive steps.
Hundreds of drinking-water wells across California’s San Joaquin Valley have been found to contain 1,2,3-trichloropropane, a likely human carcinogen. This month, the state has taken a big step forward in regulating the chemical.
An executive order issued yesterday by Donald Trump puts in motion a process to do away with an Obama administration-era ruling on which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act.
Groundwater recharge, flood protection and wildlife habitat all depend on floodplains. Now there’s a new movement underway in California to revive them in order to ease California’s dramatic swings between drought and flood.
Residents are concerned that plans to cut down 14,000 oak trees to make way for grapevines will impact groundwater, fish habitat and climate change mitigation.
Kirsten James Oversees the California Policy Program, Ceres
Farmers with high-priority water rights have little incentive to conserve water, but food companies have leverage to help drive sustainable practices, writes Kirsten James of Ceres.
Drought is not an easy subject to record in pictures, and yet such images are vital to understanding water problems. Photographer Nathan Weyland describes why he devoted himself to documenting California’s drought.
Jim Lauria Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Mazzei Injector Company
With California’s newly legal army of recreational cannabis growers barred from federal water supplies, they could become leading innovators when it comes to water sustainability, writes water-treatment expert Jim Lauria.
Regulations adopted in 2015 require water-rights holders to gather better information on their diversions and report it more frequently. Attorney Amy Steinfeld helps shed light on the complicated new rules.
Jay Lund Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director, University of California
Regulations have helped prevent environmental impacts, but are insufficient for environmental recovery and management, says Jay Lund, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Davis.
Nevada Irrigation District, which serves two California counties, wants to build a new reservoir on the Bear River to capture rainfall, amid concerns that climate change is shrinking Sierra Nevada snowpack.
In case you missed a few favorites, we rounded up some of the popular reads from this year on Water Deeply about the California drought and water issues in the West.
Climate change is already impacting California’s water. We talk with climate scientist Juliet Christian-Smith and state regulator Max Gomberg about what California needs to do to be climate resilient.
SACRAMENTO BEE – President Obama signed a new national water infrastructure bill that has provisions affecting California, which some fear could harm the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
At the 11th hour, the Public Policy Institute of California hopes to rekindle interest in building one water diversion tunnel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta instead of two. But it might be too late to shift course.
Five state agencies in California have collaborated to come up with a draft plan aimed at improving California’s long-term water conservation efforts beyond emergency regulations as California’s drought is now in its sixth year.
The small hamlet of Okieville got its name from those who headed to California to escape the 1930s Dust Bowl. Today, Okieville is one of the areas hardest hit by California’s current drought.
Some critics of California’s Delta water tunnel project say allowing flooding to occur again in the San Joaquin Valley is a better alternative to the costly and controversial water infrastructure plan.
A project to rebuild the Wallace Weir, a century-old levee northwest of Sacramento, could help both farmers and salmon. Bringing together a coalition of unlikely allies, it promises a more sophisticated approach to water management.
With a little tweaking of the sewage treatment process, it’s possible to create custom blends of irrigation water for farming. David Jassby, a professor of environmental engineering at UC Riverside, explains how.
Tom Philp Executive Strategist, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Ten years ago, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan – known now as California WaterFix and EcoRestore – was launched. It is a reminder of the ability of diverse interests to find common ground, writes Tom Philp of the Metropolitan Water District.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla Executive Director and Cofounder, Restore the Delta
An unpublished analysis shows that Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to build twin tunnels won’t benefit either farmers or citizens, writes Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta.
Gerald H. Meral California Water Director, Natural Heritage Institute
A big infrastructure project could help the beleaguered Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem and protect water facilities in the face of rising seas, writes Gerald Meral of the Natural Heritage Institute.
A new recycled water project in California’s San Joaquin Valley diverts urban wastewater toward a number of beneficial uses. Anthea Hansen, general manager of Del Puerto Water District and a key player in the project, explains.
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