Tom Philp is the strategic communications and policy advisor for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/contributor/tom-philp/rss en Climate & Weather Economics Innovation Law & Policy Management & Supply Tue, 09 Oct 2018 08:00:00 +0000 Tom Philp https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/10/09/figuring-on-climate-change-model-outputs-vary-but-worries-are-real https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/10/09/figuring-on-climate-change-model-outputs-vary-but-worries-are-real Water available for California farms and cities could decline as much as 44 percent by midcentury due to climate change. Such numbers, while headache-inducing, could make today’s water woes seem trifling. Climate & Weather Environment & Wildlife Tue, 07 Aug 2018 03:00:00 +0000 Tom Philp https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/08/07/delta-breezes-are-dying-and-that-could-be-bad-news-for-an-imperiled-fish https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/08/07/delta-breezes-are-dying-and-that-could-be-bad-news-for-an-imperiled-fish Research has found that wind is on the decline in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which subsequently impacts the turbidity of the water. That in turn has an impact on critically endangered delta smelt, writes Metropolitan Water District’s Tom Philp. Climate & Weather Wed, 07 Feb 2018 03:00:00 +0000 Tom Philp https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/02/07/time-to-get-rid-of-two-outdated-water-words-drought-and-normal https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/02/07/time-to-get-rid-of-two-outdated-water-words-drought-and-normal If we are adequately to talk about the weather this century, we are going to need a new lexicon that better captures the current reality, writes Tom Philp of Metropolitan Water District. Management & Supply Fri, 31 Mar 2017 05:00:49 +0000 Tom Philp https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2017/03/31/the-state-water-project-is-going-through-a-classic-midlife-crisis https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2017/03/31/the-state-water-project-is-going-through-a-classic-midlife-crisis It’s been 57 years since voters approved the State Water Project, one of two major water conveyance systems in California, and the project is in need of big and small fixes, writes Tom Philp of Metropolitan Water District. Climate & Weather Management & Supply Wed, 22 Feb 2017 05:02:47 +0000 Tom Philp https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2017/02/22/california-needs-water-management-that-matches-the-weather https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2017/02/22/california-needs-water-management-that-matches-the-weather California has the most variable weather in the nation and it needs water management that makes the most of infrequent but intense storms, writes Tom Philp of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Agriculture Environment & Wildlife Management & Supply Thu, 06 Oct 2016 08:00:57 +0000 Tom Philp https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2016/10/06/happy-10th-birthday-to-californias-most-ambitious-water-project https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2016/10/06/happy-10th-birthday-to-californias-most-ambitious-water-project 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. Tue, 29 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000 Tom Philp https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2016/03/29/the-fight-over-big-gulp-little-sip https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2016/03/29/the-fight-over-big-gulp-little-sip Many people agree that “Big Gulp, Little Sip” is a good way to manage water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, but fewer agree what actually constitutes a “Big Gulp.” California WaterFix could help ease tensions over this problem by providing more flexibility in water diversions from the Delta. Agriculture Environment & Wildlife Management & Supply Fri, 29 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000 Tom Philp https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2016/01/29/with-smelt-its-groundhog-day-in-the-delta https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2016/01/29/with-smelt-its-groundhog-day-in-the-delta We are bound to have the same problems this time nearly every year in the Delta until we modernize this water system and start capturing water north of smelt territory, as proposed by state and federal agencies via the plan known as California WaterFix.