California WaterBlog

by Dylan K. Stompe, Peter Moyle, Avery Kruger, John Durand The San Francisco Estuary is a dynamic and altered estuary that supports a high diversity of fishes, both native and non-native. These species have substantial recreational, commercial, and intrinsic value … Continue reading →

by Kristin Dobbin, Darcy Bostic, Michael Kuo and Jessica Mendoza In 2012 California passed the Human Right to Water (AB 685) which declares all Californians have the right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible drinking water. Two years later during … Continue reading →

by John R. Durand, Fabian Bombardelli, William E. Fleenor, Yumiko Henneberry, Jon Herman, Carson Jeffres, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, Jay R. Lund, Robert Lusardi, Amber D. Manfree, Josué Medellín-Azuara, Brett Milligan, and Peter Moyle Droughts are common in California. The drought of … Continue reading →

by Jay Lund Water supply reliability is a major policy and management goal in California, and in the rest of the world, today and since the beginning of time.  The goals of reliable water supplies have grown from supporting human … Continue reading →

by Peter B. Moyle Tired of reading about the constant haggling over California water? Or of binge-watching old TV shows? Or, worse, watching the news as the Covid 19 virus spreads in our free country? For relief, I recommend two … Continue reading →

By Kathleen Schaefer, Brett F. Sanders Why Dialogue Matters For fifty years, Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) have unintentionally stifled conversations of flood risk. They have encouraged property-owners and governments at all levels to dwell on map details for one … Continue reading →

By Kim Luke, John Durand, Rachel McConnell, Aaron Sturtevant, Nina Suzuki, Andrew L. Rypel This spring, the Carp-Dependent Urgent Management (Carp-DEUM) Project began its first round of sampling in the UC Davis Arboretum before the Covid-19 lockdown. The project has … Continue reading →

by Jay Lund Agriculture is California’s predominant use of managed water.  Agriculture and water together are a foundation for California’s rural economy.  Although most agriculture is economically-motivated and commercially-organized, the sociology and anthropology of agriculture and agricultural labor are basic … Continue reading →

by Andrew L. Rypel, Christine A. Parisek, Jay Lund, Ann Willis, Peter B. Moyle, Sarah Yarnell, Karrigan Börk Damming rivers was once a staple of public works and a signal of technological and scientific progress. Even today, dams underpin much … Continue reading →

We have elected to suspend our regular CalifornaWaterBlog.com posts for this week.  Institutional racism is urgent and real, and should divert us from topics of California water at this time. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others … Continue reading →

By Nicole Osorio Most people in California receive some of their drinking water supply from the State Water Project (SWP). The SWP also supplies water to over 10% of California’s irrigated agriculture.  The SWP and its service area span much … Continue reading →

by Ryan Peek Foothill Yellow-legged Frogs have begun to spawn, laying small snow-globe sized egg masses in streams and rivers. They are one of the few stream-breeding frogs endemic to California and Oregon. This species is a good indicator of … Continue reading →

by Alvar Escriva-Bou, Jay Lund, Josue Medellin-Azuara, and Thomas Harter Earlier this year, the first local Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) were submitted to California’s Department of Water Resources for basins with the most severe groundwater overdraft.  To comply with the … Continue reading →

by Peter Moyle, Jeanette Howard, Ted Grantham “Nowhere is the biodiversity crisis more acute than in freshwater ecosystems” (Tickner et al. 2020) Weeks of being confined indoors under shelter-in-place orders increases our appreciation of the natural world. Walking and exercising … Continue reading →

By Thomas Harter, Steph Tai, and Karrigan Bork In 1972, the U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) created a permit system for point source discharges to navigable waters of the United States – rivers, lakes, and coastal waters – with the … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Rypel, Gabriel Singer, and Nann A. Fangue “You can’t design a worse evolutionary strategy for the Anthropocene” There are many variants on this quote, and we’ve heard them often in reference to the status of native fishes … Continue reading →

by Dylan K. Stompe Striped bass are an iconic and recreationally-important fish species throughout the United States, including within their native range on the Atlantic Coast. They are also important predators in fish communities within countless reservoirs and estuaries in … Continue reading →

by Peter Moyle, Center for Watershed Sciences, UC Davis Delta smelt are an endangered species and the latest estimates of their numbers indicate they will likely not be around much longer as wild fish. When I first started working on … Continue reading →

by Nestle J. Frobish Today the Megalopolitan Water District of California (a consortium of southern California and Bay Area urban water suppliers) proposed building a new aqueduct to take water from the Sacramento River to Bay Area and southern California … Continue reading →

by Jay Lund Not again! There was not a “Miracle March” to follow California’s precipitation “Flat-line February.”  Instead, we’ve had a “Meh March.” With the near-end of its wet season, California’s 2020 water year is and will be dry.  The … Continue reading →