California WaterBlog

by Jay Lund Storms are filling reservoirs, building snowpack, and flooding in ways not seen since the most recent California drought began in 2012.  The state’s reservoirs today contain 1.2 million acre-ft more water than the long-term average for this … Continue reading →

By Jay Lund We are just a few months into this year’s wet season, and progress has been great.  Statewide, California is about 800,000 acre ft below average surface water storage for this time of year.  California’s water year began … Continue reading →

By Amber Manfree Data and data management are persistent concerns for the Delta and California water more generally. Data Wars: A New Hope, a shadow puppet play on the subject, was shown at the 2016 Bay-Delta Science Conference in Sacramento. … Continue reading →

by Nicholas Pinter, Rui Hui, and Kathy Schaefer Across the US and worldwide, flooding is the deadliest and most costly natural disaster.  The US National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is an imperfect framework for reducing flood losses, but currently the … Continue reading →

How do engineers see the water glass in California? Mostly the same as they did four years ago when this blog was first posted, though with today’s drought the glass is perhaps down to a quarter full — or three-quarters empty.  … Continue reading →

By Jay Lund California is a big diverse place. California probably will experience droughts this year of different types in different places, and no drought at all in some places, simultaneously.  Even if conditions this year are very wet, with … Continue reading →

By Brett Milligan, Assistant Professor, UC Davis Landscape Architecture and Sustainable Environmental Design and Alejo Kraus-Polk, PhD Geography candidate, UC Davis Current legislation and plans for the California Delta call for restoring tens of thousands of acres of aquatic and … Continue reading →

By Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Ellen Hanak, PPIC Water Policy Center, Peter Moyle, UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences Introduction In September 2016, the State Water Board released its draft plan for new environmental flow requirements in the San Joaquin … Continue reading →

Peter Moyle, John Durand, Amber Manfree.  Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Davis. Delta native fishes are in desperate condition. Over 90% of fish sampled by diverse means belong to non-native species.  Native species such as delta smelt are … Continue reading →

By Miranda Tilcock Salmon in the Stream 10 little salmon eggs, resting in a redd 1 was covered in silt, now the egg is dead 9 little alevin, with their yolks attached, 1 was washed away, and never made it … Continue reading →

By Ruth Langridge, University of California – Santa Cruz [i] Groundwater is a critical resource in California. While the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) established new requirements and increased state oversight for many overdrafted basins,[ii] groundwater basins adjudicated before … Continue reading →

By Jay Lund Most expressions on Western water issues are reflex or studied advocacy favoring a single viewpoint or opposing other viewpoints.  A minority provide thoughtful and reasonably balanced insights.  John Fleck’s new book, “Water is for fighting over” is … Continue reading →

By Josué Medellín-Azuara, Kyaw Tha Paw U, Yufang Jin, Quinn Hart, Eric Kent, Jenae’ Clay, Andy Wong, Andrew Bell, Martha Anderson, Daniel Howes, Forrest Melton, Tariq Kadir, Morteza Orang, Michelle M. Leinfelder-Miles, J. Andres Morande, William Li, and Jay R. … Continue reading →

By Jay Lund Happy New Water Year 2017! Hopefully everyone has recovered from their celebrations. The 2016 drought year is over.  It was milder year than the four previous drought years.  The great wet hope of the “Godzilla” El Nino … Continue reading →

As the old saying goes, “Someone with one watch knows what time it is, someone with two watches is never sure.” Water accounting is fundamental to water management, but is not easy.  But any accounting is more difficult and expensive … Continue reading →

by Tyler Goodearly For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to study fish. Like my idols, Jacques Cousteau, or Steve Irwin, or Jeff Corwin, I too had the “fish itch,” and I knew I must follow this passion. … Continue reading →

This week, the Center for Watershed Sciences is proud to feature our flagship education course, Ecogeomorphology. What began as a collaboration between then-Professors Jeffrey Mount and Peter Moyle to introduce students to cross-discipline thinking in expedition settings has developed into … Continue reading →

by Ann Willis As the water year comes to an end, we are curious about what topics California Waterblog readers would like to see addressed. Were there water issues you wish we’d written more (or less) about? Take our 5-minute … Continue reading →

by Nicholas Pinter, Nicholas Santos, Rui Hui, Kathleen Schaefer The flooding in Baton Rouge and surrounding areas of Louisiana is a major disaster, claiming an estimated 13 lives and displacing more than 100,000 people from their homes. The National Weather … Continue reading →

by Gus Tolley The Scott River is one of California’s four major undammed streams and important spawning habitat for coho (a species listed as “threatened”) and Chinook salmon. This peaceful and pastoral agricultural valley is at the center of several … Continue reading →