Dr. Lucia Levers is an environmental economist and scientist at the USDA-ARS Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems (SAWS) unit on the UC Davis campus.  A native of the Central Valley of California, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, and a master’s and PhD in Environmental Sciences from UC Riverside.

 

When she is not hanging out with her California Desert Tortoise, Asher, Lucia performs interdisciplinary research on the edge of economics, agronomics, environmental sciences, and ecology to develop sustainable management practices.  She has worked on topics including biofuels grown from drainage water, water and habitat management at the Salton Sea in California, aquatic invasive species management in Minnesota, nitrogen pollution and alternative farm management approaches, lead in drinking water, managed aquifer recharge, and California agricultural water use.

 

Lucia is proud that her work has impacted policy in two states: it was used by legislators to justify a program to remove lead-based pipes for drinking water in Minnesota and to decide not to pursue water importation as a solution to salinization of the Salton Sea.