Grantee Research Project Results
2017 Progress Report: Preparing for Water Scarcity: Learning from California’s Recent Drought
EPA Grant Number: R835867Title: Preparing for Water Scarcity: Learning from California’s Recent Drought
Investigators: Hanak, Ellen , Lund, Jay
Institution: University of California - Davis
Current Institution: Public Policy Institute of California , University of California - Davis
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2018
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 2016 through August 31,2017
Project Amount: $1,000,000
RFA: National Priorities: Systems-Based Strategies to Improve The Nation’s Ability to Plan And Respond to Water Scarcity and Drought Due to Climate Change (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Water
Objective:
This project seeks to improve drought planning and emergency response in California specifically, and the arid West generally. Our research is leveraging, integrating, and extending a large body of drought-related research underway around the state—including by members of our research team—as well as the considerable investments already made on climate change modeling and analysis for this region. To craft lessons that can improve future responses, the project is involving practitioners from agencies and stakeholder groups in small, private workshops and simulation exercises.
Progress Summary:
In the past year, we held more than 10 workshops to inform the research. Brief updates by project area include:
- Climate change and hydrology: The focus of this work is to use the latest drought as a window into future conditions, and to support ongoing efforts to improve drought resiliency. In April 2017, we hosted a workshop for 40 climate scientists and water managers to scope droughts of the future and consider scenarios and responses that will help guide efforts to develop long-term plans for water management. The findings of this workshop are being used to inform a short report for public consumption, to be published in 2018.
- Water rights, trading, and quality: Our research into California’s system of water accounting (which resulted in the July 2016 report Accounting for California’s Water) informed our new analysis of how California manages water for the environment. We also continued to focus on the topic in our blog, including “Better Information Can Help the Environment” (April 2017), “Water Marketing that Helps Nature” (September 2016), and “Three Lessons on Water Accounting for California” (August 2016). This year, we launched an effort to examine the institutional responses to drought and how wastewater agencies are anticipating future challenges. A report is anticipated by fall 2018.
- Aquatic ecosystems: The goal of this work is to identify innovative and successful policies and practices to manage drought impacts to rivers and wetlands and the species that depend on them, while simultaneously reducing conflict over scarce supplies. In mid-November 2017, we will publish a package on this topic: Managing California’s Freshwater Ecosystems: Lessons from the 2012-16 Drought and A New Approach to Accounting for Environmental Water: Insights from the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. This work was informed by workshops and conversations with environmental stakeholders and water managers around the state.
- Wildfires: This effort focuses on drought stressors and management practices affecting our forests, as well as their impacts on water supply and quality. Our report Improving the Health of California’s Headwater Forests (September 2017) lays out changes in the regulation, administration, and management of forests. We launched the report at a public meeting in Sacramento and the research team provided briefings on the report to members of the state legislature, the governor’s office, and the US Forest Service Region 5 office.
- Agriculture and rural communities: The San Joaquin Valley epitomizes many of the challenges facing this sector: it is chronically water scarce and afflicted with long-term overdraft of groundwater, a declining environment, and difficult public health challenges in which farming plays a role‒including unsafe drinking water in many rural communities and some of the nation’s worst air quality. In March 2017, the center published Water Stress and a Changing San Joaquin Valley, which assesses water stress and other challenges facing California’s largest agricultural region. The report was launched at a half-day event in Clovis on March 7, 2017. Our interdisciplinary research team continues to assess adaptation strategies for the valley, and a final report on this work will be released in 2018.
- Urban areas: Our report Building Drought Resilience in California's Cities and Suburbs (June 2017) reviews evolving state and local roles in urban drought management, and describes areas for improved cooperation for increasing resilience. We held two successful public events this summer to discuss this research in Sacramento and San Francisco (the latter focused on Bay Area drought resilience).
- Energy: The objective of this focus area is to investigate options to minimize the economic, social, and environmental impacts of droughts on water-energy systems in California. In 2017, we reviewed the literature on the topic and met with key stakeholders to further understand the consequences of the 2012-2016 drought and the adaptation responses they employed.
Future Activities:
In the final year of the project, we will wrap up the focused analyses by project area and use the findings from the grant period to hold a “dry run” simulation workshop for future droughts. Products will include multiple articles and technical reports, as well as ongoing engagement.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 61 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Climate scenarios, drought, extreme impacts, adaptation, CA, EPA Region 9, California, waterRelevant Websites:
Public Policy Institute of California Exit
UC Davis Center for Watershed Science Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.