Category: Climate Change

The State Water Project Delivery Reliability Report may have created systemic drought vulnerability

~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 1 Comment

On June 7, 2022, Adel Hagekhalil, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, issued the following statement: We are in an unprecedented situation, where our water supplies from the State Water Project are so limited by drought and climate change that they do not meet demands. Southern Californians must decrease their water … Continue reading The State Water Project Delivery Reliability Report may have created systemic drought vulnerability

Senate Climate Budget Plan proposals on water management science

Tree in wet and dry landscape
~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 1 Comment

This Water and Drought package of the California Senate's Climate Budget Plan proposes major investment in water management science. One of the goals is to: Strengthen water rights quantification and enforcement at SWRCB. Currently the state does not have a reliable quantification of water rights or the ability to effectively enforce. The budget plan includes … Continue reading Senate Climate Budget Plan proposals on water management science

California Senate proposes $2 billion program to balance water supply and water rights

~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ Leave a comment

The California Senate has proposed a $2 billion reconciliation framework to rebalance water supply and water rights, as part of proposed investments of $7.5 billion in state and federal funds spread over three years for climate resiliency. It is the most sweeping land retirement proposal since the landmark 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act. According … Continue reading California Senate proposes $2 billion program to balance water supply and water rights

Social network weaving for climate adaptation

Interconnected people
~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ Leave a comment

Network weaving is a concept from community organizing.  Here's a definition from the Kansas Opportunity Innovation Network: Network weaving is the process of building community and strengthening social capital in a community by bringing together and connecting better the actors in a social network ... A successful network weaving approach uses social network maps to … Continue reading Social network weaving for climate adaptation

Models that forecast water that isn’t there hurt all beneficial uses

~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 1 Comment

Assemblymember Adam Gray has called for an audit of the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board, in part to answer the question, What happened in the Water Year 2021 (October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021) to lead the state to miscalculate by some 700,000 acre-feet the amount of water … Continue reading Models that forecast water that isn’t there hurt all beneficial uses

Climate change: a conversation on interconnected risks

Interconnected people
~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ Leave a comment

This is part of a Twitter conversation with Chris Parker, a UK hydrologist who specializes in climate hazards and climate impacts, on Jan 1, 2022. Chris Parker @HyperHydr0 I often wonder how many possible climate hazards, impacts or risks there are that no one has either experienced, observed or thought possible. Given the events of … Continue reading Climate change: a conversation on interconnected risks

Fatal errors in DWR’s runoff forecasting: comments to the State Water Resources Control Board

~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 4 Comments

The State Water Resources Control Board held a workshop today (March 16, 2022) on Sacramento River Temperature Management. Among the topics considered were "hydrologic conditions, including operations, forecasting, and accounting." These were my comments. This is Deirdre Des Jardins with California Water Research. I’m the physicist who sent comments to DWR in 2012 predicting the … Continue reading Fatal errors in DWR’s runoff forecasting: comments to the State Water Resources Control Board

California Environmental Flows Framework — comments to the Delta ISB

Picture of dry creek
~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 1 Comment

On Thursday March 10, 2022, the Delta Independent Science Board had a presentation by Sarah Yarnell (UC Davis) and Julie Zimmerman (The Nature Conservancy) on the California Environmental Flows Framework, and the opportunities and challenges in  applying environmental flows in California. These were my comments: I really appreciate the comments by [Delta ISB members] Tanya … Continue reading California Environmental Flows Framework — comments to the Delta ISB

We need to step up our game on evaluating drought risk

elevated drought risk impact Feb 20 2022
~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ Leave a comment

The Department of Water Resources’ new California Water Watch website is a great new resource, however, the site appears to miss information on the rapidly developing drought. The website displays statewide precipitation for the water year to date. It also displays a map of “Drought Risk Impacts” based on precipitation being less than 70% of … Continue reading We need to step up our game on evaluating drought risk

Dear DWR, in runoff forecasting, stationarity is dead

~ Deirdre Des Jardins ~ 1 Comment

For decades, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has relied on runoff forecasts from the California Cooperative Snow Surveys (Bulletin 120) for planning State Water Project operations in the late winter and early spring. In 2021, the Bulletin 120 runoff forecasts, which were based on the last 50 years of historic runoff data, were … Continue reading Dear DWR, in runoff forecasting, stationarity is dead