Comments to the NAS Panel on Review of the Long-Term Operations of the CVP and SWP

Observed vs modeled Tropical Pacific warming patterns

Good afternoon, committee members. My name is Deirdre Des Jardins.  I’m a consultant to the Institute for Fisheries Resources and the Pacific Coast Federations of Fishermen’s Associations on climate change and modeling, as well as the Director of California Water Research. My research background is in nonlinear dynamics and complex systems theory. I did research … Continue reading Comments to the NAS Panel on Review of the Long-Term Operations of the CVP and SWP

DWR Chief Engineer warned of climate change draining northern California reservoirs

Governor Newsom’s drought emergency declaration is a direct consequence of the draining of Shasta, Folsom, and Oroville reservoirs by the Central Valley Project and State Water Project to export water from the Delta. Emergency operation of these major reservoirs will be a disaster for the Delta ecosystem, and will also have severe impacts on Delta … Continue reading DWR Chief Engineer warned of climate change draining northern California reservoirs

The State Water Project was originally designed for a six year drought

Lake Oroville March 2021

A 1983 Bulletin by the Department of Water Resources (Bulletin 160-83) [1] documents that Oroville reservoir was designed to provide long-term carryover storage and reliable water deliveries in case of a repeat of the 1928-1934 drought. The Department of Water Resources  proposed in the same Bulletin 160-83 to change State Water Project operations to take … Continue reading The State Water Project was originally designed for a six year drought