Growing Returns

Measuring water use in California’s Delta is a “fool’s errand.” OpenET will change that.

By Robyn Grimm / Bio / Published: October 21, 2021

As the hub of California’s water system, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is one of the most hydrologically complex and hotly contested areas in the state, if not the world.

That’s according to Brett Baker, a sixth-generation pear farmer and attorney for the Central Delta Water Agency, who also studied biology and fish in the Delta at UC Davis. The agency is one of three in the Delta that provided funding to OpenET, a new online water data platform that lets farmers and water managers easily track how much water crops use.

Starting in 2022, the state will allow farmers to use OpenET to report their annual water use in the Delta, which supplies water to 25 million people and 3 million acres of Central Valley farmland.

I talked to Brett about why this change is so important.

Posted in Water / Tagged drought, evapotranspiration, OpenET, water data, western drought | Comments are closed

3 acciones críticas para la equidad del agua en las comunidades latinas de California — ¡apúrense!

By Ana Lucia Garcia Briones / Bio / Published: October 15, 2021

Es una paradoja penosa para California, la quinta economía más grande del mundo: Algunos de los mismos trabajadores agrícolas que recogen nuestra comida no pueden beber un vaso de agua limpia, o ni siquiera tener agua, en fregadero de la cocina.

He trabajado en temas de justicia ambiental en EDF durante los últimos seis años, y he tenido la oportunidad de hablar con algunos de estos trabajadores esenciales, muchos de los cuales provienen de países de habla hispana como yo.

A medida que el Mes de la Herencia Hispana llega a su fin, la sequía en California avanza obstinadamente. Es importante reconocer cuán importantes son estos trabajadores del campo que cosechan los alimentos en todo nuestro estado y más allá.

Más allá del reconocimiento que se merecen los trabajadores del campo, los líderes estatales y locales deben tomar al menos tres pasos críticos para eliminar esta paradoja:

Also posted in ecosystems / Tagged agriculture, california, central valley, climate change, drought, farming, farmworker, food production, latino, sustainability, water quality, water use | Comments are closed

3 critical actions for water equity in California’s Latino communities – ¡apúrense!

By Ana Lucia Garcia Briones / Bio / Published: October 14, 2021

Lea en español

It is a painful paradox for California, the world’s fifth-largest economy: Some of the very same farmworkers who pick our food can’t drink a glass of clean water — or any water in some cases — from their kitchen sink.

While working on environmental justice issues at EDF for the past six years, I have had the opportunity to talk with some of these essential workers, many of whom come from Spanish-speaking countries like me.

As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close while the drought in California stubbornly marches on, it’s important to recognize how instrumental these farmworkers are to providing food throughout our state and beyond.

But besides recognition, state and local leaders need to take at least three critical steps to eliminate this paradox:

Also posted in ecosystems / Tagged agriculture, california, central valley, climate change, drought, farming, food production, sustainability, sustainable groundwater management act, water quality, water use | Comments are closed

Developing rural water leaders as drought and water scarcity intensify

By Ana Lucia Garcia Briones / Bio / Published: September 20, 2021

An immigrant who left Mexico when he was young to make a new life in California. The owner of a small family farm who grew up in the Central Valley. A water utility operator who served in the Navy.

These are among the diverse participants who graduated at the end of July from our fourth cohort of the Water Leadership Institute, a program developed to help rural communities more effectively participate in water decision-making and policy.

EDF partnered with the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) and Self Help Enterprises six years ago, after passage of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), to develop the Water Leadership Institute. The West Turlock Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) joined forces with EDF and RCAC to bring the institute to Stanislaus County for this fourth installment, which was hosted online due to COVID-19.

Over 15 weeks, I had the wonderful opportunity to get to know these leaders better as they developed skills and understanding that will help them become stronger advocates for their water resources and their communities.

Posted in Water / Tagged CA drought, California drought, RCAC, SGMA | Comments are closed

Climate change is destabilizing the Colorado River Basin. Where do we go from here?

By Christopher Kuzdas / Bio / Published: September 2, 2021

In June, a portion of my neighborhood in Flagstaff, Arizona, was put on pre-evacuation notice due to a nearby wildfire. A few weeks later, storms dumped heavy rains over a burn scar from a 2019 fire that caused destructive floods through parts of town. So far, this summer has been our third-wettest monsoon season on record, a complete contrast from our two driest monsoon seasons on record in 2019 and 2020.

These extremes are just a few local examples of the havoc that climate change is causing around the world. Here in the West, we are now in uncharted territory with the first-ever shortage declaration on the Colorado River.

Also posted in ecosystems / Tagged Arizona, Arizona groundwater, climate change, colorado, colorado river, drought, sustainability | Comments are closed

5 principles for resilient groundwater management in Texas

By Vanessa Puig-Williams / Bio / Published: August 30, 2021

Although Texas has a solid foundation for managing groundwater, this foundation is cracking under the combined pressures of increasing demand and decreasing supply.

These pressures are pitting rural areas against urban areas and landowners against each other, with groundwater conservation districts caught in the middle.

To overcome these challenges and ensure resilient water supplies, Texas leaders must improve the state’s framework for managing groundwater. That means finding common ground among diverse stakeholders on how to best sustain supplies.

Posted in Water / Tagged texas aquifers, texas drought, texas groundwater, texas water | Comments are closed

As drought intensifies, this California water manager is testing new tools to help farmers, communities and wildlife

By Anna Schiller / Bio / Published: August 19, 2021

Aaron Fukuda is general manager of the Tulare Irrigation District, general manager of the Mid-Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency and a participant in the Kaweah Regional Conservation Investment Strategy steering committee process.

Growing up in Hanford, California, Aaron Fukuda learned about the connections between water, animals and plants at an early age. His mother, a biologist, taught him how to study owl pellets and how rain changed the landscape when he was a kid.

As an adult, Fukuda is more focused on what’s happening both on the ground and underground with the region’s increasingly scarce water supplies.

Fukuda wears three hats that give him a unique perspective on the region’s water and land issues as general manager of the Tulare Irrigation District, general manager of the Mid-Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency and a participant in the Kaweah Regional Conservation Investment Strategy (RCIS) steering committee process. Read More »

Posted in Water / Tagged California drought, California Groundwater, california water, SGMA | Comments are closed

10 ways policymakers can support climate resilience in the West

By Kevin Moran / Bio / Published: July 20, 2021

It seems every day I come across a heartbreaking headline about how extreme heat, wildfires and ongoing drought are plaguing the West.

Indeed, the climate crisis has hit home in the Colorado River Basin and is threatening everything from agriculture to water supplies. The basin’s two main reservoirs — Lakes Powell and Mead — are at record low water levels, threatening the water security essential to communities, wildlife, recreation and agricultural production across the Southwest.

To help policymakers address these pressing climate challenges, EDF contributed to a recent report, Ten Strategies for Climate Resilience in the Colorado River Basin, authored by Martin & McCoy and Culp & Kelly, LLP, that analyzed multiple approaches to building climate resilience and identified the top 10 priorities. Read More »

Posted in Water / Tagged Colorado River Basin, water policy, western drought | Comments are closed

This landmark water conservation agreement is good news for Arizona. We need more like it.

By Kevin Moran / Bio / Published: July 8, 2021

Water scarcity in the Colorado River is becoming more urgent by the day. As temperatures soar to record levels — 122 degrees in Phoenix last month — Lake Mead has plummeted to 37% of its capacity, the lowest level since the nation’s largest reservoir was filled in 1935.

Amid this dire picture comes one significant piece of good news: In the largest ever multisector response to drought, final funding has been committed to enable the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) to conserve nearly 49 billion gallons of water (or 150,000 acre-feet) in Lake Mead over three years.

This project is the largest single conservation effort to date, both in dollars and volume of water, in the Colorado River Basin. It is a harbinger of the unprecedented collaboration that will be required going forward to build resilience to climate change and water scarcity in the West.

Posted in Water / Tagged arizona drought, arizona drought contingency plan, arizona heat wave, arizona water, arizona wildlife, colorado river, Colorado River Basin, colorado river indian tribes, CRIT | Comments are closed

Texas leaders made a big mistake ignoring water this session. But not all hope is lost.

By Vanessa Puig-Williams / Bio / Published: June 23, 2021

Last weekend I paddled on the Blanco River with my family. We swam in spring-fed swimming holes, fly fished and lounged in shallow sections of the river, which was flowing nicely thanks to recent rains that ended drought conditions across Texas.

But it’s hard to ignore that Texas is sitting in the shadow of one of the worst droughts in history — one that’s crippling the rest of the West.

As temperatures rise and groundwater levels remain low with little rain in the forecast, it is imperative that we develop solutions to manage our water supplies more sustainably.

Unfortunately, state leaders put water on the back burner this legislative session, failing to take action on several water bills — even a benign bill to study groundwater and surface water interactions. But just because state leaders haven’t taken action doesn’t mean we can’t.

Here are three steps that all Texans can take now to build momentum behind protecting our rivers, streams and groundwater. Read More »

Posted in Water / Tagged Texas, texas climate, texas drought, texas water | Comments are closed