Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): Proposition 1

For California water managers, establishing new traditions takes time

By Maurice Hall / Bio / Published: February 16, 2018

The California Water Commission sent ripples through the water world recently when it gave tepid “public benefit” scores to 11 water storage projects vying for taxpayer funding.

Project proponents were understandably frustrated, and many were openly critical of the Water Commission’s process for determining public benefits. After all, they’re vying for a big pot of public money – $2.7 billion that was set aside in 2014 with the passage of Proposition 1 – and their public benefit scores are a key factor in determining whether or not they get funded.

But let’s not be so critical. The Water Commission has been handed a difficult task, and is doing the right thing by carefully considering and scrutinizing each project. Here’s why.

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged California Water Commission, groundwater recharge, water storage, Water Storage Improvement Program, water use, western water | Read 1 Response

What it’s going to take to fund California’s water infrastructure

By Pablo Garza / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: March 6, 2017

Central Valley's levee system is damaged and needs repair

Crews are working to repair damage to the Central Valley’s levee system.

The situation at Oroville Dam garnered national attention and brought into clear focus the limitations of our aging flood protection infrastructure – California’s complex system of dams, levees, and bypasses – as well as the need for greater investment in maintaining and upgrading this system.

It is appropriate, then, that Governor Brown recently unveiled a plan to bolster dam safety and flood protection. By requiring emergency action plans, beefing up our dam inspection program and increasing our investment in emergency response, Governor Brown is taking an important first-step in tackling this difficult problem.

This comes at an especially important time as infrastructure maintenance is at the forefront of state and national discussions, and we still have a few months to go before we are out of the rainy season.

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged california, ecosystems, flood, floodplain, governor jerry brown, infrastructure, natural infrastructure, Oroville Dam, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, water quantity, water use, western water | Comments are closed

How can we better target public funds for wildlife conservation? Look to Elliott Ranch

By Dan Kaiser / Bio / Published: June 30, 2016

The Swainson’s hawk was listed as a threatened species in California in 1983 due to loss of habitat and decreased numbers across the state.

This week, the Delta Conservancy, a California state agency, awarded Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) a grant of $380,000 to implement a habitat enhancement project for the state-listed Swainson’s hawk on Elliott Ranch in West Sacramento, near the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The grant is part of California’s public water bond funding being managed by the Delta Conservancy to restore wildlife habitat in the Central Valley.

The Elliott Ranch project will enhance Swainson’s hawk habitat on 300 acres. Specifically, the project will expand the hawks’ hunting grounds by restoring habitat for their prey and converting existing crops to bird-friendly pasture.

Central to the project will be the use of a habitat quantification tool (HQT) designed by EDF and local stakeholders to evaluate the current quality of habitat for Swainson’s hawk and compare restoration alternatives to optimize habitat outcomes. This will be the first time the HQT will be used as a mechanism to help allocate public funding to the most high value habitat improvements in California.

Improved accounting, improved outcomes Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged Ann Hayden, california, central valley, central valley habitat exchange, conservation, Dan Kaiser, Delta Conservancy, ecosystems, Elliott Ranch, environmental defense fund, habitat exchange, habitat quantification tool, HQT, Swainson's hawk, water, water bond, western water | Comments are closed