This section explores the nuances of global water challenges, featuring insights by our researchers, collaborative pieces with our partners, and Q&A styled dialogues with industry experts. It complements our work by providing context, commentary, and a deeper understanding of our research findings.
The Sacramento Bee: Why I’m still confused about the proposed tunnels in the Delta
I and my colleagues at the Pacific Institute have worked on California water issues for more than a quarter of a century.
Water Managers and Social Media: How to Get Started
A few of you have reached out to me after I wrote about why water managers should invest in social media. It looks like I’ve managed to convince a few of you that it’s worthwhile, but now what?
Water, Food, and Agriculture
Agriculture uses approximately 70% of the world’s freshwater supply. Agricultural water use is under growing pressure as demands for water increase; competition among cities, farmers, and the environment grows; and as concerns grow over large-scale overdraft of groundwater and water contamination from agricultural runoff. New threats include the challenges of climate change, which is likely to alter both water availability and agricultural water demands.
Water Vlogged: Where There Is No Water Utility
In cities throughout Indonesia, utilities employ some of the latest technologies to supply treated water to millions of residents. However, service still isn’t available to thousands of those who are living in informal neighborhoods (slums) or just outside service networks.
Collective Action on Water – To What End?
The United Nations has designated 2013 as the International Year of Water Cooperation, which highlights the critical importance of cross-sectoral collaboration in promoting sustainable water management.
AT&T Tool Kit Uncovers Billions of Gallons of Potential Water Savings in Cooling Systems
Coming from a telecommunications company and attending a conference entitled Water Cooperation – Building Partnerships, I find this an appropriate quote with which to open.
Many Agricultural Water Districts Fail to Submit Required Water Management Plans: Laggards Can Learn from Leaders
A few years ago, the California Legislature passed the Water Conservation Act of 2009, which among other things, required large agricultural water providers to begin preparing agricultural water management plans (as urban water providers have done for over a decade).
WRI Insights: Managing the Earth from Space: Satellite and Sensing Technology in Water Management
Andrew Maddocks of the World Resources Institute shares his WRI blog previewing the Stockholm World Water Week session “The Use of New Spatial Information Products for Improved Water Management and Risk Mapping.”
Hundreds of Thousands May Not Have Affordable Access to Safe Drinking Water in California
In 2012, California made history by being the first U.S. state to legally acknowledge a human right to water. Yet, what does it mean, in practice, to ensure that all Californians have access to safe drinking water?
Aligning Two Worlds: Business and the Human Right to Water and Sanitation
Available, Affordable, Accessible, Acceptable, and Safe – the cornerstones of the human right to water and sanitation were codified in California in 2012 with the adoption of Assembly Bill 685.