mWASH: Mobile Phone Applications for the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Sector

Billions of the world’s poor still lack access to basic water and sanitation services, yet many of them can count mobile phones among their possessions. Water and sanitation practitioners have begun to tap the potential of these phones as tools to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. A new report from the Pacific Institute and Nexleaf Analytics assesses how these “mWASH” solutions can amass and disseminate information quickly and thoroughly – directly to or from the underserved populations most in need of service from water providers.

CE2 Model: Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Urban Water Conservation and Efficiency Measures

Over the past 25 years, water conservation and efficiency improvements have provided real water savings, allowing many agencies to maintain or reduce water use while meeting the needs of a growing population and economy. Recent studies indicate that despite the improvements that have already been achieved, significant water conservation potential remains. Indeed, California legislation passed in 2009 requires urban water agencies to reduce per capita water use by 20% by the year 2020.

Multiple-Use Water Services (MUS): Recommendations for a Robust and Sustainable Approach

A new report from the Pacific Institute examines Multiple-Use Water Services (MUS), a water-provision and management approach that has emerged as a way to realize the poverty alleviation potential of water projects. By connecting livelihoods to water supply, MUS seeks to improve nutrition, boost income, and help the rural and peri-urban poor climb the water ladder to make more sophisticated use of water beyond their basic health needs.

The Water – Energy Nexus in the American West: The Energy Implications of Desalination

Despite some major barriers to desalination, interest has recently mushroomed as technology has improved, demands for water have grown, and prices have declined. Interest in desalination has been especially high in the West, where rapidly growing populations, inadequate regulation of the water supply/land-use nexus, and ecosystem degradation from existing water supply sources have forced a rethinking of water policies and management. Pacific Institute Water Program Co-Director Heather Cooley authored the chapter, “The Energy Implications of Desalination” in the newly released The Water – Energy Nexus in the American West.

Climate Change and Urbanisation: Building Resilience in the Urban Water Sector– A Case Study of Indore, India

Thousands of cities in the developing world face rising pressures on water provision due to population growth and urbanization, and climate change worsens these impacts. Coordinating the formal and informal water sectors, improving water storage and management, and bringing community voices into water planning are critical to sustainably providing water, especially for the urban poor who are most vulnerable to water scarcity. A new report, Climate Change and Urbanisation: Building Resilience in the Urban Water Sector – a Case Study of Indore, India, from the Pacific Institute, the Institute for Environmental Transition (ISET), and TARU Leading Edge provides detailed analysis of the water situation in Indore, India and shows a way forward to a more secure water future for developing country cities.

California Farm Water Success Stories: Vegetated Waterways and Riparian Restoration

A fourth-generation farmer on the Oakdale Ranch, John Stephens worked with Audubon California to improve water quality, drainage, and wildlife habitat on his property by restoring Willow Slough, which runs through his property. This work addressed major watershed concerns in the area, including a lack of vegetated riparian corridors and high rates of erosion and sedimentation of local waterways, as identified by the Yolo County RCD and Cache Creek Watershed Stakeholders Group. In the future, Stephens hopes that his riparian restoration project will be linked to other projects, creating a healthy riparian corridor along the length of Willow Slough.

California Farm Water Success Stories: State and Federal Funding Accelerates Efficiency

A variety of grant and loan programs along with water rate structures are available that provide financial incentives for agricultural producers and water districts to make water management improvements.
The case study State and Federal Financing Accelerates Efficiency: Panoche Water and Drainage District and Sierra Orchards, part of the California Farm Water Success Stories series, focuses on several that have provided financing to update irrigation systems and implement best water management practices on farms and throughout irrigation districts.

California Farm Water Success Stories: Volumetric Pricing and Conjunctive Use

Public interest in the issue of irrigation water pricing has increased worldwide in recent years, with a growing awareness of water scarcity and a greater appreciation of the opportunity costs of allocating water among competing uses.
The Alta Irrigation Distrct has implemented a variety of programs, including volumetric water pricing, active groundwater recharge and conjunctive use, and a focus on agricultural water use efficiency. The case study Volumetric Pricing and Conjunctive Use, part of the California Farm Water Success Stories series, explores how Alta Irrigation District has successfully implemented these programs with widespread support.

Testimony of Peter Gleick: Recommendations to Congress for Fundamental Changes in National Water Policy

The water crisis around the nation and around the world is growing, presenting new threats to our economy and environment, but also offering new opportunities for better and coordinated responses. We have long known that we need coordinated federal planning for water; but such coordination remains an elusive goal. And the nation faces new water challengessuch as climate change, new pollutants, and decaying infrastructure.

Water-use Efficiency and Productivity: Rethinking the Basin Approach

The Pacific Institute provides thoughtful new analysis to help move beyond the theoretical quagmire that has characterized the debate over water use efficiency for decades. A newly published peer-reviewed article in the journal Water International analyzes three fundamental flaws in the traditional approach to water-efficiency or the “basin approach,” including the assumption that all consumptive water use is beneficial, a lack of attention to water productivity measures, and the numerous, important “co-benefits” that are either ignored or discounted in most basin assessments.

At a Crossroads in Our Region’s Health: Freight Transport and the Future of Community Health in the San Francisco Bay Area

Priority Development Areas in the San Francisco Bay region overlap with communities with the highest health risk from toxic air contaminants, including diesel pollution from freight transport, designated as CARE zones by the Air District. But a new study from the Pacific Institute and the Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaboration found that 74% of the land in Priority Development Areas that intersect with CARE communities is far enough away from freight transport hazards to be suitable for sensitive land uses like new housing. With wise regional planning, decision-makers have the power to develop the region’s economic capacity while protecting the health of vulnerable communities.

Water for Energy: Future Water Needs for Electricity in the Intermountain West

The production of electricity, from fuel extraction to generation, has growing impacts on both water availability and quality. The new analysis from the Pacific Institute evaluates future water needs for different energy futures and identifies a growing risk of conflicts between electricity production and water availability in the U.S. Intermountain West. The new report also identifies strategies to ensure the long-term sustainable use of both resources.

The World’s Water, Volume 7

The World’s Water, Vol. 7 was released as the Pacific Institute headed into its 25th Anniversary year. Institute President and series editor Peter Gleick, with coauthors Lucy Allen, Juliet Christian-Smith, Michael Cohen, Heather Cooley, Matthew Heberger, Jason Morrison, Meena Palaniappan, and Peter Schulte of the Pacific Institute, address the timely and pressing issues in the management of our most precious resource. Topics range from water and fossil fuels, China and dams, and U.S. water policy to international water quality, transboundary water and climate change, corporate water management, and drought and water management in Australia. Nineteen data tables provide an invaluable resource for analyzing the state of the world’s water, accessibility, sustainability, attitudes, and more including top environmental concerns and bottled water consumption stats. There is also a fun Water Brief on “Water in the Movies.”

Speaking Truth on Coming Home: Research Findings and Recommendations on Re-entry in Richmond

The Safe Return Project is a participatory research and action initiative led by a group of formerly incarcerated Richmond residents carrying out research, community organizing, and policy advocacy to improve community reintegration after incarceration. In this partnership with Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO) and Richmond Office of Neighborhood Safety, the Pacific Institute provides capacity building, coordination, and research support.

Potential Water Savings Associated with Agricultural Water Efficiency Improvements: A Case Study of California

The Pacific Institute analyzes the potential for water savings from irrigation efficiency improvements in California, USA in a newly published peer-reviewed article in the journal Water Policy. The new article, Potential water savings associated with agricultural water efficiency improvements: a case study of California, USA models water savings associated with three efficiency scenarios in wet, average and dry water years.

Policy Options for Water Management in the Verde Valley, Arizona

The water of the Verde Valley in central Arizona, both in the ground and flowing at the surface, is a natural resource that is critical to the regional economy, environmental sustainability, and quality of life—but the Verde River faces unprecedented threats from over-allocation, development, and lack of cohesive water management. The report Policy Options for Water Management in the Verde Valley, Arizona, coauthored by Matthew Heberger and Michael Cohen of the Pacific Institute; James Limbrunner and Daniel Sheer of HydroLogics, Inc.; and Jim Henderson and Bob Raucher of Stratus Consulting, examines possible futures for the Verde River within the Verde Valley. The researchers provide information for stakeholders and decision-makers on the river’s resources, economic value, and tools for promoting sustainable water management.

Impacts of the California Drought from 2007 to 2009: Surprising Outcomes for California’s Agriculture, Energy, and Environment

California’s three-year drought, which ended with this season’s cool and wet weather, had complicated and serious impacts that have been poorly understood and reported. Some of the impacts were expected; others were surprising. The Pacific Institute has just completed a nine-month assessment of new data from California’s agricultural, energy, and environmental sectors to evaluate actual consequences of the drought for the state.

Municipal Deliveries of Colorado River Basin Water: New Report Examines 100 Cities and Agencies

The Pacific Institute’s Municipal Deliveries of Colorado River Basin Water documents population and water delivery information and trends for 100 cities and agencies that deliver water from the Colorado River basin. Since 1990, the number of people in the United States and Mexico who use Colorado River basin water has increased by more than 10 million -– but their overall per capita water use declined by an average of at least one percent per year from 1990 to 2008.

Testimony: The Vulnerability of U.S. Water Resources to Climate Change

What Can We Expect for Water from Climate Change?
• A hotter world.
• Mixed changes in precipitation (both by region and time period).
• Dramatic reductions in snowfall and accelerating snowmelt; related changes in runoff timing.
• Rising sea-level with impacts on groundwater quality and coastal/delta ecosystems.
• Accelerating influence on extreme events: including floods and droughts.

The Human Costs of Nitrate-Contaminated Drinking Water in the San Joaquin Valley

While most Californians take for granted that safe water is readily available at the turn of a tap, a growing number of communities, primarily in the San Joaquin Valley and other agricultural areas of the state, face very real impacts from nitrate contamination of the drinking water sources serving their homes and schools. New research led by the Pacific Institute, The Human Costs of Nitrate-Contaminated Drinking Water in the San Joaquin Valley, finds that nitrate contamination of groundwater has wide-reaching effects on California’s health, economic vitality, and environmental well being, disproportionately affecting low-income households and Spanish-speaking residents.

Op-Ed: Report Wrongly Excuses Farms From Helping Solve Water Woes

The latest report on California’s water crisis has recently been released by the Public Policy Institute of California, and while there are good things in this work, it has two fundamental flaws that cannot be ignored: It completely lets the agricultural sector off the hook for its part in causing – and ultimately helping to solve – our water problems, and it lays all the pressure and responsibility on urban water users and the environment.

Op-Ed: Another View: Busting Water Conservation Myths

As a solution for California’s complex water challenges, conserving water to get more from every drop stands out for its great potential and the misconceptions around it.

A recent op-ed column, “Putting two myths about the state’s drought to rest” (Viewpoints, July 6), repeated three misstatements about conservation that are often used to delay implementing strategies for more efficient water use. Until these misunderstandings are corrected, common-sense improvements will continue to be underfunded and inadequately pursued. The failure to use proven and cost-effective efficiency programs can be seen in the limited attention to conservation in the state water bond proposals and only modest efforts of some water agencies.

Op-Ed: State Needs More Water Storage – Underfoot

The massive rains over the past month are both a blessing and a curse for California. A blessing because we desperately need the water, having just weathered a serious multi-year drought. A curse because the intensity of rain causes serious problems with flooding, erosion, landslides and contamination with pollutants from the land. And the intensity of the rainfall causes another problem: Much of the excess water runs off in ways that do not help natural ecosystems or provide long-term benefits to our cities and farms.

The CEO Water Mandate: Guide to Responsible Business Engagement with Water Policy

With water issues among the world’s most critical sustainability challenges, businesses are facing increasing water-related risk to their operations. The just-released Guide to Responsible Business Engagement with Water Policy from the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate provides strategies for companies to turn risk into opportunity by advocating for water management approaches that meet the needs of business, communities, and nature.

The Human Right to Water: Emerging Corporate Practice and Stakeholder Expectations

In July 2010, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) recognized access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right. Two months later, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) affirmed this right by a consensus resolution. Even before these UN actions, many governments, NGOs, academics, and companies alike have acknowledged this human right to water and sanitation and sought to find solutions to help realize it on the ground. Further, a number of initiatives have emerged that have attempted to elucidate what this right means for a number of different actors, including companies.

Advancing Community Health through Community Benefits Agreements

The redevelopment of the former Oakland Army Base presents an enormous opportunity for investment in strategies to improve community health. A Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with the developer of the former Base is one strategy for the community to directly negotiate the benefits that will meet their priorities, monitor the project’s impact as it moves forward, and hold the developer accountable for the agreement. A CBA is a legally binding contract between a developer and community groups, and sometimes local government, that specifies benefits that a development project will result in for the local community.

California’s Next Million Acre-Feet: Saving Water, Energy, and Money

A new analysis from the Pacific Institute recommends specific actions that can annually save a million acre-feet of water quickly and at a lower economic and ecological cost than developing new supplies. The assessment notes that new actions are immediately needed to reduce the growing tensions over the state’s water resources and to address California’s persistent water supply challenges.

Op-Ed: Moving Forward on Water

Now that California lawmakers have pulled an $11 billion water bond measure off the November ballot, California is facing new questions about how to fix our longstanding water problems, including the long-term health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the future reliability of our water supply. A number of commentators have praised or pilloried the delay of the bond, but one thing we can all agree on is that California’s water challenges have not gone away. The recent State Water Resources Control Board report that finds we must halve our water withdrawals from the rivers and streams that sustain the Delta is simply one more indication that we have over-tapped California’s precious water resources and that we must find innovative ways to do more with less.

Support for SB 51

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

On behalf of the following undersigned organizations representing environmental, hunting and fishing interests, we write to respectfully urge you to sign SB 51 (Ducheny). This important legislation sets forth the implementing structure for the Salton Sea restoration effort. SB 51 is the product of nearly three years of work and discussion between all of the various interests involved in Salton Sea restoration and reflects a balanced approach for integrating local and statewide interests into the implementation of the Salton Sea Restoration plan.

How Much Will We Use? Forecasting Urban Water Use in California with Changing Climate, Demographics, and Technology

Global climate change is clearly acknowledged to pose risks to California’s water, though the focus has primarily been on water supply-side changes (e.g. decreased snowpack, earlier snowmelt, and more extreme floods and droughts). Yet along with these shifts in the quantity, timing, and reliability of freshwater supplies, climate change will also have important impacts on water demand. In particular, increased temperatures and altered precipitation patterns will affect the evapo-transpiration of plants and thus, total outdoor water demand. In addition, increased temperatures will impact cooling requirements, and therefore total indoor water demand. At the same time, a variety of other factors will continue to influence water demand such as population growth, development patterns (e.g., where the population grows), changes to the state’s industrial mix and employment (e.g., manufacturing jobs being replaced by service jobs), and on-going water conservation programs and standards (e.g., 20% reduction in per capita water use by 2020 and new water-use efficiency standards for fixtures and appliances).

Pacific Institute Analyzes the 2010 California Water Bond

At the end of 2009, a series of water-related bills was passed by the California Legislature, with the intent of moving the state out of decades of gridlock over water resource management. Simultaneously, the Legislature approved an $11.14 billion bond called the “Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010” to fund water system upgrades. This is the largest water bond in 50 years, yet the costs and benefits of the bond have not been fully assessed by an independent organization. The water bond has been postponed to 2012, but actions must be taken by the Legislator to ensure a responsible and effective water bond is proposed two years from now.

Comments on Public Review Draft of the SBx7-7 Urban Technical Methodologies

What happens after a bill becomes law? The answer may be more complicated than you think. The Pacific Institute has been involved in determining how the Water Conservation Act of 2009 (California Senate Bill x7-7) will be implemented by participating on both the Agricultural and Urban Stakeholder Committees. The legislation requires that the Department of Water Resources work with these committees to develop policy, guidelines, and regulatory rules that meet the intent of the law. This page provides links to letters submitted or signed onto by Pacific Institute staff and brief summaries of the major issues.

Framework for Responsible Business Engagement with Water Policy

Access to water is an important strategic concern for many companies, but increased threats to the supply, quality, and reliability of global water resources add substantial pressure and immediacy for businesses to improve the way they manage water risk. Recognizing that business, government, and civil society share a critical interest in reducing water-related risks through common solutions, the UN Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate has released a Framework for Responsible Business Engagement with Water Policy to facilitate effective water policy engagement.

Peak Water Limits to Freshwater Withdrawal and Use

A new journal article from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) highlights new “peak water” limits to global and regional freshwater availability and use. The May 24, 2010 early edition of the journal includes the new article Peak Water Limits to Freshwater Withdrawal and Use by authors Dr. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, and Meena Palaniappan, director of the Institute’s International Water and Communities Initiative, and brings sharp focus to understanding the world’s water issues in new terms of “peak renewable water,” “peak nonrenewable water,” and “peak ecological water.”

Water: Facts, Trends, Threats, and Solutions

On the subject of water, three key trends confront us: climate change will affect rainfall and runoff patterns and seriously impact our water supplies both in the United States and abroad; 780 million people in the developing world still don’t have access to clean drinking water – and pressure from pollution, wetland destruction, and climate change is threatening to make this worse; and the dangers of water privatization demand greater scrutiny from governments and the public.

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