An Assessment of Urban Water Demand Forecasts in California
Published: August 2020
In California, urban per capita water demand has declined dramatically over the past several decades, driven in part by greater uptake of water-efficient devices.
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Benefit Accounting of Nature-Based Solutions for Watersheds Landscape Assessment
Published: August 2020
Nature-based solution (NBS) can improve degraded ecosystems, help sequester carbon, and manage the effects of climate change, including extreme weather events. Businesses are beginning to recognize the value of NBS for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.
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Comment Letter on USEPA WaterSense Program
Published: July 2020
This comment letter submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) expresses strong support for both maintaining and strengthening the WaterSense Program at the USEPA, and includes specific recommendations for improving the program.
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Water and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Business Framework for Water & COVID-19: Practical Actions to Contain the Pandemic
Published: July 2020
To combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus and rebuild our economies during and after the pandemic, collective action on water is essential. Such action can help not only to contain the virus, but also to realize the human right to water and accelerate the “blue” economy, whereby economic well-being and water resilience mutually reinforce one another.
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Setting Site Water Targets Informed by Catchment Context CASE STUDY: Noyyal-Bhavani River Basin, South India
Published: July 2020
The world’s water resources are under increasing pressure from rising water consumption, pollution, and climate variability. The variety of water challenges companies face, from water governance issues to extreme events like drought, manifest in the river basins where the companies operate. Therefore, setting meaningful targets requires companies to take the local context of their operations into consideration.
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Setting Site Water Targets Informed by Catchment Context CASE STUDY: Upper Vaal River Basin and Berg and Breede River Basins, South Africa
Published: July 2020
The world’s water resources are under increasing pressure from rising water consumption, pollution, and climate variability. The variety of water challenges companies face, from water governance issues to extreme events like drought, manifest in the river basins where the companies operate. Therefore, setting meaningful targets requires companies to take the local context of their operations into consideration.
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Water and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts on Municipal Water Demand
Published: July 2020
The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 has imposed massive health and economic burdens on communities around the world, and affected every sector of society, including the water sector. Unexpected events – from social disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic to more extreme droughts and floods due to climate change - highlight the need for water utilities to bolster their resilience so they can continue to provide critical water and wastewater services in a more variable and uncertain future.
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Water and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Equity Dimensions of Utility Disconnections in the U.S.
Published: July 2020
Water is essential to public health. While the vast majority of American households served by water utilities receive a reliable supply of high-quality drinking water, there remain homes where water and wastewater services have been shut off or disconnected due to non-payment.
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Water and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Ensuring Access to Water as Shutoff Moratoriums Lift
Published: July 2020
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic sparked a nationwide discussion around the practice of water utilities disconnecting service to households that are unable or fail to pay their bills, as this places affected households and their communities at greater risk of transmitting COVID-19.
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Incorporating Multiple Benefits into Water Projects: A Guide for Water Managers
Published: June 2020
Adapting to climate change, coupled with the need to address aging infrastructure, population growth, and degraded ecosystems, requires significant investment in natural and built water systems. These investments present a significant opportunity to support not only water, but to provide economic, social, and environmental benefits.
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Scaling Green Stormwater Infrastructure Through Multiple Benefits in Austin, Texas: Distributed Rainwater Capture on Residential Properties in the Waller Creek Watershed
Published: June 2020
The City of Austin, Texas is facing an increasingly uncertain water future, from decreasing water supplies and more intense droughts to periodic flooding and water quality impairments. Austin is addressing these challenges head on, from investments in water efficiency and water reuse to rainwater harvesting and stormwater management.
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Urban and Agricultural Water Use in California, 1960 -2015
Published: June 2020
Water is the lifeblood of California, providing for the household needs of 40 million people and supporting one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world, various commercial and industrial activities, and the health and viability of the state’s aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
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Water and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reopening Buildings After Shutdowns: Reducing Water-Related Health Risks
Published: June 2020
Under normal conditions, the flow of tap water through building water systems prevents the buildup of bacteria and metals in pipes, and hot water tanks. But after a period of shutdown, like during the coronavirus pandemic, stagnant water may breed bacteria...
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No COVID-19 Models Are Perfect, But Some Are Useful
Published: May 2020
The global coronavirus pandemic has brought renewed interest and focus on scientific models as we try to get a handle on what the future will bring, how many people will fall sick and die, what the economic impacts will be, and what actions politicians should take.
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The Impact of Using Low-Saline Oilfield Produced Water for Irrigation on Water and Soil Quality in California
Published: May 2020
In California, drought and a reduction in natural water availability in recent decades have led to a search for alternative water sources for agriculture. One controversial potential source is oilfield produced water, a byproduct of oil extraction.
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Opportunities Are Plentiful to Sustain California Agriculture in the Face of Water Supply Uncertainties
Published: April 2020
Nationally, we export about $40 billion of agricultural products annually. There is nothing wrong with importing or exporting food; we live in a global economy, which is extremely important to California’s prosperity.
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Mapping Public Water Management: Proof of Concept
Published: April 2020
What cannot be measured cannot be managed. Poor water management poses major risks to agriculture, industry, and local communities. However, there is a critical lack of information available about local water conditions, making better management difficult.
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Scaling Corporate Water Stewardship to Address Water Challenges in the Colorado River Basin
Published: April 2020
The Colorado River Basin states face significant water challenges, including the overallocation of water, long-term drought, and climate change. This report, commissioned by the Walton Family Foundation, explores the potential for corporate water stewardship to help solve these challenges.
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Economic Evaluation of Stormwater Capture and Its Multiple Benefits in California
Published: March 2020
Urban stormwater is becoming an increasingly important alternative water supply in California. However, current economic analyses do not adequately evaluate co-benefits provided by different stormwater investments. As a result, urban stormwater capture is undervalued.
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Hand-Washing Is Critical in the Fight Against Coronavirus, but What If You Don’t Have Safe Water?
Published: March 2020
The coronavirus pandemic is shining a spotlight on the weaknesses of social, economic and health safety nets we’ve long taken for granted, including our water system.
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Corporate Water Resilience in an Uncertain Future
Published: March 2020
Around the world, businesses are experiencing adverse physical effects of climate change, from increased operational costs and disrupted production to social unrest in communities in which they operate. These impacts are most prominently expressed through changes in the water cycle, including precipitation shifts and extreme drought.
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Comment Letter on the Draft Water Resilience Portfolio for the State of California Regarding a Multi-Benefit Approach
Published: February 2020
This comment letter focuses on how the California Water Resilience Portfolio can incorporate multiple benefits when prioritizing and funding water management strategies throughout the state.
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Comment Letter on the Draft Water Resilience Portfolio for the State of California
Published: February 2020
This comment letter conveys summary comments and suggestions on the draft Water Resilience Portfolio released by California state agencies, drawing on the considerable experience Pacific Institute has around themes of water efficiency, stormwater management, and the Salton Sea.
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Comment Letter on the Proposed Urban Water Conservation Reporting Regulations for the State of California
Published: January 2020
This comment letter expresses comments and suggestions in response to proposed regulation under the California Code of Regulations around reporting urban water conservation information for water utilities.
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California Can Solve Its Water Shortage With the Water We Have. Here’s How
Published: December 2019
We can continue our costly, 100-year-old pattern of trying to find new water supplies, or we can choose instead to focus on smarter ways of using – and reusing – what we already have.
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When It Comes to Climate-Change Adaptation, As Goes California, So Goes…the World
Published: December 2019
It’s almost biblical: Apocalyptic images of fires sweeping through communities. The worst droughts in recorded history, followed by floods overwhelming dams and levees. Homeless encampments. Power outages for millions of people.
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Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Three Essential Ingredients to Resilient Agricultural Supply Chains
Published: November 2019
Agricultural workers are expected to be some of the worst affected from the projected impacts of climate change, resulting in sixty percent of work hours lost due to heat stress in 2030. Climate change will also significantly the water cycle, introducing greater uncertainty into agricultural supply chain operations.
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Climate-Equitable Water
Published: September 2019
The failure to meet basic needs for safe water and sanitation worldwide is one of the great tragedies of our age, with billions of people paying the price in illness and poverty.
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Protecting the Environment in Times of War
Published: September 2019
War is a miserable thing. It kills and maims soldiers and civilians. It destroys infrastructure, cultures, and communities. It worsens poverty and development challenges. And it damages and cripples vital ecological and environmental resources.
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Setting Site Water Targets Informed by Catchment Context: A Guide for Companies
Published: August 2019
The world’s water resources are under growing pressure from rising water consumption, pollution, weak governance, and climate change, exposing businesses to increased water-related risks caused not only by their own water use and discharge, but also by the catchment context in which they operate.
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