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February 2022 Newsletter

The monthly newsletter features the Pacific Institute’s research, publications, news about past and upcoming Institute staff outreach efforts, and media coverage of its work and analysis.

Seawater Desalination Possibly Expanding in California Amid Worsening Drought

Salton Sea Community Science

Salton Sea Community Science Webinar hosted by Michael Cohen.

Snow Falling: As Climate Warms, Overhauling California Water Projections Gains Urgency

Snow Falling: As Climate Warms, Overhauling California Water Projections Gains Urgency

Los Angeles Is Building a Future Where Water Won’t Run Out

January 2022 Newsletter

The monthly newsletter features the Pacific Institute’s research, publications, news about past and upcoming Institute staff outreach efforts, and media coverage of its work and analysis.

California’s Drought Reckoning Could Offer Lessons for the West

Researchers Optimistic About New Housing Despite California Drought

December 2021 Newsletter

The monthly newsletter features the Pacific Institute’s research, publications, news about past and upcoming Institute staff outreach efforts, and media coverage of its work and analysis.

With Another Dry Year Looming, California Moves to Set New Urban Water Use Standards

In November, amid the deepening drought, the DWR and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) issued joint recommendations to the California State Legislature for new indoor residential water use standards, along with a study supporting the recommendations (hereafter the Indoor Residential Water Use Study, or IRWUS).  

Californians Have A Lot of Ideas For How to Get More Water. Most of Them Are Really Bad.

A Frenzy of Well Drilling By California Leaves Taps Running Dry

California, Arizona and Nevada Agree to Take Less Water From Ailing Colorado River

California’s Major Reservoirs Are Still Far Drier Than Average

Mai-Lan Ha Promoted to Pacific Institute’s Executive Team as Associate Director of Corporate Water Stewardship and Deputy Head of the CEO Water Mandate

December 8, 2021, Oakland, California – The Pacific Institute today announced Mai-Lan Ha has been promoted to join its executive team as Associate Director of Corporate Water Stewardship and Deputy Head of the CEO Water Mandate.

Column: This Proposed Ballot Measure Would Make You Pay for the AG Industry’s Water Inefficiency

COP26: A Bold Step Forward for the Water Resilience Agenda

With the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) now in the rearview mirror, three things are clear: 1) the water agenda received significantly more attention than previous COPs, 2) resilience and adaptation are gaining powerful traction alongside climate mitigation, and 3) the corporate sector has the opportunity to lead in this critical next stage of the climate crisis by turning commitments into tangible action. 

November 2021 Newsletter

The monthly newsletter features the Pacific Institute’s research, publications, news about past and upcoming Institute staff outreach efforts, and media coverage of its work and analysis.

The U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Water Components

On November 5, 2021, the U.S. Congress passed President Biden’s major infrastructure bill, HR 3684, the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The President is expected to sign the bill into law.

An Assessment of Oil and Gas Water Cycle Reporting in California

In the context of severe drought in California, Senate Bill 1281 (2014, Pavley) expanded reporting requirements for the state's oil and gas industry regarding produced water — the water extracted from oil and gas production. The intention of the bill is to ensure the ability to assess impacts on California’s water resources, public health, and the environment.

The U.S. Infrastructure Plan: Water Components 

On November 5, 2021, the U.S. Congress passed President Biden’s major infrastructure bill, HR 3684, the $1.2 trillion ‘‘Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.” The President is expected to sign the bill into law. The bill is the largest single federal investment in infrastructure in a generation, with the funds to be expended over five years...

Op-Ed: Does the Bay Area Have the Water It Needs to Grow?

It seems as though the two things the Bay Area has the least of are housing and water. The region has a shortfall of 699,000 housing units, which has driven housing costs to astronomical heights, and pushed 35,000 of our neighbors into temporary housing or onto the streets. Our colleagues at San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR),a public policy think tank, have found that the region needs to build an astonishing 2.2 million homes by 2070 to meet future demand and make up for the present shortfall.

Pacific Institute: An Urgent Call to Build Water Resilience

The world is facing a global water crisis marked by growing competition for freshwater resources, rapidly deteriorating water quality, poor and declining ecosystem health, unprecedented biodiversity loss, and a failure to meet basic water and sanitation needs. This crisis is exacerbated by population growth, unsustainable consumption patterns, and, increasingly, climate change.

Pacific Institute Launches Water Resilience Issue Brief, Calls on Decision-makers to Rapidly Scale Water Resilience Solutions in Build-Up to COP26 

Never before have the global water and climate agendas been so closely linked. More than 30 years ago, the Pacific Institute made some of the earliest projections about how climate change would wreak havoc on the water cycle. Today, we see many of these impacts before our very eyes. Amid climate change, intensifying floods and droughts have affected people, nature, and economies.