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Snowpack Report Underscores Need for Transformative Changes to Address Record-Setting California Drought

April 1st marks the end of the wet season in California. It’s also the day the California Department of Water Resources announces key seasonal snowpack measurements and makes projections of water availability for the rest of the water year. Today, the news is extremely bad and is a call to action to do much more — and to do some things much differently.

World Water Day Focuses Attention on How Water is Underappreciated — Especially Groundwater

Around the world, people and nature rely on groundwater for survival. The newly released United Nations World Water Development Report 2022 underscores humanity’s reliance on this resource, noting groundwater currently provides about half the volume of domestic water and a quarter the volume of irrigation water withdrawn globally.

March 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.

Cambios en la diversidad y abundancia de aves en el Salton Sea

Changes in Avian Diversity and Abundance at the Salton Sea

The Salton Sea is one of the most important places for birds in North America and is in danger of losing its ecological value. The lake is a globally significant Important Bird Area (IBA). For the past century, it has served as a major nesting, wintering, and stopover site for millions of birds of approximately 400 species. At this webinar, speakers discussed changes at the Salton Sea and how they are affecting the Pacific Flyway, as well as management efforts to protect and restore habitat at the lake.

Water Conflicts Continue to Worsen Worldwide 

In the past few years, severe droughts in India and Iran have led to a big increase in conflicts over access to irrigation and domestic water and to demonstrations against water diversions from one community to another.

Water Conflicts Worsen: New Pacific Institute Analysis Identifies Hundreds of New Instances of Violence over Water Resources

New data highlight recent attacks on water infrastructure in the Middle East and Ukraine, violence over water scarcity intensified by climate change, cross-border violence over shared rivers, and cyberattacks on water utilities...

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.

Salton Sea Community Science

Salton Sea Community Science Webinar hosted by Michael Cohen.

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.

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).  

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.

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.

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.

COP26 Is a Unique Moment in Time for Water and Climate

As we approach COP26 in Glasgow, the Pacific Institute recognizes how pivotal this United Nations Climate Change Conference will be in advancing water on the global climate agenda. After decades of work by water leaders to integrate water and climate solutions, COP26 presents a unique moment in time.

New Article Tackles Global Water Scarcity

October 24, 2021, Oakland, California -- The article "Freshwater Scarcity" was recently published in the Annual Review of Environment and Resources. The availability and use of fresh water are critical for human health and for economic and ecosystem stability.

Freshwater Scarcity

The availability and use of fresh water are critical for human health and for economic and ecosystem stability. But the growing mismatch between human demands and natural freshwater availability is contributing to water scarcity, affecting industrial and agricultural production and a wide range of social, economic, and political problems, including poverty, deterioration of ecosystem health, and violent conflicts.