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Support for SB 51

This letter to Cailfornia Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from the Pacific Institute, Defenders of Wildlife, Audubon California, Sierra Club California, the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance, and the Planning and Conservation League expresses support for SB 51.

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

The Concept of Peak Water

Increasing competition for resources across the globe reveals the finite nature of the resources that fuel our societies.

Comments on SBx7-7 Urban Technical Methodologies

This letter to the California Department of Water Resources, Division of Statewide Integrated Water Management, Water Use and Efficiency Branch contains comments from Heather Cooley of the Pacific Institute on the public review draft of the SBx7-7 urban technical methodologies.

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...

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

This letter to the California Department of Water Resources, Division of Statewide Integrated Water Management, Water Use and Efficiency Branch from Heather Cooley of the Pacific Institute contains comments on the public review draft of the SBx7-7 urban technical methodologies.

Notes from the Field: Safe Guarding Water Quality – A Concern for All

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.

“Climate Change Question and Answer” Fact Sheet

With the threat of climate change growing worse by the day, a historic bill to tackle the issue was passed by the California Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee on a bipartisan, 8 to 1 vote.

Comments on SBx7-7 Urban Technical Methodologies

This letter to the Department of Water Resources, Division of Statewide Integrated Water Management, Water Use and Efficiency Branch from Heather Cooley of the Pacific Institute contains comments on SBx7-7 urban technical methodologies.

Notes from the Field:Need for Water Resource Management and Adequate Sanitation

“Water is life,” says 60-year-old Mahama Azundo of Gbulung, a community 5 Km East of Savelugu in the Northern Region of Ghana.

Peak Water Limits to Freshwater Withdrawal and Use

This journal article, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), defines the concept of “peak water,” posturing that water withdrawal for human needs will follow a similar trend to that of peak oil.

Water: Facts, Trends, Threats, and Solutions

Global warming will likely change rainfall and runoff patterns and seriously impact our water supplies both in the United States and abroad. Meanwhile, 1.2 billion 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.

Bottled and Sold: What’s Really in Our Bottled Water

There are some great stories in the book: here is a little one, about what's sometimes found in our bottled water.

Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water

Bottled and Sold explores the trajectory of water from a free natural resource to one of the most successful commercial products of the last one hundred years.

Corporate Water Accounting: An Analysis of Methods and Tools for Measuring Water Use and Its Impact

Concerns around growing water scarcity, degraded ecosystem function, and the implications of climate change have led to the emergence of water as a strategic concern for companies around the world.

WECalc

WECalc asks users a series of questions about their home water use habits, and based on inputted replies, estimates their water use and provides personalized recommendations for reducing it. WECalc also estimates users’ water-related energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions as well as how much can be saved, and how to do it.

Interactive Map: California Coast Sea-Level Rise

This interactive online map shows the coastal flood and erosion hazard zones from the Pacific Institute study The Impacts of Sea-Level Rise on the California Coast. Users can display the location and attributes of health-care facilities, schools, fire and police stations, wastewater plants, and EPA-listed facilities that are vulnerable to coastal flooding.

California Farm Water Success Stories

California’s agricultural industry is a lynchpin of the state’s economy. But the effects of climate change, as well as pressures such as population growth, have significant impacts on water supply, raising concerns about water management in the agricultural sector. This series of case studies and interviews describes the practices of innovative California farm water managers.

Clearing the Waters: A Focus on Water Quality Solutions

Every day, 2 million tons of sewage and industrial and agricultural waste are poured into the world’s waters. The result is that more people die from unsafe water annually than from all forms of violence, including war.

World Water Quality Facts and Statistics – World Water Day 2010

The quality of the world’s water is a major global concern. This fact sheet provides facts and statistics on the state of global water supplies and access as of 2010, covering global water pollution, water and sanitation access, drinking water quality, water infrastructure, and more.

The Story of Bottled Water

Understanding and Reducing the Risks of Climate Change for Transboundary Waters

Political borders and boundaries rarely coincide with the borders of watersheds.

Op-Ed: State Not Meeting Salton Sea Responsibilities

The Legislature and much of California remain locked in a fight over the future of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Not so long ago, there was a similar fight over California's other major water source, the Colorado River...

Laguna Conceptual Restoration Design