New Release: The Untapped Potential of California's Urban Water Supply |
A Pacific Institute analysis released last week finds dramatic potential for California drought relief and longer-term water resilience through innovative urban water efficiency, water reuse, and stormwater capture strategies.
It shows California could:
- reduce urban water use by 30%-48% through efficiency efforts
- more than triple water reuse
- greatly expand stormwater capture across the state
- reduce pressures on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which is home to two-thirds of California’s salmon population and at least half the birds that migrate along the Pacific Flyway
- reduce the state’s massive groundwater overdraft, currently at around two million acre-feet a year
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View the infographic here.
More than 500 people registered to attend a report briefing. Learn more by watching the full briefing here.
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The Pacific Institute Welcomes New Board Members |
The Pacific Institute is excited to announce the appointment of a new member to its Board of Directors, Faduma Ali. “We cannot meet the challenges of our time, including those around climate resilience and water security, without including young environmentalists at the table,” says Pacific Institute President Jason Morrison of Faduma's appointment. “The Board is delighted to welcome Faduma,” says Board Chair Sally Liu. “She brings a fresh perspective and a passion for sustainable water management. We’re looking forward to benefiting from her experience and expertise in the coming years.”
Read more about Faduma Ali here.
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Pacific Institute Director of Research Heather Cooley Joins U.S. Water Alliance Imagination Team |
Heather Cooley, Pacific Institute Director of Research, has joined the Climate Mitigation Through Water Imagination Challenge. The challenge aims to create an intellectual, creative, and collaborative space to foster innovative solutions and an overarching strategy to reduce water’s greenhouse gas footprint across the United States. The Imagination Team will learn from international water partners aggressively advancing the Race to Zero vision, and, through a series of dialogues, coalesce around a vision and pathway for water’s role in climate change mitigation.
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Update from the CEO Water Mandate: Explore Net Positive Water Impact (NPWI)
The CEO Water Mandate is a partnership of the Pacific Institute and UN Global Compact. The initiative mobilizes business leaders to take action on water, sanitation, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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Developed by the Water Resilience Coalition of the CEO Water Mandate, NPWI is an enterprise ambition to ensure a company's water contributions continually exceed impacts on water stress in the same region. Addressing availability, quality, and access, NPWI explicitly aligns corporate ambition with SDG 6 and can be quantifiably measured via both short-term outputs and longer outcomes. An overview of the CEO Water Mandate's innovative work on NPWI is now available online. Explore the infographic, ambition paper, private sector applications, and more! Learn about the ambition and concept of NPWI to understand how companies can aim to integrate NPWI into water and business strategy with the Water Resilience Coalition.
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Blog Post: Innovative Urban Water Strategies Offer Vast Opportunity for California Drought Relief and Longer-Term Water Resilience
By Dr. Amanda Bielawski, Heather Cooley, Dr. Peter Gleick, Dr. Sonali Abraham, Dr. Anne Thebo, and Morgan Shimabuku
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Throughout California, innovative urban water strategies — water efficiency, water reuse, and stormwater capture — are already finding success in many communities. These cost-effective and technologically feasible strategies reduce urban water use while boosting local water supplies, write Bielawski, Cooley, Gleick, Abraham, Thebo, and Shimabuku. As a result, they can help narrow the gap between how much water urban California now uses and how much water is available. Combined, they provide an opportunity for shorter-term drought relief and long-term water resilience.
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Blog Post: Snowpack Report Underscores Need for Transformative Changes to Address Record-Setting California Drought
By Heather Cooley, Dr. Peter Gleick, and Dr. Amanda Bielawski
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The severe California drought is continuing for a third year, and there will be major consequences for ecosystems, agriculture, and urban and rural water users across California. Emergency short-term measures are necessary but will not be enough, write Cooley, Gleick, and Bielawski. We must accelerate efforts to cut wasteful and inefficient water uses, increase investments in water reuse and stormwater capture, and prioritize efforts to provide safe water and sanitation to frontline communities.
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Blog Post: World Water Day Focuses Attention on How Water is Underappreciated — Especially Groundwater
By Heather Cooley, Rebecca Olson, and Dr. Amanda Bielawski
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World Water Day on March 22 brought attention to a vital water source that is often overlooked -- groundwater. Groundwater accounts for 99% of liquid freshwater but is being depleted at an alarming rate. Its depletion creates equity challenges and threatens the realization of the Human Right to Water. In this blog post, Cooley, Olson, and Bielawski explore solutions for groundwater resilience.
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Join the Pacific Institute at the Alliance for Water Stewardship 2022 Forum |
Watch the Alliance for Water Stewardship 2022 Forum broadcast online May 17-19 to learn about leading water stewardship practices and hear from the Pacific Institute team: CEO Water Mandate Deputy Head Mai-Lan Ha, Acting Technical Lead Dr. Gregg Brill, and Senior Researcher Dr. Ashok Chapagain. They will present on the CEO Water Mandate's work on nature-based solutions and the Water Resilience Assessment Framework.
Learn more and register for the forum here.
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Morgan Shimabuku to Present on Robust and Equitable Water Strategies at U.S. Northwest AWWA Conference |
Research Associate Morgan Shimabuku will speak at the Pacific Northwest American Water Works Association (AWWA) 2022 Conference in Tacoma, Washington. The title of her presentation is “Maximizing Water Management Dollars While Bringing Transparency, Equity, and Multiple Benefits.”
Learn more and register for the conference here.
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Pacific Institute in the News |
KTLA: Study Details How to Reduce Urban Water Use for Potential Drought Relief Throughout CA
CBS: State’s Snowpack at Only 38% of Average As California Drought Deepens
CalMatters: Californians Used More Water As State Braces for Another Dry Year
Los Angeles Times: Californians Urged to Save Water as State Faces Dismal Snowpack in Sierra Nevada
KCBX: Water Use Experts Share Conservation Tips
CalMatters: Newsom Imposes New California Water Restrictions — Leaves Details to Locals
KPCC: Californians Didn’t Meet Their Water Conservation Target — Is a Mandate Next?
The Economist: In Russia’s War in Ukraine, Both Sides Have Attacked Water Supplies
Read more news featuring Pacific Institute research and experts here.
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Earth Day Matching Gift Challenge |
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Help create and advance solutions to the world’s most pressing water challenges. |
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