Addressing Institutional Vulnerabilities in California’s Drought Water Allocation, Part 1: Water Rights Administration and Oversight During Major Statewide Droughts, 1976–2016

Climate change has already begun to affect California’s hydrology and water resources, and droughts are likely to become more frequent, longer, and more intense in the future (see Section 2.2.4). This project is designed to help state water governance and decision-making structures adapt to this changing climatic reality. We focus on how one of California’s primary water management institutions, the State Water Resources Control Board (Board), has responded in the past, and could better respond in the future, to droughts and their attendant challenges, including water shortage, uncertainty, and conflict.