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Maladaptation to drought: a case report from California, USA

Sustainability Science (Springer) | October 15th, 2015

Summary

The interactions between natural water availability and societal water demand and management are complex. In response to gaps in empirical research of the adaptive capaci

The interactions between natural water availability and societal water demand and management are complex. In response to gaps in empirical research of the adaptive capacity of social and environmental systems to climate stresses, we provide an assessment of responses to water scarcity during a multi-year drought in California. In particular, we use Barnett and O’Neill’s (Global Environ Change 20:211–213, 2010) criteria for maladaptation to examine responses in the agricultural and energy sectors to a multi-year (2007–2009) California drought. We conclude that despite evidence in both sectors of resiliency to the impacts of the drought, some of the coping strategies adopted increased the vulnerability of other systems. These other systems include California’s aquatic ecosystems and social groups that rely on those ecosystems for their health or employment; future generations whose resources were drawn down in the near-term, where otherwise those resources would have been available at a later time; and current and future generations who were, or will be, exposed to the effects of increased greenhouse gas emissions. This case study demonstrates that California’s current strategies for dealing with long or severe droughts are less successful than previously thought when short- and long-term impacts are evaluated together. This finding is particularly relevant given projections of more frequent and severe water shortages in the future due to climate change. This study recommends a shift from crisis-driven responses to the development and enactment of long-term mitigation measures that are anticipatory and focus on comprehensive risk reduction.

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Mediterranean California’s water use future under multiple scenarios of developed and agricultural land use change

PLOS | October 31st, 2017

Summary

With growing demand and highly variable inter-annual water supplies, California’s water use future is fraught with uncertainty. Climate change projections, anti

With growing demand and highly variable inter-annual water supplies, California’s water use future is fraught with uncertainty. Climate change projections, anticipated population growth, and continued agricultural intensification, will likely stress existing water supplies in coming decades. Using a state-and-transition simulation modeling approach, we examine a broad suite of spatially explicit future land use scenarios and their associated county-level water use demand out to 2062. We examined a range of potential water demand futures sampled from a 20-year record of historical (1992–2012) data to develop a suite of potential future land change scenarios, including low/high change scenarios for urbanization and agriculture as well as “lowest of the low” and “highest of the high” anthropogenic use. Future water demand decreased 8.3 billion cubic meters (Bm3) in the lowest of the low scenario and decreased 0.8 Bm3 in the low agriculture scenario. The greatest increased water demand was projected for the highest of the high land use scenario (+9.4 Bm3), high agricultural expansion (+4.6 Bm3), and high urbanization (+2.1 Bm3) scenarios. Overall, these scenarios show agricultural land use decisions will likely drive future demand more than increasing municipal and industrial uses, yet improved efficiencies across all sectors could lead to potential water use savings. Results provide water managers with information on diverging land use and water use futures, based on historical, observed land change trends and water use histories.

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More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in California – A Special Focus on the Delta

Pacific Institute | September 8th, 2008

Summary

California farmers can grow more food and fiber with less water, according to the Pacific Institute report, More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency

California farmers can grow more food and fiber with less water, according to the Pacific Institute report, More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in California – A Special Focus on the Delta. The report offers a comprehensive analysis of how to maintain a strong agricultural economy while improving the efficiency of water use and reducing groundwater overdraft and water withdrawals from the critically threatened Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The study finds agricultural water-use efficiency can be improved through careful planning, adopting existing, cost-effective technologies and management practices, and implementing feasible policy changes. The report also provides recommendations to overcome some of the financial, legal, and institutional barriers that can hinder farmers from implementing such adaptations and investments.

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Multiple Benefits of Water Conservation and Efficiency for California Agriculture

Pacific Institute | July 29th, 2014

Summary

California farmers have made progress in updating and modernizing irrigation practices, but despite past efforts, great untapped potential remains to use water more effic

California farmers have made progress in updating and modernizing irrigation practices, but despite past efforts, great untapped potential remains to use water more efficiently. Water efficiency – defined as measures that reduce water use while maintaining the benefits water provides – has been shown to be a cost-effective and flexible tool to adapt to drought as well as to address longstanding water challenges in California. Moreover, today’s investments in efficiency will provide a competitive advantage in the future and ensure the ongoing strength of the agriculture sector in California. Water-efficiency strategies provide important benefits to farmers, ecosystems, and society. Some of the water saved represents new supply that can be dedicated to other uses. But there are also compelling reasons to seek reductions in total water withdrawals, e.g., allowing farmers to maintain and even improve crop yields and quality; protecting water quality; reducing fertilizer, water, and energy costs; and boosting profits. The multiple benefits associated with reducing both consumptive and non-consumptive water uses argues for a comprehensive approach for promoting water-efficiency improvements that allows us to address complex and interrelated water management challenges in California, including water-supply reliability, conflicts among water users, the risks of droughts, worsening water quality, and ecological degradation. This fact sheet and infographic, The Multiple Benefits of Water Efficiency for California Agriculture, describe some of these important benefits.

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No-tillage and high-residue practices reduce soil water evaporation

California Agriculture (UCANR) | April 1st, 2012

Summary

Reducing tillage and maintaining crop residues on the soil surface could improve the water use efficiency of California crop production. In two field studies co

Reducing tillage and maintaining crop residues on the soil surface could improve the water use efficiency of California crop production. In two field studies comparing no-tillage with standard tillage operations (following wheat silage harvest and before corn seeding), we estimated that 0.89 and 0.97 inches more water was retained in the no-tillage soil than in the tilled soil. In three field studies on residue coverage, we recorded that about 0.56, 0.58 and 0.42 inches more water was retained in residue-covered soil than in bare soil following 6 to 7 days of overhead sprinkler irrigation. Assuming a seasonal crop evapotranspiration demand of 30 inches, coupling no-tillage with practices preserving high residues could reduce summer soil evaporative losses by about 4 inches (13%). However, practical factors, including the need for different equipment and management approaches, will need to be considered before adopting these practices.

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On-farm flood capture could reduce groundwater overdraft in Kings River Basin

California Agriculture (UCANR) | November 16th, 2016

Summary

Chronic groundwater overdraft threatens agricultural sustainability in California’s Central Valley. Diverting flood flows onto farmland for groundwater rechar

Chronic groundwater overdraft threatens agricultural sustainability in California’s Central Valley. Diverting flood flows onto farmland for groundwater recharge offers an opportunity to help address this challenge. We studied the infiltration rate of floodwater diverted from the Kings River at a turnout upstream of the James Weir onto adjoining cropland; and calculated how much land would be necessary to capture the available floodwater, how much recharge of groundwater might be achieved, and the costs. The 1,000-acre pilot study included fields growing tomatoes, wine grapes, alfalfa and pistachios. Flood flows diverted onto vineyards infiltrated at an average rate of 2.5 inches per day under sustained flooding. At that relatively high infiltration rate, 10 acres are needed to capture one CFS of diverted flood flow. We considered these findings in the context of regional expansion. Based upon a 30-year record of Kings Basin surplus flood flows, we estimate 30,000 acres operated for on-farm flood recharge would have had the capacity to capture 80% of available flood flows and potentially offset overdraft rates in the Kings Basin. Costs of on-farm flood capture for this study were estimated at $36 per acre-foot, less than the cost for surface water storage and dedicated recharge basins.

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Paso Robles vineyard irrigation study provides benchmark data to assist future area groundwater management

California Agriculture (UCANR) | March 13th, 2018

Summary

Accurate information on irrigation water usage does not exist in many areas where groundwater is the primary water source. This lack of information will hinder

Accurate information on irrigation water usage does not exist in many areas where groundwater is the primary water source. This lack of information will hinder efforts to manage these groundwater basins sustainably according to current and future water regulations and policies. Using a low-cost methodology of irrigation-line pressure sensors connected to data loggers, we estimated irrigation applications at 84 vineyard sites in the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin over 4 years (2010–2013). We compared irrigation amounts with the preceding winter’s rainfall and with the growing season reference evapotranspiration (ETo). Over the study period, the average annual irrigation application was 11.46 inches (291 millimeters). The average annual application correlated inversely to the preceding winter’s rainfall, while the irrigation over the growing season (April–October) correlated directly with the ETo over this same period. This study provides an initial data framework that can be used by groundwater sustainability agencies to help manage groundwater in the Paso Robles area. The methodology also could be utilized in other regions to estimate regional irrigation usage while maintaining anonymity for participants.

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Priorities for California’s Water

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | November 14th, 2022

Summary

This report considers the state of water in California: What changes are we seeing now, and what should we expect in the near future? Then it examines how these climate s

This report considers the state of water in California: What changes are we seeing now, and what should we expect in the near future? Then it examines how these climate shifts will impact urban and rural communities, agriculture, and the environment. Finally, it explores wet-year strategies that will help Californians get through the dry years.

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Refinement of Rice Water Consumptive Use During the Growing Season — Sacramento Valley

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | June 6th, 2018

Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate crop water use for the most commonly grown paddy rice variety grown in the Sacramento Valley, M206, based on field data collected

The purpose of this study is to evaluate crop water use for the most commonly grown paddy rice variety grown in the Sacramento Valley, M206, based on field data collected from 2007 through 2009, and from 2011 through 2013. M206 was identified by the University of California (UC) Cooperative Extension Farm Advisors as the most commonly grown rice variety in the study area. Phase I of this study was conducted by the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), under contract with DWR. A brief description of both Phase I and Phase II have been included here to provide orientation as the progression of the work and linkages between each phase regarding the study results.

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Refinement of Rice Water Consumptive Use During the Growing Season — Sacramento Valley Phase II — Cal-SIMETAW Model Study

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | June 6th, 2018

Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate crop water use for the most commonly grown paddy rice variety grown in the Sacramento Valley, M206, based on field data collected

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agriculture (18)
agriculture water use and efficiency (73)
allocations (4)
anadromous fish (1)
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flows (3)
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infrastructure (1)
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land use (4)
managed aquifer recharge (MAR) - also see Groundwater Recharge (1)
modeling (8)
native fish (2)
pesticides (1)
planning and management (12)
reasonable use doctrine (1)
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salinity (4)
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Environmental Research Letters (IOP) (3)
Frontiers in Environmental Science (1)
Golden Gate University (GSU) (1)
James Groundwater Sustainability Agency (JGSA) (1)
Journal of Agricultural Economics (Wiley) (1)
Journal of Integrative Agriculture (Elsevier) (1)
Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (KREGSA) (1)
Klamath Tribal Water Quality Consortium (1)
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) (1)
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) (1)
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Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) (5)
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U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) (2)
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