Environmental Issues: Water

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All Documents in Water Tagged California

Tackling Water Scarcity
Five Southern California Water Agencies Lead the Way to a More Sustainable Tomorrow
Issue Brief

Water scarcity has long been a fact of life across much of the southwestern United States. Changing climate patterns, growing populations, and over-tapped aquifer and river systems call for bold strategies to meet water supply needs for this region.

California Water: Is Your City Planning for the Future?
Overview

Is our water clean enough for our children to drink? Does it contain fertilizers or other dangerous chemicals? What if someday we turned on the tap and nothing came out? Some sources of California water are safe and sustainable. Some create significant health and environmental challenges.

Volumetric Wastewater Pricing
Volumetric pricing for sanitary sewer service in California would save water and money
Fact Sheet

Volumetric sewer pricing is the simple concept of billing a customer for the volume of water discharged to the sewer based on the water meter reading -- water the customer actually uses as opposed to a flat charge. The less water a customer uses, the less the bill will be.

A Clear Blue Future
How Greening California Cities Can Address Water Resources and Climate Challenges in the 21st Century
Issue Paper

This NRDC and UCSB analysis shows that implementing low impact development, or LID,  practices at new and redeveloped residential and commercial properties in parts of California can increase water supplies by billions of gallons each year, providing an effective and much-needed way to mitigate global warming’s impact on California.

Making Every Drop Work
Increasing Water Efficiency in California’s Commercial, Industrial and Institutional (CII) Sector
Issue Paper

Across the nation, water shortages are triggering growing concern and an acceleration of efforts to increase water use efficiency. In this May 2009 issue paper, NRDC recommends a number of available and cost-effective measures that can help stretch limited water supplies, save businesses money, reduce energy consumption, improve water quality, and protect local, regional, and statewide ecosystems.

Fish Out of Water
How Water Management in the Bay-Delta Threatens the Future of California's Salmon Fishery
Issue Paper

This July 2008 issue paper examines the operation of water management projects in California as one of the most significant -- and reversible -- causes of fishery collapse and provides comprehensive policy recommendations for restoring and sustaining this treasured resource.

Restoring the San Joaquin River
Following an 18-year legal battle, a great California river once given up for dead is on the verge of a comeback.
News

In the 1940s, a giant dam nearly killed California's San Joaquin River and its legendary salmon run. A court ruling could bring the river back to life, restoring the salmon fishery, providing clean irrigation water for farms and improving drinking water quality for millions of Californians.

Keeping Our Waters Clean in the Monterey Bay Region
How Smaller Communities Can Prevent Toxic Runoff
Fact Sheet

Stormwater runoff is a leading source of coastal pollution in California, damaging the environment and threatening public health. NRDC developed a three-part strategy of prevention, monitoring and enforcement that can help smaller and midsized cities deal with this toxic stormwater runoff before it pollutes local waterways and puts public health at risk. This effective and straightforward plan has already been adopted, and once fully implemented, will successfully manage runoff in coastal communities along the Monterey Peninsula in California.

California's Contaminated Groundwater
Is the State Minding the Store?
Report

Despite the importance of groundwater to its population and economy -- and ample evidence of dangerous groundwater-contamination problems that will be expensive to address -- California does not effectively monitor or protect its groundwater supplies. This April 2001 report documents the lapses in the state's data gathering, monitoring, and protection of this vital resource, and makes recommendations for reforms.

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