Check out the latest publications, research and policy briefs, white papers, videos, presentations and more from Water in the West and its faculty, researchers, partners and staff.
Recent Publications
Research brief for the study, Benefits and Economic Costs of Managed Aquifer Recharge in California.
Although there is no single solution to increasing California’s resiliency to drought and to achieving sustainable groundwater management, managed aquifer recharge (MAR) projects will play an...
A joint program of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Bill Lane Center for the American West, Water in the West marshals the resources of one of the world’s preeminent research...
Survey of groundwater managers highlights need for standardized data monitoring, and makes policy recommendations for successful implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (...
After decades of dysfunction that have exacerbated chronic water problems, historic groundwater legislation has brought California to the cusp of a new era of water management. Meeting the law’s...
This research brief is based on the paper: “Salinity of deep groundwater in California: Water quantity, quality, and protection,” published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the...
After decades of dysfunction that have exacerbated chronic water problems, California is on the cusp of a new era due to historic groundwater legislation. However, meeting the law’s goals will...
This research authored by Mary Kang and Robert Jackson looks at deep groundwater in California, which is facing increased groundwater withdrawals, a growing population and a prolonged drought. The...
Cross sector experts gathered at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station in Fall 2015 to assess the role of ocean desalination in meeting California's increasing water needs. This report...
This Research Brief is based on "Tapping Into Alternative Ways to Fund Innovative and Multi-Purpose Water Projects: A Financing Framework from the Electricity Sector," a 2016 report issued...
This research brief summarizes the paper's set of forward-looking policies to promote innovation in the water sector. The authors call for fundamental reforms in utilities' pricing of water...
This Research Brief is based on "The Path to Water Innovation," by Newsha K. Ajami, Barton H. "Buzz" Thompson Jr. and David G. Victor, a discussion paper presented in October 2014...
Stanford researcher Newsha Ajami testifies at the California Senate Natural Resource and Water oversight hearing on "Assessing California's Chronically Under Funded Water Needs: Options for...
Stanford researchers apply lessons learned from the electricity sector to the water sector, uncovering specific tools that have been used to fund and implement distributed energy projects. Through...
Scholarly experts from Stanford University’s Water in the West program are available to comment on recent research related water, climate and drought.
A new report from Water in the West explores how Western states can increase water rights transfers to maintain healthy flows for ecosystems while benefiting water rights holders.
Stanford University’s Water in the West program, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy of California, hosted an Uncommon Dialogue with groundwater managers, state officials, special interest...
Water stakeholders and federal officials proposed new ideas to shape the federal government’s role in drought resilience during an interagency White House symposium held in Washington, D.C. Stanford...
Water stakeholders and federal officials proposed new ideas to shape the federal government’s role in drought resilience during an interagency White House symposium held in Washington, D.C. Stanford...
Water issues are rarely simple. At the global scale, water is at the focus of a powerful multifaceted challenge. Demands for both consumptive and nonconsumptive uses are growing, while climate change...
Challenges inherent in humanity’s use of water continue to grow with changes in weather, climate and population. As guest editors of the journal Dædalus, Stanford Professors Anna Michalak and Chris...
Opportunities lie along a predictable path toward new technological solutions to reinvent urban water supply. The authors examine examples of cities’ past adaptations of technologies for...
Scarcity — across the West and elsewhere increasingly — the issue about water is whether there is enough of it. Some suggest California could be “out of water” in 12 months. How threatening is the...
This paper provides insights into how western water management is shaped and is shaping the Western United States today and in the near future, with a focus on what has changed over the last 15 years...
A 6.8-km electrical resistivity profile maps subsurface geology and the distribution of saltwater intrusion along the Monterey coast.
Newsha Ajami at the Spring 2015 Indicators Launch & Lunch event on April 30 discussing water pricing options, current/recent state policies and what's needed for long-term water security.
Given the new mandate for groundwater planning under SGMA, there is a major need
to develop policy recommendations and dispute resolution tools that can help to
achieve groundwater allocation...
The objective of our work was to understand the limitations associated with water-use estimates and projections.
Water in the West convened three experts to discuss the causes, policy implications and possible responses to California’s ongoing drought, including what a fourth year of drought will mean for the...
This research paper looks at a supplemental funding mechanism, a Public Goods Charge (PGC), as an additional way for California to provide for water investment in the future. In a PGC scheme,...
Now that voters have approved a water bond and state government has moved forward on groundwater reform, what are the next steps state legislators plan to take? State Senators Jean Fuller and Lois...
This report, authored by Water in the West visiting scholar Jacqueline Peel and research analyst Janny Choy, summarizes the insights, lessons and key findings of a workshop hosted by Water in the...
Stanford researchers Debra Perrone, a postdoctoral scholar for Water in the West and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Melissa Rohde, a researcher for Water in the West and...
On November 4, Californians will go to the polls to vote in the state’s election. The first proposition on the ballot will be the "Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014,"...
Water in the West's new strategic plan, which shares the program's vision, mission, and priorities, was completed in May 2014 and is now available.
This paper proposes a set of forward-looking policies to promote innovation in the water sector. The authors call for fundamental reforms in utilities' pricing of water, systematic reviews of...
A library of interactive maps, charts and data visualizations explaining critical issues related to California's groundwater resources. Prepared as part of the series of articles, "...
A Water-Energy Research Agenda: Building California's Policy for the 21st Century identifies high-impact research priorities at the water-energy nexus that we envision will lead to comprehensive...
Water in the West and partners convened a panel of experts with extensive experience in interstate river disputes to provide perspectives on the past, present, and future of interstate compacts in...
This report, shaped in part by the Dialogue, provides the background and regulatory context for land use planning and groundwater management in California, shares case studies that highlight the...
Burke Griggs, Consulting Professor at The Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University, and Assistant Attorney General for the state of Kansas, presented on ways to reduce legal...
Groundwater is a critical resource in California, providing from 30% of the state’s water supply in normal years to 40% or more in dry years. As unsustainable groundwater use driven by land use...
California is in the midst of a historic drought. 2013 was the driest year since the state began keeping records 150 years ago, and this is the third driest year in a row. We began 2014 with record-...
Dr. Jackie Peel from the Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, is currently a visiting scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. She recently presented her current...
This is a survey article examining the status and trends of some key water issues in the Western United States. It was written for a special western edition of the California Journal of Politics and...
Managing groundwater – a precious resource for sustaining people and the environment – is far from simple. A new report compiled by Water in the West Program researcher Rebecca Nelson, sheds light on...
Water-Energy Nexus: A Literature Review provides readers with an overview and analysis of the policy, scientific and technical research on the connections between water and energy.
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Presented at the 2013 US Australia Comparative Groundwater Uncommon Dialogue
Jeff Koseff presents an overview of the Stanford Woods Institute's Freshwater Initiative.
This report and a policy makers' brief synthesize the results of the inaugural workshop of the comparative groundwater Law and Policy Program, held October 17-19, 2011, at Stanford University....
This study uses internationally accepted water resources planning theories systematically to investigate three key aspects of controlling groundwater depletion in
California, with an emphasis on...
The state of information about water in California is woefully inadequate. Given that California has long been a center for innovation in the world’s emerging information economy and water is among...
The homegrown innovations uncovered by this report point the way forward for local agencies to better manage groundwater in California, and the way toward an updated and improved state policy...
The Challenge: Reducing the impact of groundwater depletion on water users, overlying landowners and groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
The Challenge: Augmenting water supplies with clean recycled water.
The Challenge: Development of cost-effective technology for recovery of clean water, energy, and materials from wastewater.
Our water systems in the American West are old-fashioned hybrids. All of the foundational fixtures of the West’s water system are showing severe signs of obsolescing rapidly.
Investigation of Central Valley Conjunctive Water Management Opportunities presentation - Workshop on the Economic and Policy Implications of Water Banking.
Eric Averett presents Water Banking at the Workshop on the Economic Policy Implications of Water Banking.
Eric Hong presents an overview of California Groundwater Program at the Workshop on the Economic and Policy Implications of Water Banking.
Search Publications
July 21, 2016 | Research Briefs
Research brief for the study, Benefits and Economic Costs of Managed Aquifer Recharge in California.
July 21, 2016 | Peer-Reviewed Publications
Although there is no single solution to increasing California’s resiliency to drought and to achieving sustainable groundwater management, managed aquifer recharge (MAR) projects will play an important role in helping the newly formed Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) under SGMA to achieve their sustainability goals.
July 11, 2016 | Videos
A joint program of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Bill Lane Center for the American West, Water in the West marshals the resources of one of the world’s preeminent research institutions to address one of the most urgent questions about the West’s future—how can the region continue to thrive despite growing water scarcity? Learn more about our approach in this short video.
June 29, 2016 | Research Briefs
Survey of groundwater managers highlights need for standardized data monitoring, and makes policy recommendations for successful implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA)
June 29, 2016 | Reports
After decades of dysfunction that have exacerbated chronic water problems, historic groundwater legislation has brought California to the cusp of a new era of water management. Meeting the law’s goals will require overcoming stubborn systemic obstacles, according to a new report by Water in the West & the Gould Center for Conflict Resolution, Stanford Law School.
- 1 of 17
- next ›
Featured Publication
July 21, 2016
Although there is no single solution to increasing California’s resiliency to drought and to achieving sustainable groundwater management, managed aquifer recharge (MAR) projects will play an important role in helping the newly formed Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) under SGMA to achieve their sustainability goals.
Featured Video
June 27, 2016
After decades of dysfunction that have exacerbated chronic water problems, California is on the cusp of a new era due to historic groundwater legislation. However, meeting the law’s goals will require overcoming stubborn systemic obstacles, according to a report by researchers at Stanford’s Water in the West program and the Gould Center for Conflict Resolution at the Stanford Law School.
![[Woods Logo]](/was/20150619185847im_/http://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/logos/footer-logo-woods.png){kind=logo}
![[Bill Lane Center Logo]](/was/20150619185847im_/http://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/logos/footer-logo-billlane.png){kind=logo}