Publications

Research brief for the study, Benefits and Economic Costs of Managed Aquifer Recharge in California.

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.

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)

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.

From the Ground Down - Supplemental Appendices

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 United States, June 2016. The authors explain that accounting for deep groundwater can substantially expand California’s groundwater resources. However, if activity continues to increase, further studies are needed to explore subsidence and other potentially undesirable results caused by the use of deeper groundwater.

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.

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 study finds that in the Central Valley alone, fresh groundwater volumes can be increased almost threefold, and useable groundwater volumes can be increased fourfold if depths are extended to 3,000 m. However, some of these deep groundwater resources are vulnerable to contamination from oil/gas and other activities.

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 summarizes key takeaways from the event, including assessments of desalination's capacity, costs and potential impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems.

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, systematic reviews of regulatory practices, and a new mechanism for utilities to raise revenue to finance new infrastructure investment.