California weather is becoming characterized by more extreme variability with climate change. The state’s water security is at risk. In the last ten years, the state has experienced two droughts followed by near-record rainfall. Water managers are struggling to fix dams to handle floods and prepare irrigation systems for the next drought.
A new report by Pacific Forest Trust looks further upstream to find a long-term and highly cost-effective water security solution: repairing and maintaining California’s watersheds.
A Risk Assessment of California’s Key Source Watershed Infrastructure is the first comprehensive assessment of the seven million acres across five watersheds that feed the Shasta and Oroville reservoirs, the core of the state’s utilized water supply—and it outlines a framework to restore and maintain resilient watersheds.
View the Full Report PFT Risk Assessment 2018