{"id":20884,"date":"2012-04-05T15:32:13","date_gmt":"2012-04-05T23:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/?p=20884"},"modified":"2012-04-05T15:32:13","modified_gmt":"2012-04-05T23:32:13","slug":"new-reports-highlight-climate-challenges-to-state-water-supplies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2012\/04\/05\/new-reports-highlight-climate-challenges-to-state-water-supplies\/","title":{"rendered":"New Reports Highlight Climate Challenges to State Water Supplies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good news, bad news for California: we’re well-prepared but still vulnerable
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The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the hub of California's complex water system.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

California is both highly prepared and highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change on its water systems, according to two recent studies.<\/p>\n

Released today, the National Resources Defense Council\u2019s \u201cReady or Not\u201d report<\/a> ranked states in terms of overall water preparedness. The rankings took into account susceptibility to various climate-related factors \u2013 such as coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion and flooding \u2013 as well as steps being taken to curb carbon emissions and to recognize and tackle vulnerabilities to a changing climate.<\/p>\n

In spite of California’s high susceptibility to shifts in climate, the NRDC found California to be one of the most proactive states in the country at factoring climate change into water planning and policy.\u00a0 According to Ben Chou, a NRDC water policy analyst, California earned high marks for its aggressive efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and for its development of a statewide climate preparedness plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best-performing states [in the study] have taken a comprehensive approach and are trying to address each one of these challenges,\u201d said Steve Fleischli, an NRDC attorney. \u201cSome of the worst-performing states have measures to address water conservation. They just don\u2019t put it in the context of a changing climate.\u201d<\/p>\n

But just because a state has written climate change into its water planning doesn\u2019t mean it is necessarily prepared for disturbances that can result from, say, a serious flood or drought.\u00a0 \u201cStates like California might have very comprehensive plans but the rubber meets the road with implementation,\u201d Fleischli said.<\/p>\n

Sharper criticism for California\u2019s water management came in a report issued last week by the National Academy of Sciences. The study, \u201cSustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta,\u201d<\/a> focused on declining ecological conditions and the role of the Delta as hub of the State Water Project, the system of reservoirs, aqueducts and canals<\/a> that delivers water to vast tracts of farmland and millions of residents in central and southern California.<\/p>\n

The report highlighted several potential threats posed by climate change to the Delta, including:<\/p>\n