drought – Page 2

A third of the world’s biggest groundwater basins are in distress

Written on June 16, 2015.

Irvine, Calif., June 16, 2015 – Two new studies led by UC Irvine using data from NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites show that human consumption is rapidly draining some of its largest groundwater basins, yet there is little to no accurate data about how much water remains in them. The result is that significant segments of Earth’s population are consuming groundwater quickly without knowing when it might run out, the researchers conclude. The findings appear today in Water...

Drought advice from Down Under

Written on June 4, 2015.

California could learn a thing or two from Melbourne, Australia, which halved water use during a decade-plus dry spell with no new rate hikes Janet Wilson, UC Irvine The Millennium Drought in southeastern Australia forced Greater Melbourne, a city of 4.3 million people, to successfully implement innovations that hold critical lessons for water-stressed regions around the world, say UC Irvine and Australian researchers. It wasn’t a new pipeline over the mountains, special rate hikes or...

Blueprint for a thirsty world from Down Under

Written on May 26, 2015.

The Millennium Drought in southeastern Australia forced Greater Melbourne, a city of 4.3 million people, to successfully implement innovations that hold critical lessons for water-stressed regions around the world, according to findings by UC Irvine and Australian researchers. Janet Wilson, UC Irvine Irvine, Calif., May 26, 2015 – The Millennium Drought in southeastern Australia forced Greater Melbourne, a city of 4.3 million people, to successfully implement innovations that hold critical...

National Conference Opens Flow of Ideas on Drought

Written on April 22, 2015.

Top researchers, public officials and policymakers converge at UCI to discuss extreme water shortages and how to handle them Each year, California growers bet a good part of the farm that there’ll be enough water to produce a profitable harvest. Costly crop failure insurance can help hedge their bets, but must be purchased by strict deadlines – before it’s clear whether the state will face another year of withering drought. UCI engineers and others hope to reduce that age-old risk by helping...

Walkabout for water

Written on July 29, 2014.

Twelve UC undergrads go Down Under to study Aussie approaches to drought, conservation and resource management Bright undergraduates from UC Irvine, UCLA and UC San Diego spent some of this summer Down Under, immersing themselves in drought solutions, wetlands design and related issues – sometimes literally. “I thought it was ground, and it wasn’t. It was water, it was cold, and it got way deep,” says Clint Rosser, who’ll be a UC San Diego senior this fall, describing how he accidentally...

California’s Water House of Cards

Written on September 23, 2013.

Groundwater supplies at least a third of the state’s water. But it’s being depleted at a rapid pace, despite efforts to recharge it. Jay Famiglietti and Sasha Richey, Los Angeles Times Gov. Jerry Brown’s Office of Planning and Research convened a meeting this month of groundwater experts from the University of California to determine what is currently known about the state’s underground water reserves and how they may be changing in the future. This and other recent...

Water Officials Meet to Address Colorado River Drought

Written on May 28, 2013.

Take Two, KPCC There’s no shortage of bad news about the water supply here in the Southwest. The region has seen one of the driest seasons in recent history. That drought is putting a big strain on the Colorado River, which supplies water to about 40 million people in seven different states. Federal officials have called a meeting today in San Diego to try to address the issue. Jay Famiglietti, Director of the UC Center for Hydrologic Modelling at UC Irvine, joins the show to explain. Click...

Earth in Crisis: H2 Uh-Oh

Written on April 21, 2013.

UCI professor is a messenger of the coming global water shortage. Pat Brennan, Orange County Register Peering down on the Earth from space, through the “eyes” of PAT satellites, Jay Famiglietti just might be able to tell you where the next war will break out. The UC Irvine Earth system science professor is, of course, not in the business of forecasting armed conflict. But he does measure the rate of water depletion around the globe. And he’s noticed an unsettling...

“Drought Is an Insidious and Patient Killer”: Water Currents’ Jay Famiglietti Testifies to Congress

Written on July 27, 2012.

Brian Clark Howard, National Geographic News This week Water Currents’ own Jay Famiglietti came to Washington from California to testify before Congress on the importance of supporting research on drought and hydrology science. Famiglietti, a professor at the University of California, Irvine’s Department of Earth System Science and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is perhaps best known for his satellite-based research on over-pumping of aquifers. Famiglietti...

Valley Groundwater Threatened if Farm Use Continues at Current Levels

Written on July 22, 2012.

Edward Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee The groundwater that is the lifeblood of many Central Valley farms is imperiled if farmers continue to use it at current levels, according to new research. A recently released study warns that the current depletion rate of the Central Valley aquifer – the large store of underground water the region’s farmers use for irrigation – is unsustainable, and will continue to be so despite the surety that wet years will eventually follow dry ones. The study...

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