California Water Rate Trends

Gaur, Sanjay; Atwater, ew

doi:10.5942/jawwa.2015.107.0017

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…During the drought, urban water users in California were mandated to reduce their water use by 25%. California residential water users paid approximately $1630 per 1000 m 3 of water in 2013 [ Gaur et al ., ], while irrigators spent $22.19 in pumping cost per 1000 m 3 of on‐farm water (surface water and groundwater) and paid $36.96 per 1000 m 3 for off‐farm water supplies [ USDA , ]. This highlights the high opportunity cost of water in agriculture in California, due to its heavy reliance on irrigation and proximity to urban areas.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought impacts to water footprints and virtual water transfers of the Central Valley of California

Marston

Konar

2017

Water Resources Research

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The Central Valley of California is one of the most productive agricultural locations in the world, which is made possible by a complex and vast irrigation system. Beginning in 2012, California endured one of the worst droughts in its history. Local impacts of the drought have been evaluated, but it is not yet well understood how the drought reverberated through the global food system. Here we quantify drought impacts to the water footprint (WF) of agricultural production and virtual water transfers (VWT) from the Central Valley of California. To do this, we utilize high‐resolution spatial and temporal data sets and a crop model from predrought conditions (2011) through 3 years of exceptional drought (2012–2014). Despite a 12% reduction in harvested area, the WF of agricultural production in the Central Valley increased by 3%. This was due to greater crop water requirements from higher temperatures and a shift to more water‐intensive orchard and vine crops. The groundwater WF increased from 7.00 km3 in 2011 to 13.63 km3 in 2014, predominantly in the Tulare Basin. Transfers of food commodities declined by 1% during the drought, yet total VWT increased by 3% (0.51 km3). From 2011 to 2014, groundwater VWT increased by 3.42 km3, offsetting the 0.94 km3 reduction in green VWT and the 1.96 km3 decrease in surface VWT. During the drought, local and global consumers nearly doubled their reliance on the Central Valley Aquifer. These results indicate that drought may strengthen the telecoupling between groundwater withdrawals and distant consumers of agricultural commodities.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought impacts to water footprints and virtual water transfers of the Central Valley of California

Marston

Konar

2017

Water Resources Research

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“…Figure 1, part A, provides a represetnative example of the proportions of these components. For instance, in 2013 the average California customer's water bill comprised 39% for the fixed portion and 61% for the variable portion (Gaur & Atwater 2015). While this distribution of revenue promotes conservation and assists with affordability for essential use, it is not representative of the split between an agency's actual fixed and variable costs.…”

Section: The Case For Drought Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%