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Fall 2023 Newsletter | Volume 10, Issue 1
The California Institute for Water Resources is a hub for water research, extension, and education programs in California. We are based in the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
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In this issue: New Early-Career Researcher Grants | Climate Smart Ag Impact Report | UC ANR Water Jobs | CIWR News | |
Announcing Our Newly Supported Research Projects | |
Newly funded projects include studies on sorghum production (left) and flood risk management (right) in California (photo credits: UC ANR "Sorghum for California" website and California Department of Water Resources). | |
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The California Institute for Water Resources (CIWR) is dedicated to supporting early career academics and students in California. CIWR leverages federal investment to address critical water issues in the state. For 2023-2025, CIWR is supporting research projects at UC and CSU campuses and UC Cooperative Extension offices. Grants were awarded through a competitive application process.
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Jackie Atim of UCCE Kearney will develop production functions for available commercial forage sorghum in the San Joaquin Valley.
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Nall Moonilall of UC Davis will assess how regenerative management practices affect water distribution and soil properties in California's agricultural systems.
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Erin Bray of San Francisco State University will develop a river energy balance model to predict water flow and temperature for a case study region of the San Joaquin River.
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Kristin Dobbin of UC Berkeley/UC ANR will study consolidation as a policy solution for ailing drinking water systems to understand what types of water system consolidations should be promoted and how.
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Sarah Light of UCCE Sutter-Yuba will study optimum timing of winter cover crop termination to conserve moisture in the top of soil profile that promotes future crop establishment.
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Abdelmoneim (Moneim) Mohamed of UCCE Modesto will develop a user-friendly, stem water potential model based on evapotranspiration and soil types, which supports improved deficit irrigation scheduling.
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Chris Olivares Martinez of UC Irvine will study correlations in groundwater contamination and climate change.
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Jorge Pesantez of CSU Fresno will study the use of agent-based games to shift peak demand in water distribution systems.
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Danielle Zoe Rivera of UC Berkeley will identify policy barriers and develop outreach materials to increase flood risk resilience in communities.
You can read more about all the projects on CIWR's website.
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New Impact Report: The CDFA-UC ANR Climate Smart Agriculture Program | |
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In 2019, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) partnered with UC ANR to develop UC ANR's Climate Smart Agriculture Program. Through this program, Community Educators (CEs) based in Cooperative Extension offices throughout the state provide in-depth technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to implement conservation management practices that build soil health, reduce water-use, and improve manure management. The program supports climate smart agriculture efforts in California, especially for small and underserved farmers and ranchers.
In Fall 2023, UC ANR and CDFA published an impact report detailing the program's impacts to date. Since 2019, the program has provided direct technical assistance to more than 1,300 farmers and ranchers in 25 counties. These efforts have resulted in a total of $36.5 million of grant funded investments from the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP), the Healthy Soils Program, and the Alternative Manure Management Program.
Read a summary blog post and check out the full report.
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Welcome to New Employees at CIWR! | |
Riley Currey joined CIWR as a student employee in August 2023. Riley is a 4th year Environmental Studies major at Sacramento State University. Riley grew up farming in the Central Valley and has interests in water management and GIS. Riley has made a quick impact at CIWR helping with our Wastewater Needs Assessment project. | |
Celeste Navarrete joined CIWR as a GrizzlyCorps fellow and is developing outreach and extension materials for community drinking water systems in California. Celeste graduated with a Bachelors in Environmental Engineering from UC Merced in 2020 and is based in Merced. | |
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Bailey Smith-Helman joined the UCCE Santa Cruz Office and CIWR in July 2023 as a Community Educator with the Climate Smart Agriculture Program.
Bailey graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in political science and environmental policy. After graduating, Bailey moved to Paraguay to serve as an agriculture volunteer with the Peace Corps. In Paraguay, Bailey worked closely with agricultural educators and local producers to develop education plans and lessons to engage high school students in agricultural coursework. After returning to the United States, Bailey worked for USDA SNAP (food stamp program) where she gained experience in agriculture policy analysis and program management.
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Heather Montgomery joined the UCCE Sutter-Yuba Office and CIWR in January 2023 as a Community Educator with the Climate Smart Agriculture Program.
Heather grew up in Yuba County and is a Sutter County resident. Heather has interned on a dairy, graded tomatoes for the state, and designed irrigation systems while working with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Heather has a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science with a Minor in Animal Science from California Polytechnic State University.
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New Positions with CIWR and UC ANR | |
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There are several water-related positions available with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as with the California Institute for Water Resources. These include:
Check out all the positions available with UC ANR at ucanr.edu/jobs.
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Join us for the 5th season of the UC ANR Water Webinar series on the fourth Monday of the month at 12pm PT. Recent speakers have included Ali Montazar, UCCE Imperial; Karrigon Bork, UC Davis; and Erica Siirila-Woodburn, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
This seminar series, organized by the ANR Water Program Team led by Safeeq Khan, Ted Grantham, Ali Montazar, and Tobias Oker, provides a virtual platform to get to know water colleagues around the state.
You can catch up on all the talks in the series here.
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In March 2023, UC Berkeley CE Specialists Ellen Bruno and Kristin Dobbin organized a workshop entitled "Advancing a Collaborative Agenda to Meet California's Emergent Groundwater Needs."
The event brought together policy-makers, community organizations, NGOs, and researchers to understand emergent social and economic questions regarding implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
The organizing team published a detailed report with findings and takeaways from the day's presentations and discussion.
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Groundwater workshop attendees and organizers catch up for a photo after the event (March 2023, UC Berkeley). | |
In January, Erik Porse joined CIWR as Director and a UCCE Associate Cooperative Extension Specialist. Throughout 2023, Erik has been visiting campuses and Cooperative Extension offices across the state to hear about water research needs and ways to support collaborations. Erik also represented CIWR and UC at national events including the University-Industry Consortium and the National Institutes for Water Resources conference in Washington, D.C., where he met with California Congressional offices to discuss the importance of water research.
UC Davis CE Specialist and CIWR Lead Faculty Affiliate Sam Sandoval Solis and UC visiting researcher Yessica Viridiana Fernández led a project with collaborators to develop guidelines for selection and production of agave as a low-water use crop in California including principles of agroecology. Sam, Yessica, and team developed a resource library for growers and distillers, which is published in both English and Spanish.
CIWR continued working closely with CDFA and UC Cooperative Extension offices on the Climate Smart Agriculture Program and Nitrogen and Irrigation Initiative, with CIWR's efforts led by Hope Zabronsky and Rachel Shellabarger. We also started projects in new areas of water resources management. In July 2023, the California State Water Resources Control Board kicked off a 4-year project to understand wastewater needs in California. The multi-university project is led by Greg Pierce at UCLA's Luskin Center for Innovation and includes Sacramento State, UC ANR, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
In 2023, we also saw CIWR members start new adventures elsewhere. Faith Kearns began a new leadership role with Arizona State University. In April, Kern/Tulare-based Climate Smart Ag team member Maria Ridoutt-Orozco started a new position with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. We wish Faith and Maria the best in these new positions! Additionally, San Diego-based Climate Smart Ag team member Esther Mosase started a new role in UC ANR as Urban Watershed Resilience Advisor in Orange/Riverside/Los Angeles/San Bernardino. ANR is lucky to continue to have Esther's expertise in Southern California.
Last, we had an opportunity to support and co-sponsor water-related events and school programs organized by colleagues across the state in 2023 on timely topics of water & sanitation, water affordability, ag tech hackathon-ing, aquatic environmental education, native trees, and groundwater research needs. We want to continue to find ways to help support and instigate engagement. If you have ideas for events or initiatives, please get in touch.
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Reports, Publications, and Presentations | |
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Yessica V. Fernández Galicia, Sandoval Solís, S., Rendon Herrera, G., Ortíz Partida, J.P., DeVincentis, A.J., and Jackson, L. (2023). "Guidelines for Agave Selection and Production in California". University of California, Davis. Davis, CA., April 2023.
UCANR and CDFA (2023). "The Climate Smart Agriculture Program at UC ANR: 2019-2022 Report." University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. September 2023.
Erik Porse, Caitlyn Leo, Erick Eschker, Harold Leverenz, Jonathan Kaplan, John Johnston, Dakota Keene, and David Babchanik. "Adapting wastewater management systems in California for water conservation and climate change." Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure (2023): 1-14.
Erik Porse. "Evolution of Drought Response and Resilience in California’s Cities." California Water Blog. September 24, 2023.
Erik Porse, "Forecasting Long-Term Trends in California Water Management." UC ANR Hansen Symposium. May 23, 2023.
Garrison Schlauch, Ellen Bruno, and Kristin Dobbin. "Advancing a Collaborative Agenda to Meet California’s Emergent Groundwater Management Needs". The Confluence Blog. June 22, 2023.
Arthur Wardle, Ellen Bruno. "Database of Demand Management Actions Under SGMA Goes Live". The Confluence Blog. August 15, 2023.
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“A reliable supply of water for drinking, growing food and sustaining our natural resources remains one of California’s greatest challenges. UC’s California Institute for Water Resources is vital to integrating California’s research, extension, and education programs to help mitigate current water-related issues and develop practical long-term solutions.”
Secretary Karen Ross, California Dept. of Food and Agriculture
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