This Policy Lab practicum works with the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) on a broad study that examines lessons learned from the current California drought. The overall goal of the study is to assess the functioning of various aspects of California’s water management system during the current drought and to develop tools and policy recommendations to help the state survive future droughts with fewer economic and environmental impacts.

California is currently in its fourth year of drought. The drought’s duration, along with increased temperatures due to climate change, have combined to make it perhaps the most intense drought since we have begun keeping records. These conditions have placed enormous strains on water management systems at all levels of government. The state’s water rights system (among other laws) has had to cope with unprecedented hydrologic conditions, conflicting demands for water, and data gaps. As a result, state and federal water management agencies have faced unprecedented decisions along with untested rules for making those decisions.

The overall PPIC study, including the work of the practicum, seeks to evaluate the performance of the state’s institutions, management systems, infrastructure, and laws during these extreme conditions in order to make recommendations to better prepare California for future droughts. The practicum focuses primarily on the California water rights system and its interaction with other laws related to water quality and aquatic species protection in the context of the ongoing drought. Issues for research include case studies of the effectiveness of different legal mechanisms for protecting streamflows and aquatic species from conditions related to extreme drought. Topics may also include an analysis of temporary urgency change petitions (a mechanism to temporarily suspend water quality based limitations on water rights) during the drought, including their rationale and their effects on water quality. The practicum will contribute written analysis to a series of reports to be produced by the PPIC. Students will also participate in planning and holding a workshop of experts that will help shape the project and its outputs. Enrollment is limited to eight students.

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