Author Archives: Rodney T. Smith

About Rodney T. Smith

Rodney T. Smith, Ph.D., President of Stratecon Inc.—an economics and strategic planning consulting firm—advises public and private sector water users on the acquisition, sale and leasing of water rights and water supplies in the western U.S. He is routinely involved in economic valuation of water rights, water investments, and negotiation of water acquisition and transportation agreements and has served as an expert witness in the economic valuation of groundwater resources, disputes over the economic interpretation of water contracts, economics of water conservation and water use practices, and the socio-economic impacts of land fallowing. For more information, see www.stratwater.com.

Listen to the Tree Rings on Sacramento River Hydrology

With a third and extreme year of drought, how will future hydrologic conditions compare to current ones? There are two strands of thought suggesting a challenging future:

  • the 20th Century was an unusually wet period
  • climate change will confront water managers with more severe drought conditions in the future

For the Sacramento River watershed in California, there is unexpected good news. While California must confront variability in hydrologic conditions, Department of Water Resources’ recently released tree-ring data suggesting that current severe drought conditions do not signal that California will be facing more severe hydrologic conditions in the future. Continue reading →

Of (CA) Water Bondage

Spent Wednesday night watching the action on the State Senate floor on the new California water bond (thanks to Maven for the link).  With Governor Brown signing the bill later that night, there is a new bond on the ballot replacing the $11.14 billion bond passed in 2009.  The “fear of failure” led the Legislature to delay putting the large bond on the 2010 and 2012 ballots.  What’s the new bond?  Will the trimmed down version pass muster with voters?  What did we learn about water politics and leadership in California? Continue reading →

California’s “Treading Water” Bond: Part Deux

Last week’s post on the ongoing saga regarding California’s Water Bond did not discuss the June 26th deadline for the California Legislature to find a substitute for the $11.14 billion water bond on this November ballot.  What are the Legislature’s options?  There are many.  Continue reading →

California’s “Treading Water” Bond

The California Legislature will recess today without achieving a long-standing and urgent objective: find a substitute for the $11.14 billion water bond on this November’s ballot.  In a July 1st interview with Capitol Public Radio, Assembly Speaker Atkins (D-San Diego) said that a water bond deal can be reached in August if interest groups accept less money than they want.

Given California’s tradition of state funding of water, this is a tall order:

Can California’s water establishment reinvent themselves in a few weeks? Continue reading →