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.

CA Water Bond on Election Eve: Did Political Leadership Push Prop 1 Over the Finish Line?

Sitting before my computer at sundown November 3rd, thinking about whether California voters will pass the 2014 water bond?  Hydrowonk believes the outcome depends on the balance among three factors: will the drought and political leadership exerted by Governor Brown overcome the drag of increasing debt burdens on voter support for water bonds? According to the wisdom of the Stratecon Water Policy Marketplace, the answer is yes. This market now predicts that the chance of the water bond passing is 57%.  Given the trend in voter support of water bonds and California debt loads, the passage of the water bond would be a remarkable achievement. Continue reading →

Climate Change: A New Energy-Water Nexus for Emission Trading

California Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon added a new twist (climate change) to the increasingly popular topic of the “energy-water nexus.” Speaking at the 30th Annual Meeting and Dinner of the Southern California Water Committee, “as we live through the current severe and extreme drought, which is now approaching a 4th straight year of drought conditions, the realities of limited water supplies are hitting home.”  Introducing climate change into the policy discussion, Senator de Leon will move water agencies into a new era of carbon emission control.  Will participation in California’s cap-and-trade emission market become a new tool for water managers? Continue reading →

Is the End of the Texas Drought Near?

Do you believe an Aggie or a Red Raider?

The Los Angeles Times recently ran a story on the September torrential rainfall in Texas: Rain pounds Texas: A sign the drought is ending?

“This could be the start of the end of the drought,” said state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University.

“We’ve been behind on rainfall for several years in West Texas. We have thirsty watersheds.” “We need multiple, wetter years,” said Ken Rainwater, former director of the Water Resources Center at Texas Tech University.

Well, this is one Aggie-Red Raider dispute that can’t be settled on the gridiron. Continue reading →

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 →