News & Insights

As California struggles through its fourth year of drought, it is worth remembering that other parts of the West are much drier than California and have been coping with water shortages for decades.  As the first state in the country to pass a comprehensive set of groundwater regulations in 1980, Arizona offers a potentially useful lens for its western neighbors managing increasing water...

The Western U.S. has a water problem: the ongoing drought is not only unprecedented, it looks increasingly like the new normal. While demand for water continues to grow, climate change is causing supplies to dwindle. We need to take aggressive steps now toward solving this imbalance and protecting the vibrant economies of our arid landscapes. Multiple efforts and resources are being brought to...

The snowpack in California's mountains is at the lowest level ever recorded. The long-term effects of the drought could be devastating. Frank Gehrke, left, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program for the Department of Water Resources, points to a mark on the snow pack measuring pole that was the lowest previous snow pack level, as Gov. Jerry Brown, center, and Mark Cowin,...

Water in the West researchers compile best practices, forward solutions to ensure enough water is available for natural systems and people. This story is part of a series about Stanford researchers developing solutions to water supply and access challenges affecting billions of people.