Democratizing California’s water future: data, models, and tools for inclusive decision making

Increasing drought, extreme floods, and environmental degradation are taxing California’s water system. Water shortages are borne inequitably and decisions over how water is allocated are constrained by poor water accounting, entrenched power imbalances, and limited public engagement. Building a resilient water future requires new water planning tools that advance sustainable, inclusive, and equitable water stewardship. To meet this need, we launched COEQWAL (COllaboratory for EQuity in Water Allocations), in which academic research teams are partnering with agencies and diverse publics to co-create scenarios representing combinations of water policy, infrastructural, and operational changes under future climates. Goals of the project are to increase understanding, diversify participation, and enhance engagement in water allocation decision-making. Water futures are being evaluated using a systems planning model, CalSim3, and will be hosted on a public data platform, where users can access, screen, and investigate scenario outcomes and tradeoffs through data visualizations and storytelling methods. This talk will highlight research findings and approaches that seek to engage diverse publics, enhance water literacy, and promote participatory water resilience planning.

Speaker: Ted Grantham, UC Berkeley