The Confluence

Landscape with New Melones Lake in Spring

The Confluence is the blog of the California Institute for Water Resources (CIWR) within University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. We cover timely topics of water management in California, highlighting innovative research and voices.

CIWR's mission is to integrate California's research, extension, and education programs to develop research-based solutions to water resource challenges. We do this by facilitating collaborative research and outreach on water issues across California's academic institutions and with international, federal, state, regional, nonprofit, and campus communities.

Visit us at: ciwr.ucanr.edu | follow us on Bluesky @ucanrwater.bsky.social, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X @ucanrwater

Image with wildfire damages to a house in the wildland-urban interface.

Public confidence and communications for drinking water after wildfires

July 10, 2026

By Faith Kearns

The 2017 Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa was one of the first widely documented cases of wildfire damage directly to urban water infrastructure. Photo by Faith KearnsBy Faith Kearns, Gregory Pierce, Edith de Guzman, Erik Porse and Jennifer GormanIn the aftermath of the 2025 Los Angeles fires, local news…

View Article

Luis Gutierrez of City of LA Mayor's Office making remarks

Water, Fire, and Finance: Investigating How To Pay for Resilient Water Supply Systems in the Face of Changing Fire Risks

February 10, 2026

By Erik C Porse

by Gregory Pierce, Faith Kearns, Edith de Guzman, Erik Porse, Camilo Salcedo, Jennifer Gorman and Jason Islas Key TakeawaysWater distribution systems were built with capacity to provide potable water and to put out local structure fires, not wildfires. Designing water systems capable of…

View Article

Workshop participants meet in Davis in November 2025.

Addressing the needs of small farmers under SGMA groundwater market development

December 22, 2025

By Ellen M Bruno

Workshop participants meet in Davis, CA in November 2025.The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) opened the door for groundwater markets to emerge in much of California. Groundwater markets refer to the voluntary, compensated transfer of the right or allowance to pump groundwater, as well as…

View Article

Firefighters on the 2019 Kincade Fire in northern California. Photo by Faith Kearns

Rethinking Water Systems in a Fire-Prone West: A Fire Chief’s Approach

December 9, 2025

By Faith Kearns

Firefighters on the 2019 Kincade Fire in northern California. Photo by Faith KearnsBy Faith KearnsThe 2017 Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, California is memorable for many reasons, including the almost unbelievable way this wildland fire pushed into neighborhoods and leapt across Highway 101. It is also the…

View Article

Water Systems and Wildfire: Understanding Capacities and Limitations

September 29, 2025

By Erik C Porse

by Gregory Pierce, Erik Porse, Faith Kearns, Edith de Guzman, Camilo Salcedo, Jason Islas, and Ariana Hernandez. The January 2025 fires in Los Angeles made clear an issue that has been brewing for years: as wildfires become more urban in nature, what is the role of urban water systems in…

View Article