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Posts Tagged: Water Quality Quantity and Security

Strategic Initiative Brief: Dahlke named Water Strategic Initiative leader

From left, Ken Shackel, Helen Dahlke and Roger Duncan discuss groundwater recharge in an almond orchard in 2016.

Following an open call, Helen Dahlke has agreed to take on the role of leader for the Strategic Initiative for Water Quality, Quantity and Security.

Dahlke is associate professor in integrated hydrologic sciences in the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources. She brings a rich history of experience having completed her undergraduate and master's degrees in her native Germany before earning her Ph.D. at Cornell University. After her Ph.D., she did postdoctoral work at Stockholm University in Sweden before joining UC Davis in 2013.

Helen Dahlke
“California's water quantity, quality and security are increasingly impacted by uncertainty and scarcity,” said Dahlke. “As leader of the water SI, I hope to learn about the water challenges in California to develop and communicate solutions with the UC ANR team and our stakeholders.”

Dahlke's current research interests include surface water – groundwater interaction, water resources management, vadose zone transport processes, and applications of DNA nanotechnology in hydrology. She comes with a broad appreciation of the multiple roles for addressing issues facing water across the state from the mountains to the sea. One of her main research efforts focuses on testing the feasibility of using agricultural fields as recharge sites for groundwater replenishment.

“We welcome and thank Helen for adding this new role to her ongoing activities,” said Mark Bell, vice provost for strategic initiatives and statewide programs. “The SI leaders are the champions for the broad umbrellas of work across the organization.”

The Strategic Initiatives help people connect while helping unify, communicate and advocate for UC ANR's work across the state. The SI leaders are part of Program Council, which provides input for programmatic policy and direction for the organization.

Posted on Monday, February 28, 2022 at 10:51 AM

$1 million grant expands climate-ready landscape plants program

Landscape plants under varying irrigation levels are evaluated at South Coast REC to determine the best irrigation level for optimal plant performance.

A research project initiated in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis evaluates landscape plants in two-year trials under varying irrigation levels to determine the best irrigation level for optimal plant performance in regions requiring supplemental summer water. Creating water budgets is required by California's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO), and the results from these research trials help landscape professionals and home gardeners make informed decisions when specifying, selecting or promoting low water-use landscape plant material.

This year, the CDFA/USDA Specialty Crops Multistate Program funded a new Climate Ready Landscape Plants project, which will replicate the successful fields that are currently installed at UC Davis and UC ANR South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine.

Loren Oki will oversee a new Climate Ready Landscape Plants project. Photo by Ann Filmer

Loren Oki, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, is the lead principal investigator and collaborators include researcher Jared Sisneroz;  project leader Karrie Reid, UC Cooperative Extension environmental horticulture advisor in San Joaquin County; and Darren Haver, UC Cooperative Extension water resources and water quality advisor and director of South Coast REC and UCCE in Orange County.

Under Oki's oversight, this new $999,992 grant will support the development of additional fields at several western universities:

  • University of Washington, Soo-Hyung Kim
  • Oregon State University, Lloyd Nackley and Ryan Contreras
  • Utah State University Center, Youping Sun and Larry Rupp
  • University of Arizona, Ursula Schuch

Conducting these new experiments on landscape plants at diverse sites across the western U.S. will reveal differences in recommendations since irrigation guidelines for landscapes vary depending on climate and soil type.

The initial project was initiated as Reid's master's degree thesis research in 2004, with Oki as her major professor, and has been ongoing since then.

Project descriptions, results and images can be seen at the UC Landscape Plant Irrigation Trials website at https://ucanr.edu/sites/UCLPIT.

Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2020 at 9:13 AM
  • Author: Ann Filmer

Apply by Nov. 9 to be SI leader for Water or Healthy Families and Communities

ANR academics are invited to apply for Strategic Initiative leader positions, which play key roles in unifying, communicating and advocating to strengthen UC ANR's research and outreach agenda. Given the ongoing evolving role of the UC ANR Strategic Initiatives (SI), the SI leaders agreed that it would again be beneficial to conduct an open search – from across the breadth of expertise of the division – for the next rotation of SI leaders.

Open Positions. Two SI leader positions are scheduled to rotate off at the end of 2018. This change offers opportunities for others to take the lead for

Who is eligible to apply? The positions are open to all UC ANR academics, including Agricultural Experiment Station faculty and Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists. Strategic Initiative leaders are appointed by the Associate Vice President on a rotating basis for three years, with a possibility of extension.

Current SI leaders

The SIs help unify, communicate and advocate for what UC ANR does. See the UCANR Strategic Initiatives website for more information.

To apply for one of the SI leader positions, complete the simple form at http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=25782. Applications will be accepted until Nov. 9.

Applicants will be contacted for interviews in late November or early December. The new leaders are anticipated to start on Jan. 2, 2019.

For information regarding the roles and responsibilities of the Strategic Initiative leader position, see the Terms of Reference for Strategic Initiative Leaders. If you have questions, contact Mark Bell, vice provost of Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs.

Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2018 at 8:23 AM

Water institute celebrates 60 years

The water institute has been directed by academics across the UC system, beginning with Martin Huberty in the 1950s, John Letey in the 1990s and Doug Parker currently.

The California Institute for Water Resources is celebrating its 60th anniversary.

To commemorate the changes and achievements of the institute, FaithKearns,CIWR academic coordinator II, wrote a Q&A with Doug Parker, CIWR director and leader of the Water Quality, Quantity, and Security Strategic Initiative.

Originally located at UCLA in 1957 and directed by Martin Huberty, over the years, the multi-campus research unit moved between the UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and UC Riverside campuses.

In 2011, ANR renamed UC Water Resources Center the California Institute for Water Resources and established its headquarters at the UC Office of the President in Oakland, where it remains today.

“The initial mission of the institute still stands: to integrate California's research, extension, and education programs to develop research-based solutions to water resource challenges,” Parker said. “In practice, we work across all kinds of institutions and provide educational programs through direct contactweb-based programs, and social media to increase understanding of complex water issues while also trying to diversify the conversation about water within our state.”

To read more about CIWR activities and key water issues that Parker sees ahead for the state, visit //ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=25648.

Posted on Monday, November 20, 2017 at 11:38 AM

Water Pricing for a Dry Future presentations posted

An international group of water experts gathered in Sacramento on Feb. 2 and 3 to share their experiences with the use of market-based incentives to address water scarcity. The presentations and videos from the workshop "Water Pricing for a Dry Future: Policy Ideas from Abroad and their Relevance to California" have been posted at http://spp.ucr.edu/waterpricing under the “video” tab.

"The workshop provided an opportunity for individuals in various sectors to interact with scholars from several countries, who showed how water-pricing mechanisms have been used creatively in their countries to promote water conservation," said Ariel Dinar, UC Riverside professor of environmental economics and policy, who co-organized the workshop.

Experts from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Israel, South Africa, Spain and California, presented their water-pricing cases.

The workshop was sponsored by the UC Center at Sacramento, UC Riverside School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley, UC ANR, Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, Public Policy Institute of California Water Policy Center and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 4:45 PM

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