In my last post, I wrote about how the Netherlands went from roughly 3,500 water authorities to 21. Structure matters. But throughout this NAFSMA trip, our Dutch hosts kept pointing to something that doesn’t show up on an organizational chart. They called it the Dutch Way. As they described it
Across California, local governments are pausing data-center development as they confront questions about water supply, infrastructure, and the adequacy of existing land use rules. On October 6, 2026, Oakland adopted an interim urgency ordinance pausing approvals of land use entitlements and agreements for data centers. San Francisco also approved a
When Congress debated the Endangered Species Act of 1973, bill sponsors expressed concern about individuals who capture or kill animals “for pleasure or profit” and also recognized habitat destruction as a principal threat to protected species. With its core purpose to make it unlawful for any person to “take” a
I’ve been working through a series of posts from my September trip to the Netherlands and England with NAFSMA, touring European flood control facilities. The first post went up from the Biesbosch, and more are coming. But I’m interrupting the series because something closer to home deserves attention
In my last post, I wrote from the Noordwaard, a former farming polder (or protected basin) on the edge of De Biesbosch National Park, where the Dutch lowered a dike on purpose so the river can spill into the polder at high water. That was the Dutch trying something
I’m writing this from the Netherlands. Today I spent the day at the Noordwaard, a former farming polder (or protected basin) on the edge of De Biesbosch National Park. I traveled here with NAFSMA (the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies) as part of a mission to learn
On September 21, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a statewide state of emergency in anticipation of a developing El Niño event that NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center projects has a greater than 90% chance of reaching “very strong” intensity this fall and winter, with a 69% chance of surpassing every El
In case you haven’t heard, the National Weather Service is predicting, with high certainty, a very strong El Niño this year. A strong El Niño has already formed with a 90% chance of it strengthening to very strong and a 60% chance of it developing into the strongest since 1950.
Data center development is accelerating across California, bringing increased attention to the water supplies and infrastructure needed to serve these projects. That attention has prompted both developers and public agencies to address issues such as long-term reliability, infrastructure costs, drought planning, and the disclosure of project information. Pending legislation would
I was recently asked to speak at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the National Waterways Conference, a national trade group advocating in the areas of navigation, flood control, and water supply. Specifically, I was asked to speak on the effects of the 2023 Federal Court of Appeals decision in Ideker