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UC Davis Magazine

Volume 31 · Number 2 · Spring 2014

Center to lead UC Drought Summit

With California in a major drought, Chancellor Linda P. B. Katehi has tapped the Center for Watershed Sciences to organize and lead a UC Drought Summit on April 25 at the state Capitol.

Students, faculty and staff from across UC campuses will engage with other experts and policymakers on how best to manage immediate and long-term water shortages.

The topics will range widely, from agricultural production to wildfires, public health and water conservation. UC President Janet Napolitano has already called for all campuses to reduce their water use 20 percent by 2020.

With little left of the state’s normally wet season, it remains remotely possible that 2014 will not become a record-setting drought year. But California’s history is punctuated by short and long droughts, and global warming portends a drier future for the state.

“Each drought reveals problems and becomes an opportunity to focus on improving water management,” Jay Lund, director of the center, said in a recent CaliforniaWaterBlog commentary headlined “Droughts Precipitate Innovation.”

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