January 18, 2018
Nicola Ulibarri, assistant professor of urban planning and public policy, and a team of UC and national lab researchers were recently awarded a three-year, $3.7 million grant to study California’s water system. The grant was awarded through a multicampus-national collaborative research competition, UC Laboratory Fees.
As part of the project, titled "Headwaters to groundwater: Resources in a changing climate," Ulibarri will help develop models of four Central Valley watersheds. The models will focus on resolving uncertainties around how water moves through the system. The goal is to provide information to optimize water storage, water quality, and groundwater sustainability as precipitation levels vary, temperatures warm, and population grows.
Ulibarri is leading the social science arm of the team, and will be working to identify promising policy and operational changes and interventions that will help communities and the state manage its water system more effectively under climate change.