I think the future of water is stressed and complicated. I think that we’ve reached an all-hands-on-deck moment. And I think that this all-hands-on-deck moment scales from local to regional to national to global. And I believe that if we don’t start making progress at those different scales, we’re going to reach a point of no return.”
In the latest episode of Distilled, host Will Sarni, Practice Lead, Water and Nature at Earth Finance, sits down with a new guest to discuss the impact of the NASA GRACE satellite mission, how the representation of water in climate models remains inadequate, and why the need for collective action is more urgent than ever — plus, the guest’s journey throughout the world of water.
Jay Famiglietti, pioneering satellite hydrologist, Global Futures Professor at the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, and former NASA JPL Senior Water Scientist, joined Will to talk through his background. Kicking off the discussion, Will asked Jay what got her hooked on water.
Watch the full video episode below or keep reading for the write-up.
Jay on how he got hooked on water
Jay’s passion for water isn’t just academic, but personal. He grew up in Rhode Island during the 1960s and 1970s, in the heart of New England — the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution — and he saw the polluted rivers, contaminated soil, and contaminated seafood up close.
Despite having an awareness of environmental conservation from a young age, he set become a veterinarian. However, everything changed for him after taking a geology class at Tufts University; this set Jay on course to study geophysics and hydrology. Thus, his career in water was born.
During my childhood, the environmental movement began to kick off. And I was experiencing it firsthand. This was New England, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. All the rivers were polluted, all the soil was contaminated. The fish, the shellfish, and the tuna — everything — was really contaminated.”
During his early career, he focused on computer simulations and modeling to aid understanding of large-scale water systems. His work focused on improving climate simulation models, particularly how they represent water’s role in climate change predictions. But he didn’t just stay behind a screen — he also took part in fieldwork, studying soil moisture variability to lay the groundwork for a NASA satellite.
Jay on how the representation of water in climate models falls short
Jay went on to discuss climate simulation models in more detail, explaining how they’re used by governments to predict and understand climate change, minimize temperature increases, and analyze the impact of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
He went through how they consist of models of oceans, the atmosphere, ice sheets, and land surface, but explained how much of the emphasis has been on the carbon cycle and the carbon dioxide exchange. While some aspects of water are captured, he explained that the current systems don’t go far enough.
For a long time, I’ve been pushing the community to have a fuller representation of the hydrology that we experience as humans. So that means rivers, watersheds, lakes, reservoirs, and water management, like pumping and irrigation. But the need to accelerate far outpaces the availability of funding.”
He talked about how he’s been pushing for a fuller representation of the hydrology that we experience as humans, one that includes watersheds, lakes, reservoirs, pumping, and irrigation. Since these are currently missing from our models, Jay explained how there are gaps in our understanding of water’s role in climate change.
The lack of funding only exacerbates the problem. Jay discussed how the scientific community has ideas and know-how plenty, but that there is a distinct lack of investment needed to create a global hydrological model that can sit inside of a very detailed climate model.
Jay on the long-lasting impact of the NASA GRACE mission
When Jay began working on the NASA GRACE satellite mission (The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) in the late 1990s, he had no idea just how groundbreaking it would become.
Jay explained how, unlike traditional satellites, which function like cameras or thermometers, GRACE works like a giant scale in the sky, measuring changes in Earth’s gravitational field to track the movement and mass of water.
This means that GRACE can detect water mass changes across vast regions — like watersheds covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometers — and track those changes on a monthly basis. For the first time, scientists were able to clearly see the seasonal ups and downs of water storage and identify long-term trends driven by climate change.
GRACE stands for Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. It’s basically like a giant scale in the sky. It measures the mass changes of water in and out of a region. And so what it has allowed us to see is the regions around the world that are gaining or losing water mass on a monthly basis.”
One example is the Colorado River Basin, where GRACE data showed the impact of rising temperatures, increased evaporation, reduced snowfall, and extensive groundwater depletion. The ability to visualize these patterns over time was brand new.
GRACE also highlighted areas of intense groundwater depletion, like California’s Central Valley, the North China Plain, and the Ogallala Aquifer. Jay explained how they were able to show that the rate of groundwater depletion is faster than it’s ever been. This data helped push water issues into the spotlight and was integral to policy changes like California’s 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Jay on the all-hands-on-deck approach needed for real change
When asked about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the current state of water, Jay acknowledged that while there’s been meaningful progress — particularly with innovative technology and a growing focus on water and groundwater legislation — the bigger picture remains troubling.
This, he said, requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. The systems around water governance, investment, and technology still need major overhauls to meet the scale of the challenges ahead. As well as these, Jay emphasized the importance of making scientific data accessible and actionable for decision-makers.
We’ve accomplished a lot. But when we talk about scale, the problem is just so much bigger. You and I and our colleagues all understand the scale, the scope, and the urgency, but the rest of the world does not. And I think we’re second banana behind temperature and carbon.”
He also stressed the need for collaboration across sectors, pointing out that the private sector — particularly agriculture — consumes the majority of the world’s water. To drive real, lasting change, he argued, businesses, governments, and researchers must work together, aligning their efforts to create more effective water management solutions.
Interested in more Distilled content?
Hosted by Will Sarni, Distilled is a video podcast series that features water leaders from around the world. Each one-on-one conversation explores the guest’s unique career path, discusses the challenges and opportunities facing the water industry, and considers what’s next for water.
You can find the full catalog of episodes here.
