STATE OF CALIFORNIA MOVES TO IMPROVE FRESHWATER MANAGEMENT
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By :
Glenn Oliver
Submitted
2010-02-05 04:48:57 |
The bills cover four major areas of water management. The first, Senate Bill No. 1 addresses the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area and lays out a plan for reestablishment of the natural wetlands while preserving the state’s fresh water resources. The second bill, Senate Bill No. 6 requires that localities monitor groundwater levels to avoid pumping aquifers dry. Senate Bill No. 7 aims to bring urban and agricultural water users to the table to begin a real discussion about water conservation. Finally, Senate Bill No. 8 addresses the practice of water diversion and seeks to set up a more equitable playing field for all the state’s water stakeholders.
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Plan
The Delta Plan, as it is called, establishes the twin goals of providing a more reliable water supply along with restoring and enhancing the Delta ecosystem. To accomplish these goals, the new law establishes the Delta Stewardship Council; the Council, staffed by seven appointed members who are intended to bring a balanced, state-wide view to the Council. The Council’s mandate sets both goals as “coequal” that is, conservancy and water availability must both be pursued and neither may trump the other in priority or urgency.
Additionally, the law directs state agencies and local governance boards to definitively establish water levels that are needed to maintain the biodiversity in the region. Funding from a recent ballot-initiative will be directed toward improving the pumping stations and flood control mechanisms such that these critical operations continue but the biodiversity of the Delta can be maintained.
Groundwater Monitoring
For the first time in the state’s history, California will require local agencies to monitor groundwater levels in both drought years and so-called “normal” years. This is critical to avoiding the water “slump” problem that was identified by this blog some months ago. Namely, during the drought years, conservation lags behind the drought – in effect the conservation doesn’t usually begin until the drought is well underway and the aquifer water levels are reduced. Then, when the normal rains come again, the conservation abruptly ends – without ever giving the aquifer an opportunity to replenish. This abusive cycle results in dangerously low water levels and an unpredictability to water availability in the longer term. The new law seeks to avoid these risks through constant monitoring – drought or rainy.
Statewide Water Conservation
Senate Bill No. 7 requires urban water agencies to reduce water consumption by 20 percent per capita by 2020. The importance of this action cannot be overstated. For the first time, the State of California is actively seeking to stabilize or even reduce overall water use. These agencies have wide latitude in how best to achieve the reduction goal but mechanisms include penalties for offenders and increased funding for agencies that need capital to implement conservation plans.
The bill goes further by requiring agricultural water use planning for the first time in the state’s history. These plans will look at ways of delivering water to growers in a more equitable manner and also seek to implement best practices aimed at conservation in the agricultural fields with a goal of replacing ever-increasing water use with improved sustainability in agriculture
Water Diversion and Use
The state will be directing hundreds of millions of dollars at multiple projects aimed at securing the reliability of the state’s water supply. Included in these projects will be flood protection projects that will reduce the risk of levee failures that would jeopardize water conveyance. Additionally, the State will pursue integrated regional water management projects to reduce dependence on the Delta, which currently accounts for a large portion of the State’s fresh water sourcing.
Governor Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers showed a cooperative spirit, working together to craft these bills. Though the challenges facing the state were demanding and the problems offered no easy answers, the solutions that they’ve come to appear solid. While these bills may not solve every water-related problem that California is facing, they do appear to set the state on a path toward sustainable water solutions. |
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