Balancing water supply and demand has never been a simple
equation when it comes to the Colorado River. Serving as the
“lifeline of the Southwest,” the river provides water to 35
million people and more than 4 million acres of farmland in a
region encompassing some 246,000 square miles. Supplying water,
generating hydroelectric power and protecting endangered species
have all shaped development and management of the river. These
issues have generated their share of conflict. But for more than
a decade the river’s diverse stakeholders – the states, the
federal government, Mexico, Indian tribes and environmentalists –
forged new agreements and partnerships to confront the
challenging issues of the future.
Like clockwork, the scientific studies describing climate change
and its expected impacts keep coming, reminding everyone in an
already-dry West of how much the future will differ from the
past.
For years, California has struggled with how to provide water to
its citizens from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in a way that
allows for a reliable supply while attending to the needs of the
environment and the Delta community. A complex, controversial and
expensive process called the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP)
is in the spotlight as the lead federal and state agencies move
toward choosing an option that will have a lasting impact.
California boasts some of the finest quality drinking water on
the planet. Every day, people turn on their tap and receive
clean, safe water with nary a thought. But the water people take
for granted isn’t so reliable for residents of small water
systems and many disadvantaged communities (DACs) in rural
agricultural areas.
With the start of a new year, we decided the time was right to
check in with a group of people familiar with California’s water
issues and get their views and opinions on the hot topics facing
the state and the prospects for resolving long-standing
conflicts. On Jan. 15, we met with Anthony Saracino, a water
resources consultant (and former Water Education Foundation board
member), Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council, Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
The Colorado River is one of the most heavily relied upon water
supply sources in the world, serving 35 million people in seven
states and Mexico. The river provides water to large cities,
irrigates fields, powers turbines to generate electricity,
thrills recreational enthusiasts and serves as a home for birds,
fish and wildlife.
It may surprise some people to know that California is the fourth
largest producer of crude oil in the United States and has a long
history of oil exploration. Since the 1860s, wells in Kern County
and Southern California have been tapped for more than 500,000
barrels of oil each day.
The San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem
needs freshwater to survive. How much water and where it comes
from is a longstanding debate that is flaring up as the state
embarks on an updated water quality plan for the Bay-Delta.
Levees are one of those pieces of engineering that are never
really appreciated until they fail. California would not exist as
it does today were it not for the extensive system of levees,
weirs and flood bypasses that have been built through the years.
There are two constants regarding agricultural water use –
growers will continue to come up with ever more efficient and
innovative ways to use water and they will always be pressed to
do more.
It’s safe to say the matter will not be settled anytime soon,
given all the complexities that are a part of the water use
picture today. While officials and stakeholders grapple to find a
lasting solution to California’s water problems that balances
environmental and economic needs, those who grow food and fiber
for a living do so amid a host of challenges.
Everywhere you look water infrastructure is working hard to keep
cities, farms and industry in the state running. From the massive
storage structures that dot the West to the aqueducts that convey
water hundreds of miles to large urban areas and the untold miles
of water mains and sewage lines under every city and town, the
semiarid West would not exist as it does without the hardware
that meets its water needs.
Balancing water supply and demand has never been a simple
equation when it comes to the Colorado River. Serving as the
“lifeline of the Southwest,” the Colorado River provides water to
35 million people and more than 4 million acres of farmland in a
region encompassing some 246,000 square miles. The 1922 Colorado
River Compact that divided the water among the seven Western
states was straightforward in its allocation formula,
apportioning 7.5 million acre-feet to each basin. But in the 89
years since the Compact was signed, a subsequent treaty to
provide water to the Republic of Mexico, Indian water rights
settlements, and operational changes for the environment have all
challenged notions of how much water is reliably available to
“develop” for urban growth and agricultural uses.
Growth may have slowed in California, but advocates of low impact
development (LID) say the pause is no reason to lose sight of the
importance of innovative, low-tech management of stormwater via
incorporating LID aspects into new projects and redevelopment.
If there is one constant in all the turmoil surrounding
California’s water, it is the pivotal role of science in
decision-making. It is science that seeks to tell us what’s
happening in the natural world and the possible actions that can
be taken to affect change for the better.
For something so largely hidden from view, groundwater is an
important and controversial part of California’s water supply
picture. How it should be managed and whether it becomes part of
overarching state regulation is a topic of strong debate.
In California, “The Big One” is usually associated with a major
earthquake that would severely disrupt the way of life for
millions living next to or near the San Andreas Fault.
Is the water consumed by people everyday safe to drink or should
there be concern about unregulated contaminants, many of which
are the remnants of commonly used pharmaceutical and personal
care products?
In the grip of 11 years of drought in the Colorado River Basin,
Lake Mead is a sobering sight with its ever-growing white bathtub
ring and declining water level – about 130 feet below capacity.
In October, Lake Mead reached its lowest elevation, 1,082 feet,
since the 1950s. Mead’s level has since risen a few feet, but it
remains at only 41 percent of capacity. Thanks to December storms
and an above-average January snowpack in the Colorado Rockies,
the likelihood of more water being released from Lake Powell to
Lake Mead has increased and the potential of a 2012 Lower Basin
shortage declaration has decreased.
The connection between water and energy is more relevant than
ever. After existing in separate realms for years, the maxim that
it takes water to produce energy and energy to produce water has
prompted a re-thinking of management strategies, including an
emphasis on renewable energy use by water agencies.
