Water Commission Begins Important Dialog on Storage

The California Water Commission convened a workshop today on one of the most important topics facing this generation of water managers: the future of water storage in California.

Students of history know that water storage and delivery systems built by previous generations of Californians fueled the rise of everything from the high-tech enclaves of Silicon Valley to the fertile farmland of the Central Valley to the vibrant cities and industries of Southern California.

These systems remain critical to our state, but we have to change the way we think about them today. As I told members of the commission in my presentation today, our storage needs are changing. How we respond to that change will affect our economy and our environment in the future.

We must capture more water in wet years so we can meet demands with less impact on the environment during the inevitable dry years. That is best accomplished by investing in more storage capacity – both above and below ground – to take greater advantage of wet years such as 2011 and better manage competing demands in drought years. Climate change makes these investments even more important.

Another reason to think differently is today’s need to manage our water system not only to provide reliable water supplies, but also to protect and enhance the environment. We will need a much broader set of management tools to meet the “co-equal” goals of water supply reliability and a healthy environment. That means our investments must go beyond traditional infrastructure to include water recycling facilities, brackish and ocean desalination plants, fish screens, habitat restoration and other elements that add flexibility to our water system and lessen conflicts between the environment and water project operations.

Meeting the co-equal goals is going to be expensive. But failing to meet them will be costlier still if our economy cannot recover and our environment further degrades as a result.

The conversation started today by the California Water Commission is a great start to advancing the dialog. I look forward to the next chapter when the commission convenes a second workshop on Tuesday, Oct. 25 in Sacramento.