ition of species in the Delta ecosystem. We need to prepare for future droughts (and floods).
- We need to do better. The extreme drought and wet year served to identify weaknesses in California’s water management. We must learn from these tests and improve local, regional and statewide water management. Learning from past droughts and floods has made California’s water management as successful as it has been, and remains vital for sustaining a major dynamic civilization in such a dry and increasingly variable climate.
The past few years have shown some major problems:
- Groundwater. Implementing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act remains one of California’s greatest water challenges.
- The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a second key to sustainability and prosperity for California’s water system. We are still struggling with this one.
- Rural water supplies. Some 1-2 percent of California’s population still have drinking water of substandard quality. The drought highlighted the problems of these mostly small rural water systems. Some progress is occurring, but it will require stronger county responsibility, oversight and capability, aided by others.
- Ecosystem management. The drought showed the weakness of the remaining native ecosystems and the agencies’ pretty dreadful drought capability and preparation for their environmental responsibilities. State and federal agencies are neither organized nor funded to succeed here.
- Investments in flood infrastructure. While most of California’s flood infrastructure did pretty well, the floods showed a need to invest in the maintenance and updating of major flood infrastructure – and Californians will need to pay for this.
- California lacks a coherent state water technical and scientific program, integrated across agencies. Lack of a common effective water balance, inadequately organized, transparent and expeditious data and modeling, fragmented science, and incoherent fragmentation of technical efforts add confusion, delays, costs and hassles. The state’s major drought, flood, groundwater, water rights, rural drinking water and environmental management problems mostly span agency responsibilities, requiring a common coherent technical program. State effectiveness is hobbled without this.
As a mostly dry place with a highly variable climate, California’s water problems are eternal and will always be punctuated by floods, droughts and other emergencies. These are tests that invite and focus attention and can help guide improvements.
If we want to continue to move forward, we cannot go back.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Water Deeply.
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