California’s climate policies stand out for their audacious ambition and goal-setting orientation. You have probably heard about California’s plans to limit new car sales to zero-emission vehicles by 2035, or to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. In April, Governor Newsom announced 81 new targets – themselves direct descendants of the 2045 carbon neutrality target – an effort to focus resources to help California’s lands absorb more carbon emissions. Over and over again,targets and timelines are utilized to create clear and quantifiable ways to direct policy and resources to measure progress, to clean our air and fortify our natural lands.
But, disappointingly, not to sustain our water supply. Unlike climate change, no statewide goal or target exists for a sustainable, clean water supply in California, to ensure service to our residents, businesses, and the environment.
Instead, water managers around the state work to hold onto as much water as the system can store. This strategy was sufficient for the last 80 years, from the beginning of the Central Valley Project in the 1930s up to the last major construction on the State Water Project. But now that California’s population is pushing 40 million – and facing an increasingly volatile climate – the absence of a clear, overarching target has left California’s system, and approach, outdated.
As Gov. Newsom said in April standing atop five feet of snow at California’s annual snow survey, climate extremes “are becoming the new reality, and that new reality requires a new approach. The water system in California was designed for a world that no longer exists.”
That is why I introduced SB 366, which would fundamentally transform the state’s water management and provide a path to drought proof California’s water supply and ensure a sustainable water supply for cities and towns, agriculture, other industries, and the environment. The bill would establish long-term water supply targets for the state to achieve with deadlines, and require that state agencies develop plans and milestones to achieve those targets—work that would be done in cooperation with water agencies, wastewater service providers, and other stakeholders.
Specifically, SB 366 sets an interim target of 10 million acre-feet of additional water by 2040, while the Department of Water Resources develops long-term targets for 2050. Last May, it passed the Senate unanimously (40-0) and it is currently in the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee, waiting to be set for a hearing.
I hope it’s soon. California can’t afford to wait when it’s clear that currently thousands of residents suffer from the lack of potable, clean drinking water. We need water solutions that will meet the needs of a growing population amid climate change.
We know that water policy in California is no stranger to conservation. Because the state’s water availability has not grown as fast as the population it serves, water management has over the years become more about conservation. As a result, Californians today use roughly the same amount of water as we did in the 1980s. The issue is that now there are 10 million more of us, and our economy depends on a reliable water supply.
For California “to rely solely on conservation to meet demand… is not enough,” states the Public Policy Institute of California. Forty years of declining per-capita water use has relieved some demand however it has left us “more vulnerable during droughts,” because communities that “have already attained low levels of per-capita use… have less flexibility to further reduce water use.” In other words, Californians can only conserve so much water. True sustainability, or drought resilience, simply requires more supply.
To be clear, SB 366 would not mandate any new construction or greenlight any current proposals. It would establish a water supply target, for planning purposes; so that in future years proposed additions to California’s water system would be measured against that target. The idea is to chart a unified, statewide path to sustainability, rather than wait for piecemeal proposals. A long-range target not only buys us time to fully study and debate new projects, but also for emerging technologies – like desalination, wastewater recycling, and groundwater recharge – to develop.
The best alternative is to set goals, research the options, have a plan and fund the projects that best meets the needs of the entire state. With a variety of options at our disposal, we can still have a debate about the best way forward. SB 366 is that path forward.
Anna Caballero represents California’s Senate District 14
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Courtesy : https://www.pressenterprise.com/2024/06/24/sb-366-a-necessary-statewide-target-for-water-supply/