Southern California policymakers and businesses must urgently work to both conserve and tap into new sources of water or quality of life and economic growth will suffer, according to an expert panel convened in June by the BizFed Institute.
More than 150 top business leaders gathered recently at Woodbury University in Burbank for a discussion about the opportunities and challenges associated with securing a safe, reliable source of clean water. Over the course of three hours, participants heard from leading academic, government, industry, and environmental experts (click here to see a YouTube video of the event). Richard Katz, a former member of the State Water Resources Control Board and California assemblyman, opened the dialogue by noting that the state’s driest year in 164 years has prompted new awareness about the need to make better use of a scarce resource. “This is a serious crisis that is not going to go away,” he said. The drought has already sparked wildfires at the beginning of the year instead of the typical fall fire season and led to record-low water levels in lakes and rivers that threatens the ability to make environmentally-friendly hydroelectric power that the West needs to power homes and businesses. Reminding participants that “we live in a desert,” Katz said that mindsets, uses, and prices for water all must change.
Dr. Wade Graham of Pepperdine University and Glen Canyon Institute warned, though, that the current drought is not the only reason for California’s water crisis, noting that 40 of the last 100 years have featured drought conditions. Instead, Wade suggested that institutional inefficiencies, irrational laws, and institutional ignorance create an untenable situation in a state where most of the water is found in the north and most of the population resides in the south. Climate change further exacerbates the problem, he said. Graham pointed to a similar scenario in Australia earlier this century that resulted in a federal takeover of water from that nation’s states and dramatic reductions in water usage by both agricultural and urban consumers. The radical changes in Australia’s approach to water produced an initial public outcry, but Wade suggested the country’s use of robust market tools, strong environmental protections, and significant investment in infrastructure projects to improve efficiencies have proven successful. Graham suggested California should look to Australia for two important lessons when considering how to address the state’s water dilemma. First, Graham said “we need to get real” to understand how much water the state actually has. Second, Graham said California should put nature first and let markets function, approaches he said are currently lacking.
Next, Peter and Hadley Arnold of the Arid Lands Institute at Woodbury University shared their research related to analytic modeling and visualization of stream systems in arid rural environment, as well as analysis of embedded energy within imported urban water supplies. The Arnolds also shared their research into the quantification of storm water as groundwater augmentation supply. Noting that changing water in the West presents significant challenges, the Arnolds said that California public and private stakeholders must begin designing for variability. Peter Arnold suggested that one important component of this strategy involves storm water. “Storm water is not a threat. It is an asset,” he said. By recovering, using, and reusing rain and storm water, Peter Arnold told the group that water supplies can be localized. The Arid Lands Institute is currently engaged in a variety of projects aimed at exploring and implementing this concept through public and private partnerships. (Click here to view the Arnolds’ PowerPoint presentation.)
Following the special presentations on California’s water management challenges, a keynote panel considered ways to ensure safe, clean, reliable water for California. Moderated by Ron Gastelum, former CEO of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California—one of the largest wholesale water suppliers in the world—the six panelists offered their perspectives on whether there will be enough water supplies to meet needs and what actions business and political leaders need to take in the near term to ensure water reliability in the future. Panelists included:
- Jim McDaniel, senior assistant general manager – water system, City of Los Angeles, Department of Water and Power
- Steve Fleischli, director and senior attorney, Water Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
- Mark Pestrella, assistant director, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works
- Ken Farfsing, city manager, Signal Hill
- Mike Antos, programs director, Council for Watershed Health (click here to view his PowerPoint presentation)
- Deven Upadhyay, group manager, Water Resources Management, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
The panelists all agreed that Southern California’s current water systems and usage patterns are not sustainable. Upadhyay declared that unfettered water demands on a per capita basis cannot continue, urging greater efficiency and recycling of water. Antos echoed those comments, saying that residents and regulators alike must begin considering how much water is really needed. Southern Californians use an average of 180 gallons of water per person, per day, Antos said, while the global average for similar climates is 60 gallons per person, per day. Although Antos said Long Beach has trimmed its average daily consumption to 100 gallons of water per person, per day, he said the region as a whole needs to adopt a “conservation ethic.” McDaniel agreed, noting that an appropriate and well-thought out approach to water planning, management, and investment is needed. Farfsing said that many of the 88 cities in Los Angeles County are concerned about water rights and about costs related to stormwater cleanup (read a report on this issue here). Fleischli pointed out that half of urban water usage is for landscaping, which he deemed a waste. Pestrella summed up his fellow panelists’ consensus perspective that it will not be possible in the future to have all the water that everyone wants for every purpose, and that an integrated approach to water will be necessary.
Upadhyay warned that solutions to California’s water woes will require money—in the form of water rates and possibly taxes. “A cash-strapped water agency isn’t going to get a lot done,” he said.
Farfsing, Fleischli, and Pestrella followed up by urging the region’s stakeholders to embrace their commonalities and act regionally rather than locally. “We have to be in it for each other,” Pestrella said. “It’s a resource that’s everyone’s.”
Declaring that there is no “silver bullet,” Pestrella said a three-pronged approach of conservation, local resource development, and sustained, imported water supplies will be crucial in the future. Panelists urged employers to be informed about water issues and to advocate for changes with county supervisors and city officials, and to voice their desires with state legislators and the governor about a water bond that will contribute to financing of a reliable water system. (Click here for information about priorities the BizFed Board of Directors has set for a state water bond.)
Photo Cutline: Left to Right (front row): LaDonna DiCamillo, BNSF, BizFed Institute Chair; Mike Antos, programs director, Council for Watershed Health; Devan Upadhyay, group manager, Water Resources Management; Mark Pestrella, assistant director, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works; Jim McDaniel, senior assistant general manager – water system, City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; Tracy Rafter, BizFed CEO; (back row) Ron Gastelum, BizFed Institute NextUp Clean Water for Life and Business panel moderator and former CEO of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Steve Fleischli, director and senior attorney, water program, Natural Resources Defense Council; Luis Calingo, president, Woodbury University; Ken Farfsing, city manager, Signal Hill. Photo courtesy of Harvey Branman.
