Water policy in California is missing a north star

Water policy in California is missing a north star. Think of the last time you started on a difficult journey without a plan for where you wanted to end up. Seems silly right, how could you possibly succeed if you don’t know where you are headed? Did you know that unlike in other sectors, we have no clear, single target that defines what makes up a sustainable, statewide water supply for 40 million-plus Californians? As a result, new proposals come out piecemeal, and we find ourselves trying to do the right thing in silos, without a clear idea of the big picture. With a statewide target in mind, hundreds of water agencies in California could begin working in unison to reach unprecedented heights.

For example, it was five months ago that the State Water Board announced its new, not-yet-final rules to reduce “urban water use” in California by 440,000 acre-feet — a 0.4% supply reduction at a multibillion-dollar price. “Making Conservation a California Way of Life” lays out complex requirements with granular targets for your water agency in a highly complex way, without effectively moving the needle for water supply resilience in a proportionate way.

While it is important that everyone of us take care not to waste this precious resource, “Urban water use” represents only 10% of all use in California. Moreover, since 2020, urban use is already down 9.7%. We don’t mean to say that we cannot possibly conserve more (we can) but, as the Public Policy Institute of California has said, “it is not enough to rely solely on conservation to meet demand.”

In the words of Sonja Petek, who led the LAO’s review of “…Way of Life,” “We’re certainly not saying that water conservation is not an important goal.” But given the complexity of “dealing with more limited water supplies,” conservation should be regarded as “one of the many tools in the state’s toolbox.”

What if by working together we can create a toolbox of water resource efforts that achieves a long-term sustainable water supply for the complex economy that makes California the place we know and love? Let’s chart our course by looking at the big picture and how we can be stronger together. Think of the potential if we prioritize new/updated infrastructure, groundwater recharge, wastewater treatment, and desalination, through a common vision of what we are trying to build — or the “blueprint” to bring us all together—a target to direct policy and coordinate implementation.

A groundbreaking and collaborative process begins with the courage to set the bar. SB 366 (Caballero) would provide that: a statewide water supply target that ensures sustainability for cities and towns, agriculture, and the environment. The bill would establish long-term water supply targets for the state to achieve by specific deadlines, and require that state agencies develop plans and milestones to achieve those targets. This work would be done in cooperation with local water agencies, wastewater service providers, and other stakeholders—creating an all-of-the-above approach to water management, rather than operating mainly on a mindset of scarcity we can turn the tides toward planning to ensure abundance.

We have seen success with other statewide target setting in other sectors, such as in transportation, where by 2035 all new cars sold in California shall be zero-emission vehicles; or in energy, where by 2045 the state shall use 100% clean electricity; or in housing, where by 2030 the state shall build 2.5 million new housing units. Why not an important target for water?