2015 CA Summit - Water: Protecting California’s Lifeline

Context and State of Drought

• California is currently facing its fifth consecutive year of drought, with the water year ending September 30 identified as the driest in 500 years.
• The state's water management system is characterized by increasing volatility where natural resource changes are outpacing institutional adaptation.
• Snowpack levels have collapsed; visual comparisons show significant reduction from 2011 (moderate snow) to 2014 (minimal snow).
• Dry watersheds have led to increased wildfire risks, which subsequently cause landslides during subsequent rainfall events.

Investment and Bond Measures

• Proposition 1 ($7.4 billion bond), passed in November 2014, was triggered by the drought to fund integrated regional water management.
• The California Water Commission oversees $2.7 billion specifically designated for new water storage improvements.
• Storage bond funds are restricted to paying for public benefits (flood protection, wildlife, recreation) rather than private water supply benefits.
• Applicants for storage funding must demonstrate measurable improvements to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and compliance with climate change projections.

Infrastructure and Reliability Challenges

• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) is prioritizing the replacement of aging infrastructure to prevent water loss from leaks and seismic failures.
• Major water conveyance systems, including the Delta levees and aqueducts crossing the San Andreas Fault, pose significant earthquake risks to Southern California's water supply.
• Deferred investment in water infrastructure has created a need to modernize systems built on a 100-year-old philosophy of relying on snowpack.
• 300,000 people in California currently lack access to safe drinking water due to chronic contamination (arsenic, nitrates) or dry wells.

Regional Strategies and Innovation

• Portola/Proposition 1: The bond aims to shift from imported water reliance toward local self-reliance via storage and stormwater capture.
• Private Sector Partnership: Poseidon Water's Carlsbad desalination plant (50 million gallons per day) is the largest in the Western Hemisphere, serving as a model for public-private partnership despite a decade-long regulatory process.
• Water Reuse: Los Angeles is advancing "direct potable reuse," treating wastewater to standards exceeding drinking water requirements to blend with groundwater basins.
• Groundwater Management: The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act is being implemented, though current metering remains insufficient to accurately track extraction volumes.

Energy and Climate Nexus

• California's water and energy systems are tightly coupled; higher temperatures reduce power plant efficiency and increase water demand for cooling while simultaneously reducing water supply.
• The state lost $1.4 billion in the last three years due to reduced hydropower availability, forcing a shift to carbon-intensive natural gas.
• Desalination and water recycling are energy-intensive, but innovations in membrane technology have already reduced energy use by 50% over the last decade.
• Renewable energy integration for desalination is currently limited by state regulations preventing remote solar/wind purchases, though ramping production during low-cost energy periods is being explored.

Comparative Lessons (Australia and Israel)

• Australia: Lessons include the use of market transfers to purchase water for the environment and the widespread adoption of residential water cisterns, which are effective even in dry climates.
• Israel: Serves as a benchmark for treating water as a national security issue, utilizing aggressive pricing, advanced technology hubs, and military-style conservation behaviors (e.g., "military showers").
• Market Mechanisms: Unlike Australia, California currently relies on regulatory processes for environmental water transfers rather than voluntary market purchases.

Agriculture and Policy Debates

• Vertical and hydroponic farming could reduce water usage by 90% and land use significantly, though industrialized agriculture remains dominant due to economic drivers.
• Agriculture is already shifting; sustainable groundwater laws are forcing a reduction in the agricultural footprint and a move toward higher-value crops.
• There is a debate regarding "crop per drop," with arguments that exporting food grown in California is not a net negative compared to exporting microchips.
• Flooding strategies are being revisited as a method for groundwater recharge under new legislation, challenging the view that flood irrigation is purely wasteful.

Future Outlook and Quotes

• Lester Snow (California Water Foundation): "We are attempting to drive a modern economy... with a 100-year-old philosophy of how we manage water."
• Carlos Riva (Poseidon Water): "It's not going to be the full solution... Desal needs to be part of a portfolio, starting with conservation, starting with reuse."
• Marty Adams (DWP): "If you're addicted to mountain water, that just means that it's water that the animals got to first."
• Kelly Sanders (USC): "California is not water scarce. California is freshwater scarce."
• Forward-Looking Statement: The California Water Fix (tunnel project) is proposed to resolve Delta reliability issues by minimizing reverse flow, though the political battle remains ongoing.
• Policy Trend: There is a growing consensus that water rates and pricing mechanisms must be adjusted to reflect the true value of water to drive behavioral change and investment.