The drought as tipping point for California's broken water policy

Laura Harnish is the California Regional Director.

California’s drought, now in its third year, is getting plenty of attention – both in-state and beyond its borders. This attention is deserved because in 2009, reduced water supplies are affecting our cities, farms and natural environment.

Comments made at a recent congressional hearing may have outshone the fundamental facts but certainly conveyed the drama building around this issue. Our current water policy is broken—right now, we cannot adapt to the most predictable of droughts nor operate with the flexibility needed to respond to the needs of our ecosystem. We believe there is an alternative—we can create a robust, resilient water system that provides reliability in drought and water for fish. Before we get there, let's take a closer look at where we are now:

In early February, low reservoir levels prompted State and Federal water project operators to abandon legally-required outflow from the Bay-Delta. This summer, cities throughout the State, especially in urban southern California will undergo mandatory rationing.

Drought impacts will vary hugely on California’s farms. Due to our “first in time, first in right” water laws, however, the federal government currently projects it will deliver zero water to its “contract agriculture” customers in the San Joaquin Valley, while providing full supplies to the neighboring San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors.

As a result, the most severe effects will be felt in places like Mendota, Avenal, and Coalinga – towns that are economically depressed even in the best of times. These reduced deliveries are the result of a combination of factors – poor hydrology, competing demands in other parts of the State, and yes, increased environmental flows designed to enhance fisheries in the Bay-Delta in compliance with the Endangered Species Act.

The conditions in these valley towns is simply heartbreaking and untenable, but likely will only get worse without employment opportunities during the 2009 growing season.

The environmental decline of the Bay-Delta is well documented, and includes not only the resident fish species now listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act but also salmon that depend on a healthy estuary enroute to and from their spawning grounds. For the second straight year, in 2009 no salmon fishing will be allowed, leaving fishermen up and down California’s coast unemployed as well.

The perfect storm of drought, our depressed economy, and ecosystem crash is keeping policymakers plenty busy in Sacramento. Governor Schwarzenegger, along with Senate President Darrell Steinberg and other legislative leaders are currently focused on water. And there is hope that the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan will find a solution that assures reliable conveyance of water supplies in the Delta while enhancing this largest estuary on the west coast.

The Bay-Delta Conservation Plan will not, however, change the historic distribution of water rights that has shaped how water is used throughout California. Some communities have reliable water, while others do not. During droughts, we at the Environmental Defense Fund prefer approaches such as transfers that allow redistribution of developed supplies rather than extracting more flows from our depleted rivers and the Bay-Delta.

Solutions to California’s water woes have been illusory in the past. Resolving conflicts will require better science, more equity, clear rules and expectations for water supply infrastructure and, perhaps most of all, a spirit of cooperation among all parties.