Cynthia Koehler is Senior Consulting Attorney for EDF.

The California Legislature is on the cusp of voting for an historic water deal. The Senate could vote within the next few days. And as the famous saying goes, there are two things that you don’t want to watch: sausage making and the legislative process. The latest attempted additive to the sausage: an amendment that would jeopardize the long-standing and foundational water law premise that requires that all water use in California be “reasonable” and not wasteful. Read more »

Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

Groundwater is one of the more contentious aspects of the water reform legislation currently under consideration in Sacramento. Some legislators have indicated that they would not sign the bill if it contains even modest language requiring that groundwater levels be monitored.

This makes no sense to us. Reasonable people may differ on how much groundwater should be pumped in any particular region under certain conditions. But to have no limits at all assures a “race to the bottom”, akin to two hungry kids, each with a straw, sharing a single milkshake. Moreover, where is the incentive for a landowner to replenish groundwater supplies in wet years, if neighbors can extract it with impunity?

As Legislative Analyst Catherine Freeman pointed out at yesterday’s hearing, California is the only state that does not monitor groundwater. The other 49 states understand that good water policy demands some public involvement in groundwater. Given the need to stretch limited supplies among California’s farms, families and fish, and that as much as 40% of statewide supply comes from groundwater in drought years, it is embarrassing that we have no statewide policy for managing groundwater. (Click here for a copy of the LAO's 2008 report on groundwater.)

In much of the State, the groundwater situation is not so dire. Urban districts throughout the State currently “bank” water underground with the Semitropic Water Storage District in Kern County. And landowners and local agencies throughout much of the urban southland have cleaned up groundwater supplies and are working together to manage aquifers sustainably.

But in some areas, groundwater is often described as the “wild west” – i.e. lawless.

The proposed legislation takes only baby steps. It does not regulate groundwater. It seeks only to monitor its use to enable better management and decision-making. To ensure realiable water supply in California, the groundwater element of the legislative package must be retained.

Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

Our water system isn't working for anyone – not for cities, not for farms, and certainly not for fish. For the first time in over a decade, the California legislature has a chance to address our outdated water system and our broken Bay-Delta ecosystem. At the end of the last legislative session, a water policy package was put forward that proposed critical steps needed to provide a resilient water supply for all Californians and badly needed environmental protections as well.

Like others in the environmental community, EDF stretched to come to agreement in Senate Bill 68 as introduced, as it already includes a substantial set of compromises that would not be our first policy choice.

We, nevertheless, supported the package as introduced on September 11th because we believe strongly that its provisions have the potential to break the cycle of conflict and environmental damage that have plagued California’s water management system for decades.

We are pleased to see that the Governor has called for a special legislative session dedicated to passing strong water policy. Our support for a final package is dependent on retention of the following critical elements:

1. Getting enough water into the Bay-Delta – Sets a clear course of action to determine and provide critical water flows for the health and long-term sustainability of the Delta ecosystem.

2. Reducing reliance on the Bay-Delta – A landmark change in policy that shifts from an emphasis on Delta water supply to improving conservation, recycling, and other local sources of water.

3. Tools for halting illegal diversions – Expands the State Water Resources Control Board's authority to halt illegal diversions ensuring fair, smart water use throughout the state

4. Moving the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to environmental success – Details a framework for the BDCP that will help result in stronger protections for the Bay-Delta ecosystem in a timely manner.

5. Ensuring smart groundwater use – Substantially expands groundwater management and monitoring efforts to ensure long-term sustainability.

Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

The 2009 water year ended this week amidst a plethora of activity, conflict and entertainment.

On Tuesday, as NASA rocket scientists were talking water in Pasadena, Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart responded to Fox News’ Sean Hannity on the Daily Show.

On Wednesday, PacifiCorp agreed to terms for removing four controversial dams on the Klamath River.

On Thursday, after years of litigation and negotiation spearheaded by our colleagues at NRDC, releases from Friant Dam to the San Joaquin River were made–rewetting a riverbed that is often dry as a result of over-extraction of surface and groundwater supplies.

For followers of the Bay-Delta, the stage shifted to the Department of Interior’s hearing in Washington DC. There was plenty of conflict over the Endangered Species Act, despite letters of support for the law by the California’s Department of Water Resources and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. And both the Obama Administration and Senator Feinstein, as well as we at the Environmental Defense Fund, issues statements in support of review of the ESA’s Biological Opinions by the National Academy of Sciences.

Meanwhile the Obama Administration also recommended that the California Legislature enter into a special session to move forward with reform of water policy in California.

We at EDF hope to make progress on legislation in this new water year as well, and are committed to working with all stakeholders to better manage California’s limited water supplies for our cities, farms and natural environment

And we are hoping “wild and wooly” in 2010 will apply to wet weather and not to policy reform.