{"id":8888,"date":"2017-12-21T09:00:18","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T14:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/?p=8888"},"modified":"2019-07-17T16:55:41","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T20:55:41","slug":"californias-rural-water-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/2017\/12\/21\/californias-rural-water-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"California\u2019s rural water systems needs leaders. Who will step up next?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Water leaders from 13 communities throughout California’s San Joaquin Valley attended the Leadership Institute to build engagement capacity and share lessons about small water system management. (Credit: Kike Arnal)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There I was again, in the car on Highway 99, on my way from San Francisco to Visalia, in the heart of California\u2019s San Joaquin Valley. I had made the trip a dozen times over the past year. But this trip was different. This time I was headed to a reunion.<\/p>\n

Back in December 2016, I wrote about a cohort of 30 community water advocates<\/a> who had just graduated from the Rural Water Boards Leadership Institute \u2013 a joint effort sponsored by the Rural Community Assistance Corporation, Self Help Enterprises and Environmental Defense Fund to train residents in the San Joaquin Valley on how to engage on state water policy. Participants spent six months attending workshops and learning about California\u2019s landmark law to end groundwater over pumping and how the law \u2013 known as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA \u2013 might affect their small community water systems. They discussed methods for engaging state policy makers and learned advocacy and communication skills.<\/p>\n

Now, almost a year after their graduation, these water leaders were meeting again to catch up, share stories and explore new opportunities to learn from one another.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s new?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot had changed since their graduation. Most notably, the deadline for forming Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) had passed. GSAs are public agencies responsible for creating and implementing groundwater sustainability plans under SGMA. Dozens of GSAs have been formed in the most critically over drafted groundwater basins in the state \u2013 many of which are in the San Joaquin Valley.<\/p>\n

Our water leaders rely on these basins for drinking water. The small community wells that serve them are often contaminated and, in some cases, have started to run dry. The hope is that GSAs will regularly reach out and engage water leaders, giving them access to resources and the ability to contribute to overall basin sustainability.<\/p>\n

But engagement and inclusion isn\u2019t the norm. And while some GSAs have been directed to improve rural community outreach, it\u2019s still up to the water leaders to make their voices heard.<\/p>\n

[Tweet “California\u2019s rural water systems need leaders. Who will step up next? https:\/\/www.edf.org\/Xnk”]<\/p>\n

The Water Warriors<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was a hot topic of conversation during the reunion. Ideas were shared for bridging the communications gap with GSAs and other decision-making bodies in the state. We explored the entrepreneurial mindset and the ripple effects of grassroots leadership on their communities. And we capped the day with a screening of \u201cWater Warriors<\/a>\u201d \u2013 a video that documents the hard work community members are doing to manage their water systems.<\/p>\n