State Agencies Release California Water Action Plan
With one of the driest winters on record for California, the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture have released the final California Water Action Plan. This plan lays out goals as well as the state’s vision for the next five years, according to a press release.
At the direction of Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., a collaborative effort of state agencies, and substantive public and stakeholder comments formed a plan that will guide state efforts to enhance water supply reliability, restore damaged and destroyed ecosystems, and improve the resilience of California’s infrastructure.
“It is a tall order. But it is what we must do to get through this drought and prepare for the next,” said Gov. Brown in his 2014 State of the State address.
The Governor’s proposed 2014-15 budget lays a solid fiscal foundation for implementing near- term actions for the plan. The budget recommends $618.7 million in funding for water efficiency projects, wetland and watershed restoration, groundwater programs, conservation, flood control, and integrated water management.
“As we work on emergency actions to manage through one of the driest winters on record, we are also taking proactive, long-term steps to prepare California for future droughts and flood,” said Secretary for Natural Resources John Laird. “Each decade brings improvements, but also significantly highlights what we can do better. The California Water Action Plan gives us clear focus and vision for the next five years.”
The Governor’s proposed budget would provide $472.5 million in Proposition 84 funds to the Department of Water Resources for integrated regional water management. The bond funds would leverage local and federal investment in projects that reduce demand, build supply, and offer additional benefits such as wildlife habitat and flood management. The budget also places immediate emphasis on water and energy use efficiency and wetlands and coastal watershed restoration to further support the resiliency of water supply and ecosystems.
The governor's budget also would allow DWR to better monitor the groundwater resources that provide more than one-third of California's supplies in dry years.
“Together, the Governor’s proposed budget and this finalized plan provide the State with practical solutions to the state’s most critical problems; the proposals on groundwater are a good example,” said Cal/EPA Secretary Matt Rodriquez. “Data collection and monitoring are crucial to sustainable management of our unseen but incredibly important aquifers.”
Drought threatens to force the fallowing of hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and could potentially raise supermarket food prices, the release states.
“Our severe dry conditions are alarming for California’s agricultural industry,” said California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross. “In the near term, we must do all we can to keep our fields productive. In the long term, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make the investments that will allow us to stay productive in the face of a changing climate.”
Key actions identified in the Plan include:
• Make conservation a California way of life.
• Increase regional self-reliance and integrated water management across all levels of government.
• Achieve the co-equal goals for the Delta.
• Protect and restore important ecosystems.
• Manage and prepare for dry periods.
• Expand water storage capacity and improve groundwater management.
• Provide safe water for all communities.
• Increase flood protection.
• Increase operational and regulatory efficiency.
• Identify sustainable and integrated financing opportunities.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we follow the progress in addressing the California drought situation.
