Urban Water Availability: 2005-2025
A Two-Part Program
Summer - Fall, 2004
The first program was held August 25-27 at UWI, Inc.'s annual conference "Meeting California's Future Water Needs: Are We Prepared?" Urban Water Institute, Inc.
The second program of the series was held Oct. 29-30, 2004 in conjunction with the UC Irvine conference, Challenges of a Transboundary World.
California's water supply has been identified by Governor Schwarzenegger as the major resource issue facing the state. In the next two decades California will be challenged by changing climatic conditions, increasing environmental constraints on water diversions, and increasing population growth.
Water conservation continues to be a primary means for California to extend its water supply for the twenty-first century. Water conservation measures during the latter part of the twentieth century included the requirement of water-saving devices in new residential and commercial buildings; direct and indirect recharging of groundwater basins with water captured from recycling processes or during storm events; and changes in crops or irrigation procedures to reduce use. Retrofit programs in existing urban areas have also reduced internal water use through low-flow showerheads and toilet exchange programs. Substantial reductions in water use have been achieved through these measures. A reduction of urban irrigation has also been realized through the use of drought-tolerant landscaping. In order to gain water savings beyond xeriscape, residential irrigation technologies that base control on actual soil moisture levels should be explored. Recent research has produced some dramatic results in decreased water demand, which requires more discussion and exploration. Additionally, desalinization of impaired waters or seawater directly is being actively studied and, in a few cases, implemented.
Other innovative approaches to meet future water source or reliability needs during normal or drought periods are being explored through paper or actual water transfers (lease or lease options). Each approach presents institutional questions that concern water rights and/or barriers, cost and control of wielding water, and perhaps other unintended outcomes. Such changes could have direct and/or third party economic impacts. Furthermore, to date, the actual monetary value of water itself has not been considered, but rather only costs associated with delivering water such as treatment, power, wielding, etc.
Globalization and increasing open markets may lead to a shift in agriculture acreage used in California. Some speculate that water currently employed in this industry may become available for other uses. Experts argue that California's eighty-five billion dollar agricultural industry will not shrink over time, but instead, will alter the types of crops grown in favor of less water-intensive and more lucrative crop varieties. They also suggest that if any water becomes available, it will be used locally to supply growing urbanization and environmental projects.
Still others debate whether enough additional water can be harvested from conservation, recycling, or storm water capture programs alone to meet California's growing population, now estimated to reach nearly 50 million in 2025. The Kuehl SB 221 and Costa SB 610 bills require new developments of more than 500 units to demonstrate an adequate water supply from project inception to 20 years in the future, highlighting the need to clearly delineate both source and reliability.
Regardless of whether global agriculture changes water availability in California, there are questions that command our attention concerning water as a state resource, for example: How will the state satisfy future water demands? What realistic alternatives can be identified? Once identified, what is a realistic timetable for the planning and implementation of the alternatives?
The Urban Water Research Center sponsored a series of discussions to bring together legislators; farmers; developers; state, regional and local planning agencies, and water districts; as well as cities and chambers of commerce representatives to describe and discuss how and where California will obtain the water to meet future population growth and environmental requirements.
