HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Comm Reports/1993/12/01 (8)
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GOVERNOR PETE WILSO:--.r
ENDING CALIFORNIA'S WATER WARS
By Governor Pete Wilson
San Diego, April 6, 1992
Thank you, it's a pleasure to be back.
From atop the office towers of Downtown San Diego, you can look
out across Coronado's silver strand of beach to the glistening blue
water of the Pacific Ocean.
Sometimes, I look out and find it hard to believe that a city that
sits on the brim of an ocean basin holding 64 million square miles of
water should live in fear of thirst.
But historian Carey McWilliams spelled out our paradox for us
years ago: California is a desert that faces the ocean. And that's
why our cities, from San Diego to San Francisco, from Goleta to
Visalia, must be ever-vigilant in securing water -- or be hung out to
dry.
Even in so-called normal times, California cities face water
shortages that constrain economic development. Farmers face pressure
from encroaching urbanization. And environmentalists are leading the
effort to rescue dying estuaries and wetlands.
But these are not normal times.
protracted drought. Despite recent
We don't know when it will end, and
produced fear.
We are in the sixth year of
rains, the drought is not over.
the uncertainty and hardship have
The fear is perhaps greatest in our farm communities. All across
California, little towns worry that competing demands and drought will
fulfill the Biblical curse of old, leaving them a valley of dry bones.
And there is fear for California's natural communities: once
teeming populations of salmon now reduced to a few hundred in some
runs; schools of Delta smelt dying out; whole rookeries of water fowl
disappearing before our eyes.
The drought has shown us that creative solutions are necessary.
The success of our state Water Bank proves that creative solutions
are possible. For the first time in California history, farmers
voluntarily sold BOO,OOO-acre feet of water for thirsty cities.
SArR."-'IE:--:TO. CALJFOR:-;IA 95814 C9l6) 445-28..n
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But while we were busy implementing short-term solutions, the
drought also has made clear the need for a long-term comprehensive
water policy.
And even if the drought were over, our future need for water will
outstrip our current delivery system as our population climbs from 30
million"to 41 million by the year 2010.
Knowing we faced this future, the three major groups of water
users __ urban, agricultural, environmental too often have been at
war over a long-term state water policy during the past decade. The
result? They all lost .
And California is the biggest loser of all.
This water warfare among the three groups has produced
polarization and paralysis. California has seemed unable to resolve
its most basic resource issue.
Even worse, while California argues, washington is only too eager
to step in and determine our future for us.
But finally the three major water-user groups in California are
beginning to see the necessity for mutual accommodation to achieve
progress for any of the three.
In December, 1990, leaders from the three sectors
recognizing that the California Water Wars must end.
engaged in waging war.
wisely joined in
All three had
Now they began by agreeing that each sector has legitimate needs.
The participants representing the three major user groups in these
joint deliberations have become known collectively as . . . "the Three
Way. "
They agreed that a phased approach, linked to simultaneous
benefits for all, is critical for any progress. They agreeq 9n
linkages between water management and initiatives to increase-water
supply. And they agreed that we need an integrated package of water
supply solutions, one that meets the most important needs of all three
communities.
Urban and agricultural leaders, to their credit, recognized
environmental needs by accepting mitigation responsibility; embracing
the goal of restoration; and supporting environmental guarantees as we
start to develop new facilities.
And environmentalists, in turn, recognized that California also
needs more "buckets" and other facilities in which to store and move
its water __ so we can use our water to the benefit of all. By acting
as peacemakers, the leaders of Three-Way have advanced the common
interest while advancing their own.
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As you may have read, some very astute political advisors have
told me that California is ungovernable. Their counsel to me
regarding water might well be that . . . Frankly, as Governor, I
should just thank the members of the Three Way, pray for rain and hope
to keep this contentious issue at bay for six years.
But if you know me at all, you know that lying low isn't my style.
And more important, leading California and all its water-user
groups to a lOng-term water solution is as much a major responsibility
of my office as it was to work for the immediate response to the
drought.
California's long-term water solution will require the spirit of
Three-Way in seeking the mutual accommodation of the needs and
interests of all major user groups.
And it will require an honest broker.
Most of all, it will require that Californians reclaim control of
our water destiny.
So today I want to set forth my vision of how we can and must work
together to ensure successful water management for all Californians
through the year 2010, at least. These are my objectives:
For the cities: Safe, reliable water supplies for domestic,
municipal and industrial uses.
For agriculture: Adequate long-term water supplies at a
reasonable cost, with dry-year groundwater reserves where feasible.
And for the environment: Restoration and protection of fish and
wildlife resources and aquatic habitat; and protection of threatened
and endangered species.
All major water user groups must recognize that no one sector can
be allowed to get ahead of the others in meeting its needs. We must
move step by step. And each step must be linked to progress for every
sector.
A successful water strategy must also include: Greater
conservation and efficiency of use, groundwater banking and
management, reallocation of supplies through voluntary water
marketing, new technologies and the development of storage and
conveyance facilities.
.
The greatest new challenge in our planning comes from the
universal recognition that we must protect the environment.
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For example, many water projects were built at a time when we had -
an imperfect understanding of their impact on nature. If we are to be
good stewards of our fish and wildlife, we must begin to mitigate
these impacts by providing larger stream flows, greater Delta outflow,
restoration of spawning gravel and provision of fish screens and
temperature control measures.
California has many species with populations in serious decline,
end some faced with extinction. Both existing and proposed water
projects often have an impact upon protected animal and plant species.
But a preventive, ecosystem approach can avoid the rigid,
mechanical, piecemeal enforcement of state and federal laws.
by managing whole aquatic ecosystems can we save species from
reduced to critically low populations.
And only
being
A Comprehensive Water Management Program must take these
challenges into account, while sustaining agricultural, industrial and
domestic needs.
Unfortunately, neither Senator Johnston's nor Senator Bradley's
bills recognize the need to balance the interests of all three
sectors. And any program must begin by recognizing a disturbing
truth: The Delta is broken. Senators Johnston and Bradley do not
attempt to fix it. But fix it we must.
One of the world's most fecund estuaries, the Delta is also the
centerpiece of California's most intractable water problem. Because
the natural flows through the Delta are at historic lows, saltwater
intrusion threatens the quality of drinking water for 20 million
Californians.
So nowhere is there a greater need for a comprehensive program
than in the Delta. Solutions must address fish and wildlife needs,
efficiency and reliability of water export systems, water quality for
various water uses, and the physical integrity of Delta channels and
levees. .
--
We've got to address all the issues. . . involve all the parties.
And to reach solutions that are both timely and credible, it's
critical that the decision-making process be not only comprehensive,
but clearly without bias toward any particular group's interests.
Rather, it should assess any proposal in terms of its ability to .
achieve the whole broad range of objectives of all users for fixing
the Delta.
The California Environmental Quality Act and National
Environmental Policy Act provide us a planning framework for a
decision-making process. My Administration will as soon as possible
initiate a CEQA and NEPA investigation of specific solutions to fix
the Delta, with all options on the table.
Again, before any proposal can be implemented, it will have to
meet the needs of cities, farms and the environment.
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This is not a call for pure research . .. for mere academic
studies. I am setting in motion the decision-making environmental
review processes required by state and federal laws. And I intend
that this process be completed within an ambitious time-table of three
years.
To .help us define objectives to be met, as well as to evaluate
criteria to be used, I will appoint an Oversight Council composed of
members drawn from the urban, agricultural and environmental sectors.
They will be .joined by a separate technical advisory panel. And
together, they will help guide our planning and decision-making
process.
Any recommended long-term solution must be scientifically sound
and must guarantee protection for the Bay-Delta estuary, Above all,
this Oversight Council will be charged to assure by its
recommendations to my Administration that the needs of no one group of
users are sacrificed.
But first, we're going to move on what is possible and needed now.
We need to take immediate interim actions in the South Delta that will
help restore the environment and improve the water supply. These will
include construction of flow control barriers, enlargement of some
channels, and shifting of pumping to winter months, through use of the
four new pumps.
And concurrently, we will link South Delta facilities to improved,
interim standards for protection of fish and wildlife.
After five
a conclusion.
frustration.
years, the Bay-Delta proceedings have failed to come to
I know you are disappointed, and I share your
So I am also charging CAL-EPA and the State Water Resources
Control Board to continue to work closely with the federal EPA in
developing these interim water quality standards by year's end.
Adoption of these standards for the estuary will be a sign~f~cant
first step toward restoring the Delta.
In addition to fixing the Delta, we need to increase our water
supply by constructing more off-stream storage reservoirs, such as the
existing San Luis Reservoir.
Off~stream storage offers a more environmentally acceptable means
for water storage than conventional dams on flowing streams. We need
more of these environmentally sensitive "buckets" to store water in
wet periods for use in dry periods.
I support three off-stream reservoirs, consistent with the
environmental permit processes, that are well along in the planning
process.
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They are: Los Banos Grandes -- authorized by the Legislature as
an SWP facility in 1984; Los vaqueros -- proposed by Contra Costa
water District; and Domenigoni -- proposed by the Metropolitan Water
District. And I support efforts to develop more offstream storage
here in San Diego County and other parts of the state.
Each of these projects is dependent on increased diversions during
high flow periods from the Delta. That's why it's essential both to
achieve Celta protection and to proceed with needed Delta facilities.
In addition to these conventional off-stream storage projects,
we're exploring ways to use rice fields for storage to give waterfowl
feeding and resting grounds in the Sacramento valley. And we're
evaluating another storage concept in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
using islands as storage reservoirs and possible waterfowl habitat.
We should also take prompt action on another urgent matter. It's
high time for California to reclaim control of its destiny by taking
control of the Central Valley Project. I am advancing the radical
notion that Californians -- not Senators from Louisiana or New Jersey
should be making decisions about how we use our water .
Remember, the federal CVP was originally authorized under state
law. I've named a negotiating team to work out a transfer plan over
six months. And I am pleased to report that Secretary Lujan has shown
great interest in our plan, and has assigned staff to look into it.
Their first discussions with my Administration will take place later
this month.
Under state control, CVP operations will be operated to achieve a
better balance between the needs of fish and wildlife, continued
agricultural production, and the needs of a rapidly growing
population. All the needs of California.
Just as we've learned to harness the power of a vast reservoir, so
should we also learn to harness the power of market forces. The
success of our State Water Bank proves that voluntary transfQr~ -- or
water marketing, as some term it -- does work, and I want to see it
work on an even larger scale.
But water is a vital resource . vital to the life of a poor,
small town, an estuary, and to a big city of vast wealth. But it may
be even more critically necessary to the rural area with its economy
almost entirely dependent upon agriculture and the availability of
irrigation.
For that reason, even if it's possible to create a totally free
water market, there are still key issues that must be resolved with
great care to develop a fair and effective transfer policy.
Care must be given to the impact of transfers upon groundwater
resources, fish and wildlife, protection of rural communities, and the
determination of which entities should have a role in the approval of
transfers, and just what that role should be.
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There are many pending state and federal legislative initiatives
regarding water transfers. Unfortunately, some of them are guaranteed
to release only a whitewater flood of lawsuits. I will support
legislation that, at a minimum, meets these criteria:
First: Water transfers must be voluntary.
in transfers that are real, not just on paper.
rights of sellers must not be impaired.
And they must .result
Above all, water
Second: Water transfers must not harm fish and wildlife resources
and their habitats.
Third: We need to assure that transfers will not cause overdraft
or degradation of groundwater basins.
Fourth: Entities receiving transferred water should be required
to show that they are making efficient use of existing water supplies,
including carrying out urban Best Management Plans or Agricultural
Water Efficiency Practices.
Fifth and finally: Water districts and agencies that hold water
rights or contracts to transferred water must have a strong role in
determining what is done. The impact on the fiscal integrity of the
districts and on the economy of small agricultural communities in the
San Joaquin Valley can't be ignored. . . any more than can the needs
of high value-added, high tech industries in the Silicon Valley.
Of course, our water belongs to all the people of California.
State control is more likely where transfers involve use of the state
plumbing system, and where our environmental obligations could be
affected.
Most of all, in times of severe hardship, the state must be able
to provide water to meet critical needs. But within these limits,
there are strong roles for both a state-operated Water Bank to ease
hardship or satisfy emergency needs. . . and for a free market.
As water marketing helps to distribute water more efficiently,
conservation helps to ensure that there's even more water to go
around. So conservation and wise use of existing supplies must be our
first priority in water management. Urban and agricultural users
should share equally in the burden and the benefit of conservation.'
When it comes to urban use, ~ congratulate all those who worked
hard to craft the Memorandum of Understanding that the state signed
with more than 100 water agencies, so we could agree to a set of Best
Management Practices. Adoption of these practices will
institutionalize the water-saving measures that produce major cost
savings.
And when it comes to agricultural uses, farmers in California can
point to a long record of conservation practices, such as drip
irrigation and micro-sprinklers to laser land leveling. Even more
exotic conservation technologies are around the corner, again
encouraged by greater efficiency and cost savings.
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That's why I strongly support the current process to establish
ways to develop Efficient Water Management Practices for agricultural
water use. A broad-based Task Force is presently developing these
practices, and I expect this group to report both on the list of
practices and on a strategy for implementing them by the end of 1992.
Conservation practices should become an essential standard used by the
state Water Resources Control Board in issuing permits.
Water recycling can also stretch our limited supply of water.
Reclamation and recycling, vigorously pursued, can provide a reliable
water source for agriculture, greenbelts, recreation and industrial
uses. We must ensure that new developments in water-short areas make
maximum use of recycled water, through the installation of dedicated
distribution systems. And tha~'s why I have proposed bond revenues
for public reclamation facilities.
To promote the use of recycled water, I am directing the
Department of Health Services and State Water Resources Control Board
to work with U.S. EPA to remove obstacles to reclamation activities.
But for our reclamation program to maximize the use of recycled
water, it must both set strong health standards and create a
streamlined process for the construction and operation of both public
and private reclamation facilities.
California's extensive groundwater basins, if protected and
carefully managed, can play an even larger role in meeting our state's
water needs. Groundwater can be used as it has been during these dry
years as a reserve supply . if we recharge aquifers in normal and
wet years.
In fact, we are actively developing a large groundwater storage
program, the Kern Water Bank, to provide dry year reserves for
contract agencies of the State Water project.
Cooperative arrangements can also be worked out between urban
agencies and agricultural districts overlying groundwater basins, such
as the agreement between the Arvin-Edison District in the San Joaquin
Valley and the Metropolitan Water District.
We must also face the reality that important groundwater basins
are being overdrafted. To achieve maximum, sustained-yield
groundwater management, there must be cooperation between state and
local entities to develop long-term plans to recharge aquifers during
times of moderate and heavy rains, and to tap this storage when it's
required during dry years.
.
To this end, we will provide technical assistance and monitoring
to develop information necessary to assist local bodies in managing
their groundwater resources for long-term sustained safe yield.
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We need to develop an action program that will restore and enhance
our fish and wildlife populations. And we will do so by gaining
consensus among all interested parties so that we do not satisfy one
need at the expense of another. Future water projects will be
designed and managed in a way that protects and enhances the
environment.
But action costs money, and money is as short as water. We are
talking about. funding reclamation, storage and transfer facilities, as
well as the needs of fish and wildlife.
Our plans will rely on a combination of local, state and federal
funding, including state bonds I've proposed for clean water and fish
and wildlife protection, and future issues for capital improvements
needed to fulfill the yield obligations of the State Water Project.
Increased local storage capacity can be funded through local water
district revenue bonds.
As I implied at the beginning of my speech, we're in the ironic
situation of thirsty castaways, adrift at sea, surrounded by water but
unable to drink it.
Of course, great technological progress has been made in the last
25 years in the desalting of ocean water. Nevertheless, the cost of
ocean desalting is still two to four times the cost of conventional
surface water development in most areas.
However, desalination of brackish groundwater is cost-effective in
some parts of the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. So the
state will help local agencies with permits and technical assistance
where desalting is cost-effective.
I also want to apply our State Water Bank concept regionally. We
should develop an Interstate Water Bank, a concept endorsed by the
Governor of Colorado and other prominent Western leaders. Our goal
should be to fully utilize the capacity of the Colorado River
aqueduct, so that in any given year 1.2 million acre-feet o~ water is
available to the Metropolitan Water District.
Supply reliability must be assured for the agricultural water
rights holders now dependent on the River. That is why we're leading
the effort to develop mechanisms like the Seven Basin State Banking
Program.
I've laid out for you my v~s~on for a comprehensive, balanced
long-term water policy. I will give the highest priority to its
implementation. I have made' permanent the Water policy Task Force,
composed of those members of my Administration who have advised me
through the last 15 months of California's six year's of drought.
To perform these duties, the Water Policy Council will rely on the
staff of its members and involve other interested federal and state
agencies, as appropriate.
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To sum it up, we must manage our state's water resources to
provide reliable water supplies for urban, industrial, agricultural
and environmental uses.
We must concentrate on several key elements to secure a safe and
reliable water supply for all of California. How? we must fix the
Delta in both the near -- and the long -- term. we must bring the CVP
home, where it belongs. we must ensure a fair and viable water
transfer plan. we must res~ore our fish and wildlife resources and
develop conveyance and storage facilities. And we must conserve and
make better use of the water we now use.
Most important, we cannot allow one sector, one type of user, one
special interest, to jump ahead .of the others and threaten the gains
we've made in the past year.
Sadly, California history is
Budget Wars . . . and Water Wars
unyielding passion and purpose.
without winners.
replete with accounts of Timber Wars,
__ all nasty conflicts conducted with
But too often they have been wars
There is too much is at stake for us to risk losing again. Ben
Franklin, emerging from the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia,
was asked what the framers had given America. He answered, "A
Republic. . . if you can keep it."
Two centuries later, after musing over the fate of desert
societies since Babylon, writer Marc Reisner looked at the American
West and told us it's "a great civilization, if you can keep it."
We must keep California healthy, prosperous and beautiful. Only
by standing together, as a community with common purpose, can we keep
it.
Only if joined by mutual self interest and by the wise purpose of
sharing responsibility for our most precious natural resource, will we
end the Water Wars and finally make California the winner.
?
I aim to see us succeed, and I am confident we will.
Thank you very much.
I
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