California Water Supply

Bay Area

• Conflicts
  • Restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley
  • Saving the ecosystem
• Climate Effects
  • Snowpack and runoff changes
  • Water quality changes

Water Woes in the Inland Empire

• Conflict
  • The Chino Groundwater Basin will supply groundwater for only a limited time unless managers and government officials find a way to use reclamation (water recycling).
  • The State Water Project—which transfers water from northern to southern California—has become subject to controversy; the South wants more of it and the North wants to give less of it (and due to its location, the Inland Empire depends on the SWP for its water supply).
  • The Colorado River is yet another source of water for the Inland Empire and the region must compete with the Los Angeles and San Diego areas for its water resources.
• Climate Change
  • Climate Change will increase the likelihood of drought in an already dry Inland Empire as well as lower snowmelt runoff and implicate future water policy and planning in the Inland Empire.
  • Water managers must look at future weather patterns in order to predict how climate change will affect their region so that they may deal with the problems they will face.
• Future of Water Policy
  • The main focus of future water policy in the Inland Empire must be on groundwater.
  • Improvements in groundwater supply and reclamation will decrease dependence on other resources like the Colorado River and the State Water Project.
  • Water managers must work together to find solutions to prevent conflict and climate change problems.

Central Valley

• Conflicts
  • The stability of the levees are in question
  • Hazardous to species living in the delta due to the maintenance that takes place to conserve the delta
• Climate change
  • Rising sea level causes a great amount of stress upon the levees which causes a greater risk of the levees deteriorating.
  • If the levees were to fail, many areas around the delta would become flooded. This flooding affects the agriculture, roads, and infrastructures that are pertinent to this area.

San Diego

• Environmental Conflicts
  • 2007 judge ordered the pumping of water to be stopped in the bay-delta.
  • Order issued to protect threatened fish species.
  • Potentially creating a water crisis.
• Conflicts with dividing water supply
  • California only gets a certain amount of water from the Colorado River.
  • 2003 a plan called for more water from the Colorado River to go to San Diego than to the Imperial Valley.
  • This hurt farmers who were losing the water.
• Climate change
  • Snowpack decreases as temperatures increase.
  • Less snowpack means less runoff during summer months when it is most needed.
  • Without runoff from melting snowpack, the Colorado river cannot bring water to San Diego.
  • Reservoirs cannot alleviate the problem

L.A. Basin Conflicts:The Owens Valley Water Wars

• As the population of the L.A. Basin increasingly rose, the city began buying land around the Owens River Valley to supply its citizens with water.
• This water was pumped through a 223-mile aqueduct to the L.A. Basin.
• This dried up 60 miles of the Owens River as well as the Owens Lake.
• The exposed ground released dust which caused respiratory problems for the Owens Valley citizens.
• Environmentalists as well as citizens fought against the authority of L.A. to take the water and alter the natural habitat.
• For years legal battles arose with L.A. authorities claiming they had right and the Owens Valley water was a necessary supply.
• Citizens fought that this outsourcing caused health, environmental, and economic problems.
• Finally, in 1997 the city agreed to court settlement to restore the water.
• City procrastinated despite its agreement.
• In 2006, after fines from the state, the water was restored.
• It is believed that within 5 years the Owens Valley will begin to thrive again.
• This forced L.A. Basin to look toward other forms of water supply.

LA: Climate change

• Flooding
  • There is a predicted increase in L.A. Basin flooding due to the changes in the atmosphere.
  • This heavy change in flood patterns makes the area’s current flood plan system less capable of protecting the population.
• Colorado River
  • Climate change will reduce the amount of runoff in the Colorado River.
  • Studies have found that a 10% change in precipitation would lead to a 20% change in runoff.
  • Also, climate change will reduce the amount of and cause seasonal effects on snowmelt.
  • This reduction of water, which supplies the Colorado River, could lead to significantly decreased amounts of available water.
  • This effects the L.A. Basin, as it receives a significant amount of water from this river through the State Water Project.

Recommendations for future water policy in California

• Improve water planning and management
• Modify the operation of existing systems
• Find new supply options
• Modify the State Water Law
• Improve upon hydrologic and environmental monitoring