Since 2009, the hallmark of California water policy has been a commitment to the coequal goals of improving both water supply reliability and ecosystem health. While this commitment remains as vital today as it was in 2009, recent actions suggest we’re due for a refresher course on what it really means.
Managing for the coequal goals means recognizing that the needs of our economy and our environment are both legitimate. It means taking a balanced approach to policy decisions and regulatory edicts to better meet those needs and reduce conflict. It also means moving away from narrow, single-stressor actions that fail to protect our water supply and species.
Draft flow objectives for the San Joaquin released this month by the State Water Resources Control Board staff raise serious questions about their commitment to a state policy founded on the coequal goals. Requiring up to 50% of unimpaired flow to remain in the river for the purported benefit of fish species, as proposed by State Water Board staff, does not reflect a balanced approach. Nor does it recognize the millions of dollars agencies have invested in fishery science, modeling, habitat restoration and coordinated flow regimes to improve salmon populations and other aquatic resources.
The State Water Board staff’s draft plan would deal a severe blow to many communities already struggling with drinking water quality and quantity challenges. It also would make it extremely difficult for local agencies to achieve state-mandated goals under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014, both by compelling growers to pump more groundwater and by reducing the amount of surface water available to recharge groundwater basins.
The State Water Board staff’s proposal also would subject these communities to a lengthy and unpredictable regulatory process that would make it difficult, if not impossible, to plow additional resources and energy into the collaborative efforts we need to address habitat restoration and species protection.
We must pursue a better approach. State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus noted in a call with reporters that stakeholders are invited to propose alternatives to the proposal and work together to “find the right balance.” If Chair Marcus is serious about a collaborative approach, it is not at all clear that the staff’s hardline proposal is the best way to get the collaborative process started.
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