This document summarizes Timothy Quinn's presentation on California water policy initiatives to the Texas Water Conservation Association. It discusses the ongoing drought, actions taken to manage it, and a long-term plan. The key points are: 1) The 4-year drought is one of the worst on record, severely impacting ecosystems and some communities, though conservation efforts have largely shielded the economy. 2) Near-term actions include mandatory conservation, water marketing, and public education through the Save Our Water campaign. 3) Long-term, California is focusing on the Water Action Plan to conserve more water, increase storage, fix the Delta, manage groundwater sustainably, and invest in habitats. 4

1. CaliforniaWater Policy Initiatives
Texas Water Conservation Assoc. Fall Conference
Oct. 15, 2015 •Timothy Quinn, ACWA Executive Director

2. About ACWA
Who We Represent . . .
 ACWA members responsible for
90% of the state’s distributed
water
Water Sources & Services
 Federal, state and local projects
 Surface and groundwater
 Agricultural, urban, industrial
customers
 Wholesale, retail
90%

3. Water in the News
Agricultural sector
taking a hit
Drought is accelerating
land subsidence
Drought fueling
massive fires

4. Presentation Overview
Drought Update Near-term actions
Where are we going
long-term?
Focusing on
statewide solutions
California
Water

5. California Drought: A Long History
Source: PPICWater Center

6. 2015 Drought: FourYears and Counting
 First-ever statewide
mandated water use
reductions in effect
 Australian-style
“Millennium Drought”
 Drought impacts will
become more severe with
each year
93% Severe
71% Extreme
46% Exceptional
U.S. Drought Monitor – Oct. 6, 2015

7. Some Good News:
Better Prepared For DroughtThan Ever Before
 Huge local and regional
investments in past two
decades
 Statewide GPCD reduced
 Substantial investments in
regional storage
 Increased water marketing
We were prepared!

8. Overall Drought Management Strategy
 Reduce “ornamental”
water use
 Protect water use in
economic production,
both urban and
agricultural
 Overwhelming popular
support for this strategy

9. Managing the Drought
 Emergency regulations,
mandatory conservation
 Save OurWater public
education campaign
 Increased water marketing to
move water where its needed
 Substantial local/regional
investments have protected
state’s overall economy

10. Save OurWater Program Helping
 Partnership between ACWA
and Brown Administration
 $11 million budget for
2014/2015 with extensive
TV, radio, digital advertising
 “Fix it for Good” campaign
focused on long term
changes

11. 2015 Drought: KeyTakeaways
Urban Sector
 Local, regional investments
have paid off, big time!
 Economy largely shielded
from impacts
 Regional cooperation,
conservation efforts are
working
 The “real” story of this
drought may be the
resilience of our economy
Source: PPIC, August 2015

12. 2015 Drought: KeyTakeaways
Agricultural Sector
 Groundwater pumping,
water transfers staving off
major losses
 550,000 acres fallowed
(6% of total acreage)
 Overall ag economy
showing resilience
 Pumping is accelerating
subsidence
Source: PPIC, August 2015

13. 2015 Drought: KeyTakeaways
Some rural
communities at risk
 2,000+ dry
domestic wells
already
 100+ small water
systems in
trouble
Source: PPIC, August 2015

14. 2015 Drought: KeyTakeaways
Ecosystems at
severe risk
 18 fish could face
extinction
 Permanent loss of
conifer forests
 Waterbird mortality
Source: PPIC, August 2015

15. 2015 Drought:Will El Niño Save Us?
 Projections point to
fierce El Niño
 Same class as 1982-
83 and 1997-98

16. What if Drought Goes into 2016 or
Beyond?
 “Raise the Bar” on urban
conservation
 Increase reliance on the
market
 1991 DroughtWater Bank
 Australian experience
 As the drought threatens
the economy, market
forces preferred to state
regulation

17. What About LongerTerm?
 Implement the plan
the governor has
put on the table
 Drought need not
impair the California
economy, if we stay
prepared

18. CaliforniaWater Action Plan
“In a Nut Shell”
1. Conserve more
2. Store more
3. Fix the Delta
4. Manage
groundwater
5. Provide safe
drinking water
6. Invest in habitat
and watersheds

19. Key Areas of Focus for 2015
 Improving Water
Transfers/Marketing
 Investing in Storage
 Implementing SGMA
 Investing in Habitats and
Watersheds
 California WaterFix

20. ImprovingWaterTransfers / Marketing
 Critical to drought management /
long-term policy
 Policy Principles approved by ACWA
Board in July
 Objective: Bold action plan in early
2016 to enhance the water market
 Intense cooperation with Brown
Administration / EDF

21. Investing in Storage:
Above and Below Ground
 We increased storage
capacity by 4 MAF+ in
past 20 years
 We need to do at least
that in the next 20
years
 Integrating storage /
other investments will
be key

22. Implementing SGMA
 SGMA requires:
 GSAs by 2017
 GSPs by 2020/2022
 Sustainable GW basins
by 2040/2042
 ACWA working with
DWR / locals
 2016 report on
replenishment water
will be a big deal

23. Investing in Habitats andWatersheds
 Improving
conditions
upstream will
have benefits
downstream
 Widespread
treatment for fire
suppression
 Coalition working
in D.C. for better
forest
management

24. What About the Delta?

25. Fixing the Delta
 Major emphasis of Brown
Administration
 HCP/NCCP under
development since 2006
 Move the intakes to reduce
conflicts with species
 Restore ecosystems and
habitats
Failure of Plan A (HCP) shows how tough
it is to do the coequal goals

26. A NewApproach: CaliforniaWaterFix
 Former BDCP split into two plans:
CAWaterFix and CA EcoRestore
 DWR/USBR change petition requests
new diversion points on Sac River for
project
 Intakes would connect to two tunnels
that move water by gravity to
pumping facilities nearTracy
 Public comment process expected
this fall

27. A ComprehensiveApproach
 If we focus on the
Delta alone, all we
will have is an
argument
 Sometimes you have
to grow a problem to
solve it
 Delta solutions make
the most sense in the
context of statewide
policy
Hub of the system

28. How Important is a Delta Fix?
A Delta Fix, if implemented, makes the other elements
of the plan work better:
The market works better
Storage works better
SGMA implementation works better
Watershed investments work better
Habitat works better

29. The Future of CaliforniaWater
 In California, like
Texas, it matters
how programs are
packaged
 Delta fix alone
 Comprehensive
package for all
Californians

30. Questions?
Timothy Quinn
ACWA Executive Director
timq@acwa.com
(916) 441-4545
www.acwa.com