Water Reliability
Ensuring a Safe, Renewable Water Supply for Southern California
The Issue/Challenge
California’s inability to reliably capture wet-period supplies from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is impacting water strategies for the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. While much has been accomplished by our water agencies to develop more local supplies and advance conservation, reliable imported supplies are an essential baseline to any successful long-term water strategy, including full implementation of the 2014 Water Bond and the California Water Fix.
The Southern California Leadership Council’s Position
The Southern California Leadership Council has consistently supported key policies and infrastructure projects that deliver a safe and reliable water supply to Southern California. The Leadership Council supports:
- Policies, plans and infrastructure projects that meet the co-equal goals of ensuring a high quality, reliable source of water for Californians and restoring the Delta’s estuary.
- Efforts that result in integrated water management practices being fully adopted and implemented in the region, thereby achieving multiple benefits that cut across jurisdictional boundaries, which, in turn, increase the return on public investments in California’s water systems.
- Investments in regional and local water supplies, including conservation to promote efficient use of limited resources.
- Actions to ensure that Southern California receives its fair share of water bond funding (approved by voters in 2014) and that there is a timely sale of bonds, with a push to get this money out quickly with priority given to the funding of projects where benefits can be quickly realized.
- Efforts to ensure that the California Water Action Plan, is implemented in a way that meets California’s water challenges head-on, recognizes regional differences and needs, and includes collaboration among all stakeholders.
- Actions to reduce and conserve energy use in the management and conveyance of water along with increased efficiencies in the use of water to create energy.