One thing is for sure, change in the conditions of our lives will always develop. Today’s climate is different than years past, our population is ever increasing and the needs of all life are more difficult to satisfy without intervention. It takes seeing outside the proverbial box and focusing on a new balance that provides people and the environment with the basic resources for supporting life. It takes a vision of what tomorrow’s water landscapes can be.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is an example where thinking outside the box can be applied. It’s not easy to combine a water conveyance system of a state water supply through the largest estuary on the west coast of North America. The Delta has changed dramatically since the gold miners first visited California. Today’s water foot print is colored by invasive species, an upside down hydrograph, disappearing habitats, accumulated pollutants from society’s life choices and diverted and reduced flows that amplify everything.
Maybe the Delta answer requires each of us to change a little. Take a fresh look at your water needs and commitment to communities living below you. It’s about creating new landscapes that support all life in a healthy way; a landscape in terms of value to one another, a commitment to watershed health and behaviors that get the job done.