Payrump, Nevada: A Reality Check When Developing Groundwater Management

TODAY'S EXPERIENCE (it's happening right now)
The Nye County Board of Commissioners and the Nevada Division of Water Resources are on a very important mission. These organizations are developing recommendations for creating a groundwater management plan for Pahrump Basin 162. There is a good reason for this. The basin is over-appropriated.

Basin 162 is committed to its groundwater and spring resources. Pahrump’s current population of 36,441 is expected to peak around 73,000 people by 2060. If the general plan is completely built out and 2 acre-feet of water is allowed for each property owner, water demand for Basin 162 will not be met for everyone. The perennial yield of this basin is only 20,000 acre-feet annually. The current population pumps an estimated 13,000 acre-feet annually (consumptive use).  Future water demand is likely to be 23,000 acre-feet to 30,000 acre-feet annually depending on assumed agricultural and domestic uses, return flows and water conservation practices.  Committed water rights, including future domestic wells may be even higher; at 63,439 acre-feet annually. There will be many financial and water related casualties under the current expansion of Pahrump and Basin 162 if water uses continue on its present course.

DIFFICULTIES

1. If the current allowable water right of 2 acre-feet per year is reduced to 0.5 acre-feet per year, the water balance will be much easier to maintain. The public, however, views this as a water grab and has filled public meetings on this discussion. Polarization of the issue has developed. The legislative process has also not worked very well to date.
2. Domestic groundwater user water rights are considered junior therefore subject to being “called” as groundwater aquifer levels decline.
3. Public has a perception that water has no limitations. Citizens feel their water is being taken away, that the government will get in their way, that any effort to correct this problem will raise taxes and water meters will be placed on wells to control everyone’s water use.
4. Connecting domestic properties is too expensive for the Water Districts and Domestic users.
5. Groundwater availability is unevenly present in Basin 162 due to the geology and areas of water demand. Due to these mismatched conditions, people interpret decisions as unfair.
6. There is much uncertainty in the recharge estimates of the basin, including irrigation and actual pumping by domestic wells. Data from springs and shallower aquifer systems are known but a technical understanding of the underlying limestone aquifer is severely limited.  This uncertainty weighs heavy because deep groundwater recharge from the limestone aquifer is assumed in today’s perennial yield calculations.
7. The groundwater monitoring network is very much undersized compared to the number of wells in Basin 162.

OPERATION UNITE® CAN HELP
Operation Unite® is a hands – on, results - oriented, capacity building initiative that engages Stakeholders and the Impacted Public in solving water problems thereby building Public responsibility for generated projects. Operation Unite® can help resolve this water dilemma.
 
This is a correctable situation. People want to buy property in Pahrump, pay a reasonable amount of property taxes. However, at the end of the day, they want to be left alone.
 
Operation Unite® conducts its own technical review of hydrogeologic information that has been shared with the public. Operation Unite® will identify miscommunications and misconceptions of both stakeholders and the public. These misunderstandings will be corrected within both the public and other stakeholders.
 
Operation Unite® will work with the public through the Operation Unite® Relationship Building program.
 
Operation Unite® will aid Pahrump citizens and stakeholders to discover their common community values and a common goal. Most communities aren’t aware of their common values. Operation Unite® will facilitate the discovery of these values and enforce their application at meetings and communications during the resolve of this water issue. A decision process that is consistent with common community values will generate ownership and agreement in the community.
 
Operation Unite® will develop a reality check for the Pahrump population to recognize their personal vulnerability under the current conditions and an effective way to respond.  People currently don’t feel vulnerable. Developing a reality check will be accomplished through the Public Relationship Building program that Operation Unite® has created.
 
These combined actions will support the discovery of a project goal that the Pahrump populous will support.
 
Once common community values and a common goal are discovered, Operation Unite® will aid sponsors of public forums and meetings, media and stakeholders in guiding interactions that are consistent with the community common goals and facts of the issue.
 
Operation Unite® will bring current actions in Pahrump into alignment thereby solving the issue of water availability and access to the year 2060.

A Year Well Remembered

Water challenges mount as changes in weather visit more extreme conditions, more frequently. We see this and recognize the importance in working with the public’s response to our resource issues and intermittent severe weather patterns. Operation Unite® has built technical and social tools that support bringing people together to solve our water problems. Here are some Operation Unite® activities that were achieved this year (2017).

• The Operation Unite® Know Your Water® program now provides more interpretive analyses for domestic well owners to understand and adapt their water use habits.
• Operation Unite® Founder Stephen Baker received the News Department Award at KVMR 89.5 FM for his weekly water commentaries.
• “Water is a Many Splendor-ed Thing” is now up to 254 individual radio shows.
• Operation Unite® is moving into supporting responsible groundwater management in the cannabis industry.
• Operation Unite’s “Meet Your Mentor” internet radio program series is now available on the internet (www.operationunite.co/blogs).
• Operation Unite® continues to increase its media contacts.
• Operation Unite® mentoring activities contributed the successful establishment of the first international American Institute of Professional Geologist student section chapter at Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University in Nanded, India.

Operation Unite® is poised and ready to build your water project successes through our customized public and stakeholder relationship building programs. Some call it “Soft Power”. We call it success with all the trimmings; bargaining in good faith, earned trust and responsible actions.

Operation Unite® wishes each of you and your organizations the greatest successes for 2018. Happy New Year! We will be visiting you next year with our new weekly emails.

Hurricane Recovery is a Long-term Committment

Our most recent weeks have been inundated with life changes on communities in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, the islands of the Florida coast and Mexico. Hurricanes are beginning to break records in both size and might.

Triaging damage resulting from Hurricane Harvey in Houston and Hurricane Irma in Haiti, the Bahamas and Florida is a reality check that long-term disruption in our communities can occur, multiple times, on any given year; flooding recovery, disruption of urban waste water, loss of drinking water supplies, no operating energy grid and lack of the basic operation in our communities. A planner,  Dr. Laurie Johnson,  once said that until the “Golden Triangle” is reestablished (house, job and schools), people can’t go home.   Rebuilding takes time. Society needs a commitment to the long-term recovery of a damaged community. The time to solve this type of problem takes months and years.

Think about what commitment to each other looks like in your area when help is needed at more distant communities. Commitment to each other through long-term hardships is a picture that speaks a thousand words.

Meet Your Mentor Visits AIPG and NGWA

Preparing new professionals to solve our planet's future water issues requires the passing of the proverbial baton. Experiences of retiring senior water professionals are fundamental to building professional responsibility and public service. Competence through education and experiences, consistent demonstration of our historic integrity and a philosophy of ethics, of our collective professional communities,  fuels our future. The Operation Unite Meet Your Mentor internet radio program series supports all these virtues. Water is fundamental to our lives and environment. Join our effort to give future water professionals the benefits and support of experience and knowledge. The Meet Your Mentor internet radio show series is heard by K-12 students and their parents, college students, young professionals and professionals cross-pollinating from other industries. Tune in and listen by Clicking Here: Meet Your Mentor.

From "Tragedy of the Commons" to "In Support of the Commons"

Groundwater management in the western U.S. has always presented difficulty in states that have developed a “tragedy of the commons” circumstance. Correcting these developing situations continues to bump up against the definition of reasonableness, beneficial uses, equity and economic value of use. We have always addressed change in groundwater management through the lens of appropriate compensation and this has, more often than not, kicked the can down the road. Nobody wants to lose their historic right to water regardless of the damage done to an aquifer. Unfortunately, the outcome of this type of focus and response has created emptying aquifers, water quality problems, subsidence, loss of aquifer storage and the depletion of surface flows.

Farmers, some cities and many domestic well users have now experienced not having water and this has altered the motivation of a very small group of people. It is a situation that Benjamin Franklin summarized well, “When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”

We have always addressed change in groundwater management through the lens of appropriate compensation. Nobody wants to lose their historic right to water. So, how can a positive change be developed?

Maybe appropriate compensation should consider the balance of the specific water benefit with the shortfalls created by its' use. By doing this, appropriate compensation can be translated to the water value of the water use to society. The cumulative effect of this approach will be resource security, optimum quality improvements, longevity for our future generations and positive economic decisions that build our communities.

We are at a point today where a “zero sum gain” or the “status quo” will perpetuate the eventual loss of a critical resource. Call Operation Unite® and discuss this further. Operation Unite® builds public responsibility. Let’s get it done.

Regulators Approve it, the Cultivators Prefer it

Medicinal cannabis cultivation is like any other California agricultural crop; it’s about managing sustainably and being a good steward. Water supply must be matched with the availability of the resource on any given year. This is why, cannabis planning that has a groundwater/surface water optimization program and monitoring component creates the most certainty for the farm.  

Collect data that is used on the farm. The regulating agencies approve it and the cultivators prefer it; Building certainty by letting the data drive and building flexibility in the farm. That’s the ticket. Call Operation Unite®.

Misconceptions and Lack of Trust are Main Causes of Water Projects

Word Counts are a great way to reveal the focus of projects, priorities and fundamental concepts. Examine the Operation Unite® Word Count in this week’s email and know that you are beginning to understand that Operation Unite® focuses on Stakeholder goals and the Public’s water project interests. If your water projects encounter any of these situations, then you want to connect with Operation Unite®:

• A public that hasn’t yet recognized that it is vulnerable to losing a water resource without an effective community response (water project);
• Misconceptions occurring in your project area that send your community of Stakeholders and Public in another direction;
• Clashing with values, principles and behaviors that push against the success of your project;
• Difficulty bringing populations in the “White Areas” of a Groundwater Sustainability Agency together in support of GSA development and your groundwater sustainability plan; or
• Resistance because a Stakeholder or the Public see no value in the water project due to misunderstandings and lack of trust.

Operation Unite® is a hands – on, results - oriented, capacity building initiative that engages Stakeholders and the impacted Public in solving water problems thereby building Public responsibility for generated projects.
 
Our goal is to bring specific communities and the relevant agencies into alignment through the development of common values, collaborative relationships and a shared community plan to achieve articulated goals designed to address the challenges and problems they face. Call us: 530-478-1260.

All Men Are Created Equal

On this most important American holiday we recognize that our past decisions that moved us to become a united nation were the recognition that all men are created equal and this nation and its people are endowed by its Creator to pursue Life, Liberty and Happiness.

Many have fallen to protect our nation’s commitment to unite as a people. This history makes our commitment even stronger to stand strong on the virtues that we believe.  The abuses and dysfunctions felt by our thirteen states during British control describe a benchmark for what not to do in today’s world, inside our United States of America as well as our actions internationally. We are a proud nation with a will to practice virtues that unite people.  It started with the thirteen United States of America prior to 1776 and has developed into the 50 states of America in 2017.

Operation Unite® thanks all our veterans, living and dead, our civic leaders, present and past and citizens in this United States of America for their commitment to these ideals. America is built on solid ground with a vision that all people are created equal and will always be given opportunity to pursue Life, Liberty and Happiness. Have a wonderful July 4th!

Managing the 15,000,000 U.S. Wells that People have Forgotten

Decentralized groundwater supplies are some of the most difficult areas to keep safe from contamination and over pumping. Over 15 million of these wells across the United States are supporting domestic water supplies and this is becoming a problem. The greatest obstacle in addressing this developing problem comes from the people that own and use that water. They don't feel vulnerable and they view regulatory oversight as an infringement on their rights (human or property). This equates to no pro-active actions, no contingencies and an unawareness that their water may be developing unhealthy chronic conditions in their family's health.

Stephen Baker of Operation Unite® had a great interview on “The Water Values” podcast with David McGimpsey. They discussed some of these issues and what to do about it.

David is an attorney working in the arena of water. He has created “The Water Values” podcasts primarily as a platform to launch a podcast about, you guessed it, water. Past interviews have included Pat Mulroy, former General Manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Las Vegas Valley Water District, Charles Fishman, author of the book “The Big Thirst” and Ken Mercer, American Water Works Association and Senior Manager of Technical and Research programs.

Click here and learn more about managing decentralized groundwater supplies in this great interview with David McGimpsey.

The Worst Time to Seek Regulatory Approval for Groundwater Use

The Worst Time to Seek Local and State Approval for Expanding Groundwater Demand is During a 5-Year Drought. But Ananda Village did it and Operation Unite® Helped.

OPERATION UNITE® DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
BUILDING PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY
ANANDA VILLAGE, NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

GOAL OF PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
The intent of this public relations project is four-fold:

1. To develop in the Ananda Village community an awareness of their real water conditions and vulnerability to water scarcity;
2. To educate Ananda Village residents and neighboring property owners of their management responsibilities and the management process being placed into the Ananda Village groundwater management plan; and
3. To educate and build confidence in the Nevada County and State agencies involved in reviewing and approving the expansion plan with respect to the groundwater supply of the community and neighboring citizens,
4. Creation of a monitoring program built on developing certainty in aquifer behavior understanding and a management plan that focuses on Ananda Village goals and protection of surrounding property owners.

COMMON COMMUNITY GOAL
The common community goal was to create and maintain a groundwater supply that does not create adverse impacts to neighboring properties while providing adequate water for the anticipated population at Ananda Village.
 
CORE COMMON COMMUNITY VALUES
The common community values at Ananda Village were characterized as:

• Honesty;
• Integrity;
• Good faith; and
• For the good of the whole.

STRATEGY
The Ananda Village strategy was built on transparency, demonstration of responsibility, respect and trust and best science.
The strategy was three-fold:

1. Provide Ananda Village overwhelming information on groundwater conditions, temporally and spatially, on the Ananda Village property that educates the regulatory community with supportive data and a groundwater management plan that creates a safety net for Ananda Village and surrounding land owners.
2. Create a continuous presence in the general public of Operation Unite® and its mission, the importance of water and the technical aspects that control water supply and environmental health for Nevada County and Ananda Village citizens.
3. Build an adaptive capacity within the Ananda Village community to respond to drought and lower personal and facility long-term daily groundwater use.

Implementation of the strategy was also facilitated by conducting near-continuous messaging at the Operation Unite®  Facebook page, Operation Unite®  website, Operation Unite®  weekly emails, weekly radio news, monthly radio news and community television (limited duration). These vehicles for messaging provided more general and broad view points related to groundwater use and management and community values.
 

TABLE 1. PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP BUILDING TOOLS USED IN THIS PROJECT

DATE                            NAME

May-1410-yr Fractured Rock Aquifer Study Presentation         

2015-2017Weekly News (liberal radio station)

2015-2017Monthly News (conservative radio station)

2015-2017Continuous Announcements Regarding Meetings with "Water Buffaloes" in Western States

2015-2017Meetings with Nevada County and State Regulatory Agencies on Project

2016-2017Operation Unite Website

2015-2017Facebook Page

2015-2017Newspaper Articles

May-15Climate Change Presentation

May-15Weekly Mailing

May-15Developed First Neighborhood Water Alliance Group

June-15Climate Change Video

June- August 2015Drought Tips

June- August 2015Know Your Water - Ananda Village Video

June-15Round Table (permit exempt wells, the individual)

June- September 2015Nevada County Community Television

June-15Special Guest at Farmers Market

July- August 2015Water Conservation Video

July- August 2015Ranching and Drought Video

July-15World Music Festival Presentation

July-15Round Table (permit exempt wells, the regulatory responsibility)

December-15Water Forum

March-16Round Table with Representatives from the Republican, Democratic parties and the Tea Party

June-16Presentation with the Democratic Party on Public Responsibility on Water Issues

October-16Meet the Experts Workshop

February-17ABC Channel 10 News Coverage of Ananda Village Groundwater Management

May-17Public Planning Commission Meeting

June-17Board of Supervisor Meeting

 
Extensive groundwater monitoring and frequent analysis in the study facilitated a best science demonstration of the active components of the Ananda Village technical program. The Ananda Village community and general public efforts are focused on education at the individual, neighborhood and community levels. An effort was made to expand contact with both oppositional and agreeable citizens and groups to the Ananda Village project.

PROGRAM OUTCOME
Outcomes that reflect Ananda Village program successes were recognized; 1) within the Ananda Village community, 2) the acceptance by the regulators in approving the expansion plan and groundwater management program for Ananda Village and lastly, 3) the minimal level of public push back experienced during the public planning commission meeting for the Ananda Village project.
 
Collaborative relationships were generated at three levels; regulatory, within the Ananda Village community and property owners surrounding Ananda Village.

The Operation Unite® relationship building program built transparency and a collaborative spirit with the regulating community overseeing the Ananda Village project. Local county staff turnover made it necessary to revisit the county multiple times.  This increased “face time” helped develop a positive, responsible working relationship between the groups. Concerns and needs by the regulatory community were addressed in detail and with vocal and written explanations. Modifications and adjustments were made as important points were raised by Ananda Village and the regulators. Operation Unite® and Ananda Village illustrated new ideas while simultaneously being attentive to the rigorous requirements that the regulatory oversight team had to navigate through and ultimately satisfy. County and State processes were respected and addressed directly and with competence by Ananda Village.
 
The Ananda Village community was charged with learning and exercising practices that reduced overall daily consumptive use of water per person. This was measured and compared to the mandatory reductions required by Governor Brown of California. Ananda Village reduced their water use by 36 percent compared to year 2013 water demand.
 
Surrounding property owners to Ananda Village were engaged directly and indirectly through the program. Broadcasts, emails, direct contact and community eventscreated good communication with the community, at large. Ultimately, oppositional positions regarding water supply were few during the public planning commission meeting. This was achieved by continued communication between Ananda Village and the surrounding property owners, trust building that had developed through interactions with Operation Unite® and Ananda Village, education in effective groundwater management and  earned public trust in Ananda Village’s intent to be “For the Good of the Whole” and consistent in “Acting in Good Faith.” Outward demonstration of the Ananda Village values resonated with the surrounding community.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This study was funded by Operation Unite® Founder Stephen Baker with donations from KVMR. Several data loggers were donated by Global Water Instrumentation, Incorporated or purchased by individual well owners. A special thanks to the U.S. Geological Survey for providing technical and experiential knowledge in the use and application of data loggers. Thank you also to all well owners that volunteered their wells for this study. In addition, expertise for well head modification design on volunteered wells was completed with skill and confidence by Ron Best. Thank you for all of your work.
 
Peter Goering, Ramu Atwell and Leah Kirk of the Ananda Village water department and their community demonstrated an exceptional commitment to looking at the facts, staying true to their community values and demonstrating the discipline and skill to reduce their water use. This was particularly apparent during the 5-year duration drought experienced in California.
 
The Nevada County Planning and Environmental Health departments provided an exemplary example of collaborative interactions necessary for satisfying state and local water supply requirements while optimizing the future vision pursued by Ananda Village.

The honest and enthusiastic San Juan Tax Payer’s Association is recognized for its commitment to the community, openness to new ideas and passion in building resiliency and a sustainable groundwater supply for all.
 
The public forum gained great credibility due to the contributions made by Chip Close of Nevada Irrigation District, Chris Paulus of Cal Fire, Vic Ferrera of Nevada County Operation of Emergency Services and local media. Sharing of drought tips and other water efficiency ideas was generously provided by Jim Gates of Nevada County Free Range Beef, Kyle at Fodder Farms, Ina Elrod of Penn Valley, Deb Fox for organizing and including Operation Unite® in the World Music Festival lecture series and the many contributors for the Drought Tips short segments. Gratitude is extended to over 200 people interviewed for Water is a Many Splendor’ed Thing short radio segments from around the United States, India, Afghanistan, Yemen and South Korea. These individuals shared their intimate stories that touched the hearts and intellect of many listeners in Nevada and surrounding Counties.
 
Round table successes were directly accomplished because of efforts of Paul Emery and the KVMR staff and our knowledgeable and passionate guests; Garret McInnis, H2O to Go, John Becht, Craig Ruben, Jack Kuehn, Vic Ferrera, Nevada County Operations of Emergency Services, the San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisor Frank Mecham, Tom Tebb, Washington Department of Ecology, Jim Schwab, American Planning Association and Atman Goering of Ananda Village.

Valuable discussions were provided by the Nevada County Republican, Democratic and Tea parties concerning awareness of water issues and suitable mitigation choices during a pre-election radio round table talk broadcast.  In addition, the Democratic Party provided a stage for Operation Unite® to educate its party on groundwater in the foothills and water for Californians.
 
Appreciation is also extended to the nearly 25 individuals that met numerous times to work out the details of the first Neighborhood Water Alliance program in Nevada County.
 
An additional thanks to the professional support provided by Darby Davenport and Cal McKitrick for documenting special events through the magic of their photographic eye. A very special person, Catherine Busch, who not only provided her gifted videography skills and art form but also critiqued Operation Unite® messaging through the eyes of a seasoned and very successful, award winning documentary producer. Thank you. Richard Miller provided his organization and people skills  as an administrator during radio round tables and Operation Unite® recording sessions on location and in the studio. Your participation made its positive impression.
 
Thank you also to Steve Baker and Paul Emery at KVMR radio station, Tom Fitzimmons at KNCO radio station, Nevada County Television members and staff, Brian Hamilton of The Union newspaper, Gil Dominguez of Touchdown Productions, Pasquale of Yubanet and the Nevada County Association of Realtors for their strong and consistent commitment to the community and water  issues impacting Nevada County.

Good things happen because good people ran with their passion and a common goal. Thank you to all.

Commit, Perservere and Accomplish

When building collaboration, choose leaders that inspire political and personal commitment and action. This many times is accomplished by building a broad-based involvement as you go and sustaining hope and encouragement through participation during the consensus building process. Foundations are made through hard work and time. There is no way around this.  Our issues of today may be different but the attributes for success are the same as they always have been; commit, persevere and accomplish.

Go on, Commit Yourself to Managing Your Groundwater

Achieving sustainable groundwater is more than a requirement. It makes your life’s water needs manageable. The decisions are all yours, it is applicable to your daily life, adjusting to low water years is easier and there are fewer conflicts. So why not commit yourself to managing your groundwater resource!

Public Engagement: A Blend of Science, Art and Social Elements

“Extreme weather and climate events pose a serious threat to the health and welfare of American families and businesses.”
                                                Understanding the Link Between Climate Change
                                                and Extreme Weather, U.S. EPA

"It is the quality of the relationships between groups and people, not technological limitation that hinders our ability to solve these water issues in a timely manner."
                                                Stephen J. Baker, Founder, Operation Unite®

 “It requires reflection, intention, and actions.  It requires intellect, but it also requires insight.  And it requires heart and compassion and empathy, including empathy for each other in addition to our beloved Stakeholders and species.”
                   Felicia Marcus, Chair of the California State Water Resources Control  
                  Board, Dec. 8, 2016, MavenNotebook

A new approach is needed now. We must approach Impacted Public and Stakeholder engagement in a new way, an approach rooted in scientific fact, objective reasoning and relationship building, an approach that can mobilize both Impacted Public and Stakeholder engagement and commitment to both process and outcome.

Operation Unite® is specifically designed to address this missing engagement need through the application of a unique approach that combines science, technology and relationship building to build motivation, collaboration at community, regional, state and national levels.

Managing the Domestic Water Supplies

Responsibility in managing water trickles down from the overlying governance to all end users, large and small.
 
As our governance addresses water management across the countryside, let us also recognize that de minimis domestic water users are included in this chain of responsibility.
 
These water users play the most important part in mitigating any shortage or quality issues that they may encounter.  Domestic water well resources are best managed by incorporating the domestic well owners into the management process. Support their information and data needs, teach them how to use it and witness great groundwater management in action.
 
“The greatest way to apply technical solutions in the world is through a public that is engaged and committed to the process and outcome; an honest, we’re all in it together attitude!"
                                                       Stephen J. Baker, Founder of Operation Unite®
 
Start a pilot project in your community and discover how to succeed with this type of management program. Operation Unite® incorporates science, art and social elements to build our communities. Know Your Water® and the Neighborhood Water Alliance programs get the job done.

Wisdom and Observations from the California Water Summit 2017

California leaders shared ideas for building capacity for regional sustainability in California at the recent Water Summit in Sacramento, California.
 
“California water is like a big ball of string with many strings that come out. It’s complicated. We have some ground to cover.”
                                                              Dave Orth, California Water Commission
 

Adequate funding is never available.

There is disconnectedness; key stakeholders are not present in conversations.

California water stakeholders have returned to their silos.

There are overlaps in water resource control.

Regulatory misalignment remains.

 
“It’s important who does the idea messaging. It makes a big difference!”
                                                        Maria Herrera, Self-Help Enterprises
 
“Trust, confidence and credibility is really important. You have to start now. Address the community and culture. Take the time.”
          Tim O’Halloran, Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District
 
“Tying people together to manage water is the next big thing to accomplish a water plan.”
                    Sarge Green, California Water Institute, Fresno State University

An Australian-US Dialogue on Drought

“Water must be treated as a precious resource and needs to be managed into a future of droughts and floods”    
                            G’Day USA, US-Australian Dialogue 2017 Stanford University

• Americans actions tend to be reactionary versus pro-active.
• Decentralized infrastructure/energy approaches that create multiple benefits are being looked at by Americans and Australians for low income, urban regions experiencing water issues.
• Australians found that integrating science, arts and social considerations works.
• Critical people and environmental needs in Australia are dealt with first followed by high priority, general and low security water needs.
• Australia, many times, manages using proportional thresholds. California tends to use absolute thresholds.

Recycled and Reused Water is Renewable

Potable Water Reuse technology is not a limiting constraint. So what is limiting Potable Water Reuse?

• Regulations;
• Funding; and
• A Public Understanding that All Water is Recycled and Reused Including Anthropogenic Treatment Systems.

 “Wastewater is a renewable recoverable source of drinking water, resource and energy”                       Dr. George Tchobanoglous

Exercise Our Integrity by Standing Together

One thing we can be certain about is water demand. People have an expectation that water will be available, on-demand, 24-7 in our small towns, cities and metropolises at all times. On the other hand, farmers want certainty but rarely have sureness that their water will be delivered by Mother Nature or through irrigation systems on time and in the right place. Why is that?

Natural rainfall and snowmelt are acts of God that are not easily predicted when climate changes are superimposed over the chance of getting enough rain based on the last 100 years of probabilistic analysis. Irrigation systems are society created and depend on the physical constraints of storage and conveyance systems and the political tug-of-war that develops between stakeholders and the available seasonal water.

Some say that we not dwell over things that are out of our control and focus on where we can make good change. Managing seasonal water deliveries is one of those things. It begins with everyone having a seat at the table. It starts by listening to the vision and dilemma reflected by each person’s story. It includes patience, fairness, diligence to each other and an integrity that unites everyone. We have this in our communities.

Let’s exercise this process:

• To those farmers in the Central Valley of California that will receive an allocation of 65% on a year that produced near record snow fall and precipitation in the watershed.
• To the Native People that desire inclusion of their principal water values with all society and a safety net that protects them from risky projects that pollute or divert good quality water away from their needs.
• To the disadvantaged communities across the state that are unseen in their dilemma in having clean and safe drinking water and shower water for their homes.
• To groundwater well users that find themselves in harm’s way from industrial well fracking programs that raise risk to domestic and farming populations that rely on potable water to live.
• To the communities that simply desire to retain water for their critical needs.

Financing America's Water Projects

One of our countries greatest water challenges is financing:

• The repair of existing infrastructure,
• Building new conveyance infrastructure,
• Well construction or deepening and operation and maintenance of disadvantaged community water supplies and
• Paying for new groundwater management.

Our current system of economics and governance does not provide a means to fully support these improvements.  

An up and coming water management approach for the United States is a water resource sharing plan that unbundles riparian and appropriated water rights into shares, allocations and water use approvals. Verification of applied beneficial water use of actual waters that are available any given year can be creatively and quickly transferred, especially during times of scarcity.

This method blends well with traditional water doctrines, generates funding for water projects, optimizes actions that produce sustainable water supply conditions and adds certainty to water users.

Go to the Operation Unite Resource page, scroll down to Links for Water Management Strategies and Ideas Professor Michael Young’s ideas for California.

California is in a Conundrum

California is in a conundrum. Water stakeholders need certainty in their water deliveries, the consistency of available drinkable water is missing many of the disadvantaged communities, new water projects are needed, possibly 1,000,000 acres of farmland may be removed from production in central portions of California, a primary California water conveyance utilizes the largest inland estuary on the west coast of North American, alluvial aquifers in 127 water basins are diminishing and funding is insufficient for correcting these issues within the needed time period. During all this drama, daily water and food needs of40 million Californians must be met every day. 

How can water management adjustments produce more successes, more quickly? California uses the Prior Appropriative Doctrine. California manages some groundwater areas by adjudication and is now beginning to develop goals required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014. These are good things but more adaptable approaches are needed to facilitate quick water adjustments throughout the year.   It is time to explore new management strategies that will generate the needed funding and complete the projects that address changing annual snow packs, groundwater, conveyance, treatment and storage.

Go to the Operation Unite Resource page, scroll down to Links for Water Management strategies and Ideas Professor Michael Young’s ideas for California. It is working in Australia. It has merit in specific California watersheds. Tell us what you think?