Just Add Water…?

Water links us to our neighbor in a way more profound and complex than any other. -- John Thorson (Administrative Law Judge, California Public Utilities Commission) Has there been progress made to assure the water supply reliability for county residents since DWR issued its 2009 Water Plan Update? Yes, the county's portion of the Nacimiento Pipeline Project was completed in 2010. Also, the pipeline to transport water from Santa Maria to the Nipomo area is under construction. Both projects are planned to offer their participants greater flexibility of water supply. Projects in several areas of the county are underway to increase water availability and reduce groundwater demand using sources such as desalination and recycled water. Conservation programs for agricultural and residential consumers put in place during droughts of the past are playing the same vital role: acting to reduce the demand for water. But is this enough? The Tragedy of the Commons is an economic theory arising from "the situation in which people, acting independently and rationally consulting their own self-interest, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource, even when it is clear that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this to happen." 33 A current example was featured in The Tribune article entitled "Central Valley Farmers Locked in a Desperate Drilling Race" published March 30, 2014. Faced with zero or near-zero deliveries of water from the State Water and Central Valley Projects, farmers in the Valley are filing for and receiving permits to drill water wells at 2 to 3 times the rate of 2013, also a drought year. The article describes the situation as "pitting neighbor against neighbor in a perverse race to the bottom." The rate of groundwater use is twice the rate of recharge. Alongside the loss of reserves, there is the problem of subsidence, which in some areas of the Valley is nearly a foot per year. Subsidence of the ground surface reflects a loss of groundwater storage capacity within the aquifers underlying the Valley. ^{33}\ Princeton.edu/\sim a chanhey/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Tragedy\_of\_the\_Commons.html. In 1958, the California Department of Water Resources identified 17 sites within the county as suitable for development of surface water resources - three reservoirs were built. If more were built, our water reliability would be greater. Droughts are a part of our history. Residents should not be lulled by periodic years of high rainfall - "El Niños" - into believing we can continue land development and thus increase water usage without regard to where our water is sourced. Definitive plans and financial commitments to improve the reliability of the water supply should begin now and continue regardless of how much rainfall is received. Any year could be the start of another drought cycle. The State Water Project has reduced or eliminated deliveries of water just when the need is greatest due to the drought. We cannot rely on the state for solutions to our water supply problems. We should develop additional, reliable local supplies coupled with strategies for their management. Fortunately, we have a list of supply opportunities and management strategies developed by the WRAC. Some, such as conservation and recycled water have already begun. Others, such as a Paso Robles ground water management district, resource-based land use management, and water sharing agreements are more complicated and could take years of legal action to settle and implement. Still others, such as off-stream surface water storage, may appear costly and take years to complete but could supply years of water and ultimately may prove to be more economical. Our Board of Supervisors should fulfill their obligation to ensure water supply reliability by implementing further water supply initiatives and management strategies in cooperation with the cities, CSDs and all other water purveyors in San Luis Obispo County. Just Add Water...? 6/24

The Grand Jury commends the San Luis Obispo Tribune for its concurrent series, "Parched Earth" and "Wine and Water."