Editorial: California making strides with water legislation

By Toni Atkins

More than 80 percent of California is facing either “extreme” or “exceptional” drought right now. Who would have thought that one of the driest years in the state’s history would also be one of the best years ever in securing California’s water future? But that could certainly be the case.

This summer, the California Legislature solved a potential problem that had been hanging over the state’s head for several years. An $11.1 billion water bond had been put together in 2009 that was to be presented to voters this November. The problem was it was too bloated with pet projects to pass, and its failure could set back for many years any serious chance to improve the state’s water infrastructure. So we passed legislation removing that bond from the ballot.

Then, after months of hard work and negotiation among stakeholders across the spectrum of water users and environmental advocates, we passed legislation to create a $7.5 billion water bond to address the state’s need for clean, safe and reliable water. We held hearings around the state to ensure the legislation addressed needs from every part of California. We took a comprehensive approach to address the water system across the board: how we save it, how we store it, how we move it and how we protect it. To obtain information about the legislation, the Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, you can find analyses of the bill at leginfo.ca.gov.

The second major benefit to California’s water future we passed this year — and some say it is even more historic than the bond legislation — comes from a package of bills that establish a responsible mechanism for managing the state’s groundwater.

California has the most groundwater of any state, but we are the only state without a groundwater management plan. That just doesn’t make sense. The state cannot manage water in California until we manage groundwater. You cannot have reliability with no plan to manage groundwater.

That’s why I’m pleased Gov. Jerry Brown just signed this legislation. For the first time in more than 100 years, California has established a process that will prevent overdrafting and ensure our groundwater aquifers are available for generations to come.

Several hearings held by the Assembly’s Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee showed some of the problems we face. Between 2003 and 2009, groundwater aquifers for California’s Central Valley lost almost 26 million acre-feet of water. While some groundwater is handled well under local and regional management, other groundwater is not. Some news reports show lower water tables have caused the ground to sink to sink more than 20 feet.

Following several public meetings with water stakeholders, we moved forward with legislation to ensure consistent, responsible stewardship for California’s groundwater. Under this legislation, local agencies must create entities to develop sustainability plans for the highest-range of over-tapped aquifers. These plans would need to be presented to the state over the next six-to-eight years, and implementation of the plans will occur over the next 20 years. The State Water Resources Control Board would be authorized to step in if local agencies fail to do the job.

While the agriculture industry and some others have expressed opposition to groundwater being regulated, the fact is that the process is just beginning, and the sustainability plans are not yet developed, which gives those with legitimate concerns ample time and opportunity to make sure their views are considered.

Timing is everything. With the drought as bad as it has been this year — and the forecasts for next year becoming increasingly somber — this also has the chance to be the year where we truly prepare for future droughts and shortages and secure our water future.

—Toni Atkins is Speaker of the State Assembly, and represents coastal San Diego from Solana Beach to Imperial Beach.