By Don A. Wright
The Urban Water Institute held its 2025 conference in San Diego August 20th through 22nd. This is part two of my tale about being stranded on an island in Mission Bay with urban water managers. Whom it turns out, are about as much fun as ag water managers. So, yes, it was a good time if perhaps slightly more urbane* than some of the rustic gatherings in less densely populated areas.
Throughout the UWI event the folks were very nice, polite and kind. I came away with a strong sense the urban water industry realizes it’s in the same boat as the ag water interests in the San Joaquin Valley. The overarching theme of the conference was based on unity. I don’t know why I expected more wokeness since the task of providing water to millions of people is about as real as it can get. There really is no room for endless nattering about political and philosophical matters when no water comes out of the kitchen tap.
The following observations are from the second day of the conference. The previous report included coverage of the conference’s first day and the first panel of the second day. And the next report will probably be the last panels from the second day and the headliner event from the third day.
Investing in Water
The second panel of the second day – Security and Sustainability: Generational Investments in Times of Fiscal Constraints – called in some of the bigger players in California water. You’ll recognize these names: Karla Nemeth – Director – California Department of Water Resources (DWR), Jennifer Pierre – General Manager – State Water Contractors and Jerry Brown – Executive Director – Sites Project Authority.
The moderator was Paul Redvers Brown. I didn’t know who Brown was, so I looked him up. He’s an author who’s lectured all over the world on water and sustainability and has been a visiting professor at universities. That all made sense when you watch him interact with the panelists and audience. He’s like that funny professor whose class you enjoyed and you learned something.
Although I’d normally be loath to recommend a New York Times columnist under most circumstances, Brown was enthusiastic about Ezra Klien’s book, Abundance (not to be confused with the great Ed Ring’s The Abundance Choice which came out first.) The message in both books is – Change your attitude. Build and invent more than you need, – common sense in the face of NGO (non-governmental organization) infused, government regulatory clamp down on development whether good or bad.
Ms. Nemeth was the first to respond and she was in the unenviable position of representing the highest levels of California’s water policy proponents. But she has a couple of things going for her; she’s approachable and willing to entertain more than one view on a subject. I think reasonable people can tell when someone is respectful and understand part of the job is implementing the policy that comes down from the higher pay grades. Nemeth is well respected in California’s water world.
She began by saying she agrees with (now former) Region Nine EPA Administrator Josh Cook that there are real opportunities. She said she appreciates how much Cook loves California.
She cited some cases where there are problems, in this case partly due to dated facilities. For instance, in 2022, 46-percent of Oroville’s water went to managing Delta salinity levels. If I understood her correctly, only one-percent of the water went to exports. In 2023, a flood year, 46-percent of Oroville’s storage went to flood control and only 15-percent was exported south of the Delta.
Ms. Pierre agreed with Nemeth; there is a need for better infrastructure. She said it was clear by the early 1900s California needed to move water across the state and the people of California responded. She said the housing crisis is a direct result of poor water infrastructure investments over the past 60 years.
Pierre said the public is slowly starting to see the connection between water and prosperity. She cited a recent DWR report extolling the need for more recharge, the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) and Sites Reservoir completions.
It was a good segue for Jerry Brown who agreed with Pierre about the slowly part, saying the Sites project is 70-years old. A Joint Powers Authority (JPA) was formed to help accelerate the construction of the Sites project. The JPA turned 15 this year. He said California is at a crisis point. The public needs to be informed but that is a big lift.
The majority of the attendees at the conference were from Southern California and that means most of them get their supplies from either the Colorado River, a US Bureau of Reclamation project, or the state’s State Water Project administered by DWR that receives its supplies from the Delta. There has been talk about if there are enough resources, especially funding, to support both the DCP and Sites Reservoir.
Nemeth addressed this issue by saying there doesn’t have to be an either/or scenario playing out for Sites and the DCP. She said DWR is committed to water management that allows long-term water transfers for the SWP. One question on everyone’s mind is what happened to all that Prop One money? Where are the billions set aside for additional surface storage? There has been a good deal of government inaction. The California Water Commission holds the purse strings to that cache of cash and the 2014 WSIP Act (Water Storage Investment Program) has been complicated and difficult to implement.
Pierre said once DWR and Sites began working together instead of guarding each’s own storage space is the beneficiary. Sites will also further integrate the state and federal water systems.
Pierre refreshingly said, “You want environmental water? Buy some.”
I took it to reference the many people in the environmentalist community who are willing to fight long, loud and hard to spend your taxpayer dollars for their special interest water regulatory schemes should be asked to chip in more than just talk.
Jerry Brown also acknowledged there has been concerns in Northern California about Sites being a water grab from Southern California. But there are now members in the JPA from the north as well as the rest of the state signifying a much wider buy in to the project. He also said he was thankful for the government’s support.
Nemeth said there is more room for the state and feds to recognize how much cooperation can help benefit all of California. One example in reverse is Delta conveyance – first the peripheral canal failed, then the twin tunnels and there is still a need to move more water.
Pierre said it is a good question for districts to ask their constituents, “Where does your water come from?” Ask how the water supply drives the local economy. Oroville is releasing water but there is no conveyance opportunities available to where it is needed.
I’ve thought about this a lot myself. It surprises me when I encounter farmers who don’t know where their water supplies come from. Constituents would have to understand the supply situation before they could ask, why aren’t we getting our water?
Moderator Paul Brown asked the room full of water managers how many of their districts have information on their websites informing others where the water supply comes from. Only a few raised their hands.
During the closing remarks Pierre warned of a “silver tsunami”, an aging out of water professionals, without enough younger people to fill the positions. She said it might be an enticement for the younger folks if the feds gave $1 billion to build some water infrastructure. She said it would take eight desalinization plants to replace the DCP. That particularly resonated with this crowd as the SWP is 75 percent urban and 25 percent agricultural.
Jerry Brown wrapped it up by saying Sites could be the test case for joint place of use. He predicts Sites will become the transfer hub between the state and fed to move water through the Delta.
Nemeth agreed the place of use needs to be fast tracked so the state and feds can conduct transfers. She said now is a very ripe time for a new water policy bill.
Q&A
The first question was; did the panelists have any remedy for the often contrarian cadre of those who like to use “justice” as prefix, such as NGOs?
Jerry Brown said they have the right to express themselves, their beliefs and concerns. He thinks their cause would be better served if they would engage in more productive dialog and talk with someone of an opposing or even slightly different view.
Pierre said the NGOs are not a monolithic force. However, some of those organizations with good ideas have left the Delta to the groups with bad ideas and that makes the situation look monolithic on the bad idea side. She said the best way to deal with this is for the other side dependent on Delta surface supplies to become more monolithic.
Nemeth pointed out DWR serves the most affordable drinking water to the poorest part of California’s population. She believes water banking and recharge should be expanded. However, the process itself often takes too long.
When asked what urban waters’ attitude should be towards agriculture Nemeth said she sees more emphasis on the public benefits and pointed to the dairy industry and almond growers as groups who have asked – how can we do this differently? She said there is a no growth attitude but see some generational change coming.
Pierre reminded everyone that California’s urban population imports huge amounts of water in the form of food. She asked a bit rhetorically if those opposed to watering crops and livestock would be willing to ban eating food grown in California.
Someone asked the panel if there should be a non-functional turf ban as a water saving measure. The consensus was it’s not cost effective.
Final statements; Pierre said we’re in charge and let’s do it. Jerry Brown said he sees the Sites Reservoir completed in 2032. And Nemeth expressed her hopes the next governor had better love water.
For our next report we’ll take a look at the other panels and presentation held on the second and third of the Urban Water Institute’s 2025 Conference held in San Diego.
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*I know it wasn’t even dad joke level but I couldn’t stop myself.
