Our partners at Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Water Policy Center recently published an article titled, “Turning the Page on a Disruptive Year in the Water World.”
“Last year was one for the record books, with the pandemic, a statewide wildfire emergency, ongoing drought, and a lingering recession roiling California’s water landscape. These crises have exacerbated longstanding inequities in access to water services and made it that much harder to accomplish important work to improve the resilience of the state’s water system and vulnerable ecosystems. Yet despite all the setbacks, the essential work of providing drinking water and wastewater services proceeded without a hitch—to which we all owe water workers a debt of gratitude.” – Ellen Hanak, PPIC
Below is an excerpt from the article of the year’s pressing water-world challenges:
- Safe and affordable drinking water: Affordability has been a growing problem for years, and it worsened during the pandemic as incomes fell. An emergency moratorium on shutoffs has helped ensure access for vulnerable residents but also reduced utilities’ revenues. Utilities are worried about a longer-term rise in nonpayment, which affects their ability to keep their communities safe by maintaining and upgrading aging infrastructure.
- Freshwater ecosystems: California always has water conflicts, but 2020 was exceptional, with some 20 active lawsuits over efforts to establish new water quality and endangered species regulations for the Sacramento‒San Joaquin Delta. Efforts to negotiate a comprehensive agreement for this watershed have stalled, and the pandemic, recession, and drought make resolving these conflicts even more challenging. New strategies are needed.
- Headwater forests: California’s wildfire siege was a shocking wake-up call on how much more work is needed to prepare for a longer, hotter climate-fueled fire season. One bright spot: even with a recession-constrained budget, wildfire safety was one of the governor’s top priorities, and the legislature enacted laws on some aspects of wildfire preparation and risk reduction.
- Groundwater management: Agriculture has faced many pandemic-related challenges—particularly regarding worker safety and market disruptions. But the grand challenge in many farming regions is to manage groundwater sustainably.
- Paying for water: Money is a perennial issue, but it’s even more of a brake on progress now. Depending on the length and severity of the current economic downturn, California’s water sector could face financial challenges for some time to come, and will most certainly face growing competition for scarce relief funds.
