Farm water success stories
Peter Gleick
San Francisco Chronicle
03/03/2010
AB 1692 (Berryhill) Asm. Natural Resources Committee – Requires that fines and penalties imposed by the State Water Board and other state agencies go to the General Fund.
AB 1834 (Solorio) Held in Assembly until March 18 – Establishes Legislature's intent to encourage California water agencies to develop integrated regional water management plans that retain as much stormwater runoff as reasonably possible to fulfill the water supply needs of their communities and reduce downstream water quality problems.
SB 1107 (Kehoe) Senate Food and Agriculture Committee – The Interceptor and Trap Grease Transportation Act of 2010 requires the State Water Board to adopt and implement regulations to manage the transportation of interceptor and trap grease to appropriate facilities for recycling, treatment, or proper disposal.
SB 565 (Pavley) Asm. Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, Two-year Bill –Authorizes the State Water Board to monitor, investigate, and assess fines to regulate water diversions.
SB 1284 (Ducheny) Senate Committee on Environmental Quality – Exempts some effluent limitation violations and reporting requirements from State Water Board minimum mandatory penalties; extends time schedule orders from 5 to 10 years.
SB 1469 (Simitian) Held by Senate until March 23 – Requires Basin Plan implementation plans to include plans to identify and manage “potential threats to water quality.”
SCA 18 (Liu) Senate 3rd Reading, Two-year Bill – Excludes fees and charges for storm water and urban runoff management from the approval requirement for the imposition or increase of a property related fee or charge.
With sustainable water policies and practices, innovative growers like these are moving California toward more equitable and efficient water management and use. "Mounting evidence of the effectiveness of farm water conservation and efficiency strategies is good news for policymakers and water managers," said Dr. Juliet Christian-Smith, senior research associate at the Pacific Institute and lead author of the report. "Our study demonstrates that long-term sustainable use of water doesn't require drastic advances in technology or heroic or extraordinary actions. It requires a commitment to sustainability and efficiency and the will to expand positive trends that are already underway."
The cases in the Pacific Institute report and accompanying video demonstrate diverse strategies that can reduce pressures on scare water resources, effective planning and management practices, the role for technological improvements, the potential for using alternative sources of water, and the value of setting quantitative targets and providing financial incentives. The results are efficient water use or enhanced water quality, increased crop yields or quality, and multiple benefits for other water users, such as providing increased flood protection, drought-resilience, or habitat for wildlife.
