by Brianna Crandall — May 3, 2013—In a study reflecting the increasing usage of water in the United States and the growing threat of water scarcity, particularly in the western states, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has found that Southern California water agencies are planning the most aggressive measures in the state to reduce their reliance on water imports. NRDC’s new analysis, released April 25, found that the top five agencies are collectively cutting water imports by 40 billion gallons per year by 2035, which is more than the annual water use of Sacramento. They are reducing imports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta and Colorado River — two severely overtapped water sources.
The analysis, Tackling Water Scarcity: Five Southern California Water Agencies Lead the Way to a More Sustainable Tomorrow, examines data from more than 350 water agencies’ 2010 urban water management plans, resulting in what NRDC says is the most comprehensive compilation of water management plan data available to the public.
The findings reveal that the leading five agencies plan to reduce their reliance on imported Bay Delta or Colorado River water by at least 35% by 2035, which is equivalent to the annual water use of more than 1.11 million people, or more than 40 billion gallons per year. The water reductions by these agencies are: the City of Santa Monica (100% reduction), the City of Camarillo (85% reduction), Ventura County Water District No. 1 (62% reduction), Long Beach Water Department (46% reduction) and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (35% reduction).
The agencies will achieve these reductions through proven and more sustainable techniques such as urban rainwater and stormwater harvesting, better groundwater management, and water conservation, recycling and efficiency.
For example, the City of Santa Monica plans to completely eliminate its need for imported water from the Bay Delta and the Colorado River by 2020 by investing in water use efficiency, as well as employing alternative solutions such as recycled water, greywater, rainwater, stormwater and sustainable groundwater pumping. In 2011, Santa Monica completed a groundwater remediation effort that opened five wells, increasing the amount of water produced locally from 16% to around 70%.
And the Long Beach Water Department is implementing “Lawn to Garden,” a landscape conversion program with a $3 per square foot incentive to replace grass lawns with more water-efficient landscapes. By 2035, Long Beach expects efficiency improvements to reduce water use to 100 gallons per person per day, down from 167 gallons per person per day in 1980 and 110 gallons in 2010.
While these agencies are planning for sustainable water supplies for the future, the state of California is currently developing its own long-term water management plan called the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. However, the state’s current multibillion dollar plan involves two underground tunnels to divert more water out of the Bay-Delta estuary, and it lacks new investments in water conservation, recycling, and other local supply solutions, explains NRDC. In January, NRDC along with conservation and business groups, water agencies and elected officials urged the state to analyze what the organizations says is a more sustainable and affordable portfolio-based alternative to the current BDCP plan.
NRDC’s analysis also includes a searchable online tool allowing the public to easily find where their water comes from by zip code, and what their local water agency plans are for future water supplies, as well as how safe and reliable the local water really is.
