California Drought, Energy, Climate Change: Perfect Storm for Sustainable Solutions

Ane Deister, Vice President, Parsons Industrial

March 7-10, 2016

Past Drought Experiences: Lessons Learned Recent Drought: Outcomes; Sustainability Report Card Comparison of the Programs 1977-2016

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1977 Extreme CA Drought

Statewide snowpackall-time low in 1977

Agriculture biggest impact National economy Delta fish suffered Wildfires

Impacts Response Rationing and short term

allocation (low flow fixtures) Farmers pumped more

groundwater Less Hydroelectric power Law suits (ag/enviro) Drought reversed itself

completely the following year

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Lessons learned from 1977

Fairness

Engagement

Education

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Late 80’s-early 90’s Extreme CA Droughts

1987 to 1992: 2nd driest in recorded history

Runoff 50% of average Most impacts on natural

environment

Impacts Responses Voluntary rationing

(fairness) Surcharges (education) Conservation police

(engagement) Indoor, outdoor workshops

(education, engagement) Ended shortly after ‘drought

was over’ (reality!)

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Created by Don Wilhite at NDMC University of Nebraska

Lesson Learned: Hydro-illogical Cycle

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From left: CAL FIRE Director Chief Ken Pimlott, Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross,Natural Resources Secretary John Laird, DWR Director Mark Cowin, SWRCB Chair Felicia Marcus,

Emergency Services Director Ghilarducci Center front: Gov. Brown

Gov. Brown’s Drought: Drought Emergency Declaration November 2014

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Gov. Brown Emergency Declaration, 11/2014

Grow beyond confines of budget-driven decision-making

Toward outcome-drivendecision making

Long-term sustainablemanagement guideprograms, drives budget decisions

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Executive Leadership, Action

Drought – climate change is NOW

“We can’t make it rain, but we can be much

better prepared for the terrible consequences that CA’s drought now

threatens.”

– Gov. Brown November 2014

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GOV Mandated 25% Water Conservation Statewide, Felicia Marcus led the Implementation as Chair, SWRCB

Cathy Tiegs, Cucamonga Valley Board member, Vice President ACWA delivered 35% reductions

State Senator Fran Pavley championed Transparency – Report water use in CA Central Valley oil production; SGMA

Brown’s Delegation and Collaboration Plus Vision and Timing

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Mandated Conservation

November 2014 Executive Order April 1, 2015 SWRCB required to enforce average urban

water use reductions of 25 percent.  This was the first such statewide drought emergency

mandate, with little opportunity for crafting implementation details, given the drought’s urgency.

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Outcomes: Seize the Moment Politics

Governor signed into law 3 bills that create new local Sustainable Groundwater Management (SGMA) agencies for each basin

Drought messaginglinked with: Climate Change Energy Water Nexus Shift to sustainability-based

budgeting

SGMA

Transparency

Climate Change, Sustainability

4 consecutive years drought

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New Paradigm:Drought and climate change are depleting California's traditional water supplies from snowmelt-fed reservoirs, rivers, and streams. The state must now plan for a different water future.

Sustainability:California needs a clear pathway to establish a sustainable groundwater supply. A common framework that defines and measures sustainability is a linchpin of that effort.

Outcomes: External Voices

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Outcomes

Energy water nexus - Interior Sec. Salazar - 3 large CA renewable energy projects - 900 MW of solar 340,000 homes in drought impacted areas

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Outcomes: Images

Folsom Lake; source Channel 13, CBS local news

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Outcomes: Messaging Uncomplicated

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Outcomes: Water Conservation Messages on Billboards in LA

Got Drought Public Art Campaign: Los Angeles-based artists, Karen Fiorito and Alex Arinsberg, take their artwork to the streets to educate the public about climate change.

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Hollywood Imagery

Tom Selleckaccused of

stealing water

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Financial support for local supply development; plus financial support to add 650,000AF added to these numbers for planned and mandated conservation.

Metropolitan teams with LA Co San District:1-MGD demo plant expected to be the largest recycled water supply program of its kind in the nation; will also replenish ground water in LA and Orange counties.

Outcomes: Regional Sustainability Kick up!

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Local Agency Low- and High-Tech West Basin Municipal Water District

Get Ready for El Niño with a FREE Rain Barrel 

Be prepared by registering to receive a free rain barrel at West Basin's upcoming December events. To register, visit www.sbesc.com or call South Bay Environmental Services Center at 310-371-4633 and ask about “West Basin’s rain barrel program.“

For decades known as local So Cal recycled water leader – now with 5 types of ‘designer water’

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Private Sector: Don’t eat this snow . . .

Soda Springs Mountain Resort first to use recycled wastewater for Snowmaking; Donner Summit Public Utility District $24M upgrade; regulators say safe for skiing and sledding, with signs to not eat snow

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Drought Proofing Supply Shift from Delta-based to Local

Carlsbad – largest in Western hemisphere, 50MGB, $1 B

Santa Barbara reopen Huntington Beach

DesalinationRecycled, One Water Programs City of San Diego IPR/DPR Sac Regional EchoWater IEUA ‘one water’ SCVWD ‘one water’

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Leaders in Sustainability Graduate Certificate ProgramThe Leaders in Sustainability program aims to provide a mechanism for graduate students at UCLA to pursue their interests in sustainability and collaborate with students from different fields.

Cool Campus Challenge 10 Campuses 10 years 1 goal Carbon neutral by 2025

UC President, Janet Napolitano(former Sec of Homeland Security)

Academics: Multi-generational Collaboration with Seasoned Leaders – It Takes an Informed Village

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Glasspoint solar fuels oil production

Low Petro Costs Accelerate Innovative Alternative Energy Production and Solar Apps

Electricity Generation from Solar

Year Energy (TWh) % of Total

2004 2.6 0.01%

2005 3.7 0.02%

2006 5.0 0.03%

2007 6.8 0.03%

2008 11.4 0.06%

2009 19.3 0.10%

2010 31.4 0.15%

2011 60.6 0.27%

2012 96.7 0.43%

2013 134.5 0.58%

2014 185.9 0.79%

Source:BP-Statistical Review of World Energy, 2015

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Climate Induced Crisis + Leadership + Connections to Climate Change + Multi-gen engagement + Low Energy Prices = Sustainable Practices

Outside Academics, NGOs, Scientists, Social Media, Truthing, Reporting, Rating Performance

Market, Governmental

Response, Adaptation and

Coping

Political Leadership

Climate Conditions

EconomicSocial, Impacts

Low$$

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Reviews

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Virtues of 2015 Cutbacks

Prudent, successful, quick conservation (25%) Extended mandatory conservation to October 2016 to

evaluate El Nino – to break the cycle of apathy . . . step closer to sustainability

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UCD Prof Jay Lund to SWRCB

Regional sharing of quotas Urban support for regional environmental objectives Mandated drought plans Long-term conservation & drought rate structure Credit for conserving water in aquifers Credit for coastal reuse of treated wastewater Reduced base for inland reuse of treated wastewater

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NRDC 12/14/15

Thirsting for Progress: A Report Card on California’s Response to the Drought

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Media Report Card

Chief Caleen Sisk

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Lost Opportunities

California Faces Lost Decades in Solving Drought, Shasta Dam (Redding) example

Raising 602 ft Shasta Dam 18.5 ft

The Wall Street Journal, 12/24/15

BUREC studying since 1980 Native American ‘war dance’

on dam - the dam is a weapon of mass destruction (Chief Sisk)

Enviros say conservation is working; no need for project

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Déjà vu

“Tunnels are an immediate death to the delta,”

– Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla,Exec Dir, Restore the Delta

Gov. Brown called those arguments “propaganda” and warned:

“Earthen delta levees could fail due to sea level rise or a severe storm, cutting off a significant part of California’s water supply for months.”

– The Wall Street Journal, 12/24/15

$15.5 B Delta 30 miles twin tunnels

(November 2016 ballot measure)

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Blogs

Unfortunately, the rest of the world has to listen to it's b!tching about the

same environment issues that CA REFUSED to fix, thanks to the CA environmental groups, cowardly

politicians and its citizens as well as the media who keeps publishing

articles about CA's internal issues.

Has anyone noticed how the price of lettuce, broccoli, celery, and

cauliflower has gone up, because there is no water to grow them?

Why should anyone outside of CA care?

Oh, wait! People don’t!

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Don’t touch that!

“Don’t touch that!”– Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota and

Montana water managers — source for Nebraska’s Platte and Missouri Rivers — discussing what to do about California when it comes in search of water

The World-Herald’s Dave Hendee 12/27/15

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Comparison

Voluntary conservation Short term rate increase Fairness, education,

empowerment needed Groundwater overdraft Energy no bargain Bay Delta concerns Apathy afterwards

Previous Droughts Recent Drought Mandatory conservation Surcharges and education Innovation and steps

toward sustainability SGMA Oil prices very low Could lose the delta Extend mandatory Lost decades