Jan. 24, 2011

SCWC Kicks off 2011 with Success at Quarterly Meeting

The SCWC Board of Trustees and membership, along with a diverse group of public interests, gathered last Thursday in the City of Industry for a productive and informative discussion of California's most critical water issues. Topics included the ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the 2012 Water Bond, and many other key water challenges.

The event featured venerable conservation policy strategist Joe Caves, co-founder of the Conservation Strategy Group, who gave a timely and compelling presentation on the California conservation community's 2011 policy priorities, and the crucial balance between environmental preservation and water supply reliability.

SCWC sincerely thanks Joe Caves for his insight and expertise on this important aspect of California's political landscape.

For more photos from the meeting, visit SCWC on Facebook.

Mark your calendars; SCWC will hold its next Quarterly Meeting on Thursday, April 14 at 10am.

Inland Empire Leader Elected to SCWC Board

During last week's Quarterly Meeting, the SCWC Board of Trustees approved the nomination of its newest Board member, Doug Headrick, General Manager of the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District.

Headrick's appointment bolsters SCWC's water sector participation, and adds a wealth of experience and expertise to the SCWC Board as the organization tackles some of California's most important and challenging water issues.

Headrick has worked in the water sector for nearly 20 years. Before joining the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District in 2006, he held management positions in three other Inland Empire water agencies, including chief of water resources for the City of Redlands; deputy manager for water resources and information systems for the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District; and senior project manager for the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority.

SCWC welcomes Doug Headrick and congratulates him on his Board appointment.

SCWC Establishes New Regional Stormwater Task Force

The SCWC Board of Trustees last week established a new Task Force committed to developing regional consensus-based strategies for effectively utilizing stormwater. The establishment of the Regional Stormwater Task Force makes SCWC the only water organization in California with a region-wide approach to developing stormwater policy solutions.

The new Task Force will be chaired by Mark Pestrella of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

SCWC has created the Stormwater Task Force in the face of a critical and growing need in Southern California for innovative water supply reliability solutions. Uncertainty has obscured the future of the Colorado River and Northern California as water supply mainstays, and an effort to harness stormwater more efficiently is vitally necessary.

The SCWC Stormwater Task Force will meet monthly to discuss and develop policy solutions for efficiently utilizing this largely untapped water resource.

If you are interested in joining the new Task Force, contact Alex Comisar at acomisar@fionahuttonassoc.com.

Gov. Brown Appoints Seasoned Environmental Advocate as Delta Issues Lead

Governor Jerry Brown has appointed prominent environmental advocate Jerry Meral as deputy secretary of natural resources, heading up the California Natural Resources Agency's Bay Delta Conservation Planning Program.

Meral holds a long track record of environmental advocacy which has spanned four decades. Meral has served previously as the executive director of the Planning and Conservation League. Prior to his time at PCL, he was deputy director of DWR for the Brown Administration of the 1980s.

Inland Empire Assemblyman Introduces Bill to Reduce Water Bond for 2012

Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries (R-Lake Elsinore) has introduced a bill that, if passed, would reduce the $11.1 billion 2012 Water Bond across the board by 25 percent.

The original water bond was initially scheduled to appear before voters in November 2010. But months before that election, leading backers, including former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, removed the bond from the ballot fearing that its chance of passage would be hampered by the struggling economy.

The new bill may be heard in committee as early as Feb. 19.

DWR Increases SWP Allocation to 60 Percent

The California Department of Water Resources announced on Friday that it has increased its projection of 2011 State Water Project deliveries to 60 percent of the agencies' requested amount. That number represents a 10 percent increase from the December 2010 forecast.

The projection increase comes on the heels of a month in which California's rate of precipitation was 195 percent of the monthly average. So far, winter precipitation is more than 66 percent the average for the entire year. Despite the recent deluge, however, the water supply for SWP contractors remains in a state of flux. This month, in stark contrast to the last, has seen very little precipitation.

In addition, low precipitation isn't the only threat to water deliveries. According to DWR, "aging equipment and difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled technical personnel" have resulted in a loss of 100,000 acre-feet over the last month.

Last year, the SWP delivered 50 percent of the requested amount. We will give updates on this year's updated projections as they become available.

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SCWC members have priority access to important information and updates on breaking issues. Join the SCWC today to receive these exclusive benefits. Contact Alex Comisar for more details on membership and materials.

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