SCWC Unveils First-Ever Regional Collaboration on Stormwater Capture Strategies

By Richard Atwater
SCWC Executive Director
February 7, 2012

Think about the rain falling outside today—where does it go? The good news is some of it is captured and stored for later use. The bad news is much of it goes down your street, into the gutters and back out to the ocean.  We'd like to change that. In Southern California, water resource managers, conservation groups, local governments and leading engineers have demonstrated that here in this dry region, we know how to make the most of what we've got.  But there's still a lot we can do to capture rainwater effectively.

With the help of our expert volunteers, SCWC's Stormwater Task Force released a first-ever regional report this week examining strategies to maximize stormwater capture throughout the coastal plain (Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties). The report, Opportunities to Increase Water Supplies in Southern California is the result of a year-long collaborative effort among local governments, flood control districts, public water agencies, environmental organizations, development interests and private sector companies throughout Southern California that have made water-use efficiency a priority.

Until this effort, all the various groups pursuing stormwater capture were working in silos. Through SCWC though, six Southern California counties, conservation groups, water agencies and private interests were able to come together to share ideas and expertise on how we can best utilize stormwater. And there is certainly a vast base of information and experience to pull from—throughout the region, many individual local governments, water agencies and nonprofits have implemented successful stormwater projects.

Although we still need to make our imported supplies more reliable, expanding efforts to increase stormwater capture will play an essential role in the future of Southern California's water supply. The more local sources of water we have, the less we need to import from the Colorado River and Northern California.

Special thanks to the many talented individuals who have given their time and effort to this report. We look forward to our continued work with our regional, statewide and national partners in the next year. It's time to put ideas into action.

One year ago, SCWC launched a Stormwater Task Force to develop regional consensus-based strategies and recommendations for utilizing stormwater effectively as a new local water supply, and reduce the urban runoff water pollution problems within the coastal plain of Southern California. For more information on the Stormwater Task Force, please visit http://www.socalwater.org/issues/stormwater.