NCT Editorial: With wisdom, California has plenty of water

[question everything]

7/29/05

With wisdom, California has plenty of water

By: North County Times - Editorial

Our View: California's slowing but substantial population growth presents many policy problems, yet few provoke more hand-wringing than the prospect of running out of water. The state's famously dry, perfect weather nurtures a lifestyle that is chock-full of thirsty industries, from the world's richest agriculture to its most advanced biotechnology, not to mention many millions of inviting swimming pools, lush landscapes and green lawns.

So it was reassuring to read in a credible study Wednesday that ---- in theory ---- California has plenty of water to accommodate a projected 14 million new residents by 2030. The key caveat is that policy-makers have to make some good decisions.

It's that last point that has us worried.

The report was produced by the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think-tank that has a reputation for smart analysis of the vast responsibilities facing government and industry in the state. Based on per capita consumption in 2000, institute researcher Ellen Hanak calculated that total water use will soar by 40 percent in 25 years. It's an attention-getting figure for folks who remember the droughts and bouts of water rationing of past decades.

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This is not to suggest that California base its supply strategy on cutting off the faucet for farmers. As Hanak points out in her report, there is enormous potential for cheap sources of water ---- led by conservation, recycling and underground storage. A key prediction in the report is that most of the growth in demand will come from landscaping as residents continue to move inland to flee high coastal housing prices. California has done a great job of mandating thrifty toilets and miserly shower heads, but it has done very little to curtail overwatering of landscaping around homes and businesses.

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California hasn't started a major water project since the 1960s. Scattered attempts to purify the output of sewage systems for quenching golf courses, public areas and commercial landscaping have generally been expensive failures as cities neglected to invest in the pipes and pumps required for widespread use.

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http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/07/29//opinion/editorials/22_11_117_28_05.txt