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June 9, 2014
ACWA to Release Report on Regional Impacts of 2014 Drought
Local Vulnerabilities, Strategies for Resilience Also Outlined
ACWA is releasing a report tomorrow morning detailing specific impacts of the drought around the state and underscoring the need for a variety of strategies and actions to improve the resiliency of the state’s water system.
Developed by a statewide Drought Action Group of participating ACWA members, the report identifies impacts across a range of sectors and provides a bottom-up look at vulnerabilities created by the drought. It also details specific near-term projects that will shore up water supply reliability locally and regionally.
In addition to chronicling the regional impacts of the drought, the report outlines 10 key recommendations that would create greater resiliency in California’s outdated water system.
The recommendations, approved by the ACWA Board of Directors on May 30, call for funding and technical assistance for shovel-ready projects, use of real-time data to better manage the state’s water system, expedited approval of regulations or permits that encourage innovative technologies including water recycling and desalination, funding for water-use efficiency activities in disadvantaged communities, and several other strategies and actions that would augment state and local drought response and resiliency.
The full report, titled “2014 Drought: Impacts and Strategies for Resilience,” is available to download here.
Though the full story of the drought continues to unfold, the effects are being felt across many sectors of the state. California’s $44.7 billion agricultural economy is facing significant impacts, while ripple effects are extending to everything from ports to equipment dealers to the landscape industry. Wildfire protection, ecosystems and other commercial industries also are seeing impacts.
As historic dry conditions emerged in January of this year, ACWA established a Drought Action Group to share information and develop recommendations to address the current drought and prepare for future dry times. The Drought Action Group, composed of 40 water community experts from throughout the state, compiled information on drought impacts around California and identified future vulnerabilities if dry conditions continue in 2015 and beyond.
The report summarizes that information as a snapshot in time and describes significant drought impacts across the areas of agriculture, wildlife protection, ecosystems, commercial industries and trade. It also identifies 2015 vulnerabilities and recommends strategies and priority actions to address this and future droughts.
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