Warning that California could face a future of “fires, disease and all sorts of things we don’t ordinarily have to deal with,” Gov. Jerry Brown called Monday for quick action to modernize the state’s water delivery system.
Speaking for about 20 minutes before the MWD Board of Directors meeting in downtown Los Angeles, Brown said the current drought represents the first time in the state “that a natural phenomenon has risen to this height of concern.”
As the land becomes increasingly dry and temperatures rise, Californians face the threat of widespread soil and vegetation damage, along with “fires, disease and all sorts of things we don’t ordinarily have to deal with,” the governor said. “This is the first time in human history that we’re all in this together.”
“We have wreaked havoc on our natural resources,” including “the water systems of this state,” he said, adding that “there is no way back.”
Brown has proposed building two massive tunnels under the Sacramento Delta to guarantee fresh water to parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley and Southern California. He said the tunnels are needed to replace century old levees in the Delta that could collapse in an earthquake or huge storm.
“If we do nothing … there will be a collapse, whether it be tomorrow, five years, 10 years, 20 years,” he said. “It’s going to happen in the lifetime of the people in this room.”
The governor signed the state’s first-ever mandatory water use restrictions in April, ordering 25 percent reductions in water use calling for 50 million square feet of turf removal statewide. According to the MWD, in the three weeks following Brown’s order, “cash for grass” applications increased above $10 million, with roughly 2,500 to 3,000 residential turf removal requests per week.
“This is a very unusual time in our state’s history,” Brown said.
The MWD covers the Southland, including Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego and the Inland Empire.
In April, the MWD board ordered a 15 percent cut in the amount of water it supplies to its 26 member agencies across Southern California. It was only the fourth time in the agency’s history that it has taken such an action.
The amount of the cut to each city or agency is based on reliance on MWD supplies while also taking into consideration conservation actions already being implemented. Cities and agencies that use more than their MWD allocation would have to pay punitive costs ranging from $1,480 to $2,960 per acre-foot of water. An acre-foot is roughly the amount of water needed to serve two households for a year. on the water in the west.
“This is a challenge for all the people of California,” Brown said today. “We have no choice but to forge ahead and make the investment.”
— Staff and wire reports