A Century of Leadership
The story of California has always been about water — and how managing this treasured resource has allowed the state to flourish into one of the most prosperous economies in the world. This spring, the state’s largest and oldest water organization — the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) — is celebrating 100 years of being a guiding force in California water policy. Organized in 1910 by just five irrigation districts in the San Joaquin Valley and growing to a membership of 450 public water agencies and special districts today, ACWA is the largest coalition of public water agencies in the country. From early 20th century irrigation statutes to the historic legislative package signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in November 2009, ACWA and California have been on a clear mission together.
Creating One Voice
California is known for its modern-day complexities, but even in 1910 it was clear that water could not be taken for granted. With a population of just over two million people, the state’s urban areas were beginning to grow while productive agricultural regions were looking to expand with vast new orchards, vines and an array of fresh produce.
Cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco were reaching out to distant watersheds to satisfy their growing thirsts, while newly formed irrigation districts were planning projects to bring more water for their burgeoning acreage. The leaders of five irrigation districts — Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale, South San Joaquin and Alta (Fresno County) — came together in the spring of 1910 to discuss common issues and create one voice for addressing them. They called this newly minted alliance the Irrigation Districts Association (renamed the Association of California Water Agencies in 1973) and began laying the groundwork for planning and developing California’s water supply and delivery system.
Investments in Our Future
As the agricultural districts grew, so too did the urban centers of the state. Periodic droughts revealed the unpredictable nature of California’s hydrology, and crystallized the need for more robust systems to capture water during wet times for use in dry periods.
Local and regional projects such as the Los Angeles Aqueduct, San Francisco’s Hetch Hetchy System and later the Colorado River Aqueduct set the tone for an era of growth and water development. Later, the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project came on line and brought snowmelt from the Northern Sierra to communities and farms as far south as San Diego.
Local water agencies continued to develop new thinking and tools, however, to keep water supplies flowing in the face of prolonged drought, relentless demands for water and a raft of new environmental laws and regulations.
By the early years of the 21st century, ACWA members were calling for a comprehensive approach to the state’s water problems to meet the needs of the economy as well as the environmentally troubled Sacramento- San Joaquin Delta, a critical estuary and hub of California’s water system. The call for solutions came to a crescendo in 2005 as the water community urged significant re-investments in the state’s backbone water infrastructure as well as local strategies such as conservation, recycling, and groundwater management.
The California State Legislature took a historic step toward that comprehensive approach with passage of a far-reaching package of water legislation in November 2009. Signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the package commits the state for the first time to the co-equal goals of a reliable water supply and a healthy Delta ecosystem. It also establishes a new management structure for the Delta and sets new requirements for water conservation, groundwater monitoring, and water rights enforcement.
A key element of the package is the “Safe, Clean and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act” of 2010, an $11.14 billion bond measure targeted for the November 2010 ballot. If approved by voters, the measure would provide funding for water supply reliability programs, above- and below-ground water storage projects, Delta restoration, water recycling, conservation, watershed restoration, groundwater protection and cleanup, and drought relief.
After a century of leadership, ACWA continues to be on the front lines in Sacramento and in Washington, DC, as a constant and respected advocate for California’s pubic water agencies. As ACWA president Paul Kelley remarked recently, “This is no time to relax. Passage of the legislative package last fall was historic, but the real history will be made when we implement these important new policies and make the critically needed investments in our system outlined in the water bond.”