Item 07 - Response to OC Grand Jury Report_ Historic Rain, Yet Drought

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HISTORIC RAIN, YET DROUGHT REMAINS ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY 2022 I 2023 Page 15 of 57 No new reservoirs have been built since 1970 when the population was approximately 20 million, yet California’s population has almost doubled to 39 million. In 2014, a bond initiative was passed to provide $7.3 billion in funding for 10 new reservoirs and other water related projects, yet the reservoirs have not been completed. The recent rains that swept California this winter resulted in billions of gallons of water flowing out to sea.5 The California Natural Resources Agency maintains a web page that shows the progress of the bond issue.6 The web page shows most of the funds have been committed but lacks information regarding what has been accomplished. In terms of planning, in August 2022, the California Environmental Protection Agency issued a major report entitled “California Water Supply Strategy – Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future, California Agencies.”7 But the strategy does not detail schedules or actions or assign resources or funding. In the report, the Newsom administration points out that in order to deliver the pace and scale of projects necessary to meet California’s water crisis, the State’s regulatory structures must be modernized so that “State agencies can assess, permit, fund and implement projects at the pace this climate emergency warrants.” The report does not describe how Newsom’s directive is to be understood or executed. Other relevant State reports touching upon State water resources include those on climate change, water supply assessment, and an analysis of recent droughts. While all these reports help identify problems, they provide few and limited actionable recommendations. The California State Water Control Board is the State’s key water agency, yet its focus on water supply is not clear. Other State agencies that have water oversight include: the Department of California Water Resources, the California Water Commission, and the National Resources Agency, and State Conservancies, such as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy that are involved in water grants and planning. The State environmental and river basin authorities also complicate planning and actions. There seems to be no coordinated focus on water supply. The Sacramento-San Joaquin levees are very important to the State Water Project. They protect the integrity of the system. For decades, the levees have been identified as needing bolstering, yet this has not been done. If the levees fail or are breached there will be an influx of brackish water from the San Joaquin Delta that will contaminate the fresh water in the Project, making it unusable. The recent rains have focused the need for action, yet nothing is likely to be done anytime soon. As an example, the need to capture and store rainwater in aquifers has been recognized for decades, yet the recent rainfalls show little has been done. Recently, the State initiated the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP). This is a joint powers authority formed to help ensure water supply reliability for the State Water Project and to adapt to forecasts of future changes in precipitation and seasonal flow patterns due