[env-trinity] Mercury News editorial: Jerry Brown needs new water strategy -- no tunnels

[Tom Stokely]

Mercury News editorial: Jerry Brown needs new water strategy -- no tunnels

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| Mercury News editorial: Jerry Brown needs new water stra...The combination of the drought emergency and the imminent removal of environmental elements from Brown's twin tunnel plan make it urgent for the governor to f... |
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Mercury News editorial: Jerry Brown needs new water strategy -- no tunnels
Mercury News EditorialPOSTED:   04/17/2015 01:29:22 PM PDT11 COMMENTS| UPDATED:   2 DAYS AGOCalifornia needs Gov. Jerry Brown's leadership to deal with the worst drought in state history.The state has to reset its water priorities to match both current and worst-case long-term needs. But Brown can't make that happen as long as he clings to his $25 billion, twin-tunnel proposal to carry Delta water south. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan has deeply divided crucial players in high-stakes water politics, many of whom view it as another Northern California/Southern California water war. And now that the Brown administration is poised to remove the "Conservation" part -- the 50-year guarantee to restore Delta wetlands and habitat to keep the estuary healthy -- all that's left is the massive tunnel project. It is dead in the murky, barely habitable water.So this is an opportunity. The drought not only justifies but requires a shift of strategy based on the deepening emergency. Other BDCP supporters, including the Santa Clara Valley Water District, should urge him in that direction. Let's not spend more money on a losing proposition.With the tunnels set aside, Brown could focus his political clout on developing and implementing cheaper, quicker, more efficient ways to conserve water -- that's the main thing now -- and offer long-term solutions to water-starved Central Valley farmers and urban Southern California areas.AdvertisementRestoring the Delta ecosystem has to be at the core of California's water policy because so much of our fresh water comes from it -- about half of Silicon Valley's supply. This generation cannot destroy the largest estuary west of the Mississippi. And the only way to sustain it is to get more water flowing through it, not less, a premise ratified by a National Academy of Sciences study from 2011.California needs to conserve water for the long term. There's no shortage of ideas, just of leadership to make them happen.This is where we need Jerry Brown.Here are just a few things he could do through the state budget and his power of persuasion:   
   - Capture, clean and recycle more water. The state should build more and better wastewater recycling plants and raise the height of some reservoirs to capture what little rain we get.Nearly 5 million acre feet of water a year flows into the ocean when it could be captured and recycled. Recycling plants are cheaper and less environmentally harmful than desalination plants. Aggressive recycling, conservation and diversifying of sources helped San Diego cut its reliance on water purchased from the Metropolitan Water District by 45 percent since the last drought. Cities such as San Jose and its water plant partners that already aggressively recycle could do so much more with state help to rely less on Delta water.
   - Make creative water bargains between urban and rural areas. Agriculture uses 80 percent of California's available water supply, but nearly 60 percent of farms don't have drip or other efficient irrigation that can produce most crops with 40 percent less water. Farmers can't afford the systems. Urban water districts could offer them subsidies and low-cost loans to install drip, and in return receive a portion of the water saved at a discounted rate. City dwellers need to conserve as well; it has to be a way of life. But the big water-saving opportunities are in farm irrigation. The state could broker deals and offer incentives.
   - Here's a simple one: Spend money already allocated to shore up the levees around the Delta.The complexity of water politics dwarfs every other California issue. The specter of a very long drought cries out for a leader who can unite the players rather than driving them apart. Jerry Brown can be that leader. But he has to set aside the $25 billion tunnels first. 

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