ERMUSR Misc Issues 05-10-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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%~ ~~! L _ ~ ~ CJ O v '6~ / VIEWPOIWT California Water Resource Managers Turning to Water Con Water conservation and water recycling are both az the dse in California, driven by concerns about water supple issues. At the same time, interest in water securry remains strong but the impact of security finding on day-to-day budgets seen to be declining, according to a recent survey by EIP Associates' Water Resources Group EIP has just released the results of its second annual California Water Resources Industry Survey. Although not intended to be a comprehensive survey based on rigorous statistical methodologies, the sur- vey provides a glimpse into what water resource pro- fessionals consider to be some of their more pressing issues, what is being done to address them, and some short-term trends re- flecting how respondents' views have changed over the past year. The survey found that use of conservation as a water manage- ment technique is on the rise in California. More than half (58%) of respondents report using water conservation as a current seater management technique -compared to only about a quarter (26%) of last year's respondents. More districts also are considering the use. of recy- cling as a water management technique in the future. A majority (60%) of this year's respondents indicate that their agency is considering the implementation of recycling, up from one third (33%) of last year's respondents - almost a 100 percent increase. Water security is still a major concern, but diversion of resources to security has decreased significantly. Though the importance of water system security was ranked slightly higher this year than last year, a vast majority of seater professionals (90%) indicated that seater security concerns have not diverted resources from efforts to improve water quality and supply, compared to roughly two-thirds (67%) last year. Possible reasons for the change include the pos- servation, Recycling sibiliry that security improvements are requiring less emergency funding because much of the initial work has been completed, and security finding has become more of a budget line item. When asked about dteir "greatest water priori- ties," some 8C percent said that water supply was their greatest concern. In order of priorit)~, water quality was next, followed by conservation and then security. When asked about regulatory challenges, drinking seater standards and, oddly, the endangered species act s~~ere to top two challenges for water resource manag- ers. TMDLs, stormwater regulations and CF,QA/ NEPA reviews were also listed as regulatory challenges. When asked about tools and processes used to solve water resource allocation issues, the respondents cited hydrologic modeling as their top tool. Facili- tated public involvement was ranked second, nosing up from fourth place during last year's survey. According to survey respondents, groundwater management is the most frequently used seater man- agement technique and is increasing in size. More than three quarters of respondent report that they use groundwater management, up from just over half last year. Water conservation is the fastest growing technique, however. The reported use of water con- servation grew from a quarter of respondents in 2004 to more than half in 2005. EIP Associates is a listed consultant with the Cali- fornia Urban Water Conservation Council, providing specific expertise in the areas of water conservation and water resource planning. The complete survey and its results can be found on the company's website at http://wv«v.eipassociatescom/EIP_Water_ Group_Website/index. htm. James Laughlin, Editor