The Broader Lessons Of California Drought
Among industry insiders, the average consumer has a reputation for overlooking water issues unless their ability to fill tubs and flush toilets is affected.
The prospect of dwindling water resources leaving faucets dry in the West has dominated publications like this one as well as mainstream outlets. But the drought promises to have much broader consequences than just a lack of water in homes. While many consumers are aware that drought has left diminished supply, they may not be thinking about the effect that scarcity has on the quality of the remaining water, how the agriculture and power industries will be affected, or what can be learned and addressed today to prepare for an even drier future.
The U.S. EPA has awarded a $1 million grant to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) to study the factors that have contributed to the state’s drought and the broader effects of a decreased water supply, as well as the consequences that drought will have on water management systems. The findings promise to go beyond an account of what happens when water wanes.
“Using a broad team of researchers, we’ll work closely with agencies and stakeholder groups to review the current drought’s effects on water supply and quality, examine the response of water management institutions to the drought, identify innovations needed for sustainable drought management systems and develop drought simulations and methods as a way to test these innovations,” said Caitrin Chappelle, associate director at the PPIC Water Policy Center. “Building on this work, we will highlight management successes and propose alternative approaches to managing drought, particularly in light of climate change.”
As a research organization that serves state, local, and federal officials, as well as the media and general public, the PPIC’s Water Policy Center takes a broad view. The study is focused on identifying how water management systems (as opposed to individual components) have functioned during the drought, including their efforts to reduce negative economic, social, and environmental impacts.
The overall goal of the study is to learn from what is happening in California and apply those lessons on “drought preparedness” to a future that will likely incur further climate change. In part, the PPIC hopes to anticipate the threats to water quality and public health posed by increased demand on limited resources.
“The impacts on water quality are closely linked to ecosystem challenges and the tradeoffs between maintaining water quality standards and limited supplies,” said Chappelle. “This project will explore these tradeoffs and the impacts on the environment and supply.”
Announced just last month, the PPIC has yet to embark on the investigation. The team has begun scoping major outreach and research needs for the project.
Any conclusions that are reached will be shared during workshops with policymakers and water quality experts through an extensive engagement program.
“To craft lessons from this drought and improve future responses, the project will involve practitioners from agencies and stakeholder groups in private workshops and simulation exercises,” said Chappelle. “This study will be coupled with an extensive engagement program involving workshops that will make results both available and useful to policymakers and practitioners evaluating drought planning and responses. We’ll also do outreach to the public through blogs, events, op-eds, and the like.”
It’s unlikely that any outreach efforts will strike the average consumer as starkly as the prospect of a dry lawn. The work may go underappreciated, but it may be more valuable to our future than we realize.