Governor Jerry Brown says it’s time for California to pull together to get through the drought. It’s a message aimed at people with competing water needs. And, as Katie Orr reports from Sacramento, that’s created some tension.
There are more than 400 local water agencies In California. There are also agriculture, business and environmental interests. And as the drought continues they are all competing for a dwindling resource.
Felicia Marcus is chair of the State Water Resources Control Board. The board has been criticized for not demanding conservation sooner. But Marcus says urban water has traditionally been managed at a local level.
Marcus: “There’s been some unbridled optimism or collective hope that folks won’t have to communicate dramatically with their customers and say, look this state’s in a world of hurt.”
Tim Quinn is the Executive Director of the Association of California Water Agencies. He says local agencies might have done things differently. But…
Quinn: “On the other hand it could have rained like heck this winter. I mean that was always a possibility. But the fact is we are where we are today and where we are today is kind of scary.”
Paul Wenger is with the California Farm Bureau. He says agriculture has a ripple effect on California’s economy. He grows almonds and walnuts.
Wenger: “Once that product leaves my farm, there’s a lot of people that are going to work creating new and different things. The local chefs that taking the products we have, as we talk about buy local and buy fresh, you can’t buy local and fresh from China.”
Governor Brown has called for a 25 percent reduction in urban water use through February of next year. Large agriculture water suppliers must provide drought management plans to the state.
