This week, the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee and Senate Budget Subcommittee #2 held a joint hearing on the drought. State water officials and water policy experts stressed the need to rethink and retool the state’s water system and the importance of long-term water conservation.
Department of Water Resources Director Mark Cowin briefed the joint committee on his department’s drought response, including implementation of a number of water management changes. Among other things, Cowin stated that about 1,900 wells have gone dry in California – more than 1,000 in Tulare County alone. Felicia Marcus, Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, outlined the State’s new mandatory water conservation regulation. Ellen Hanak with the Public Policy Institute of California discussed what else can be done to help California in the future, and Madelyn Glickfeld with the UCLA Water Resources Group discussed Proposition 218 and the recent court decision relating to tiered water rates.
The agenda for the joint hearing can be accessed here. A video recording of the joint hearing can be accessed here.