by Gary Pitzer T
he water people use every day is free. It falls from the sky as rain or snow, free of charge.
It is the capture, storage,
moving and treatment of the water that incurs substantial costs. In the middle of a historic drought, California and its water suppliers must seek fund- ing for water storage projects with greater urgency. The demand for action echoes from Washington, D.C. to Sacramento. Paying for it is a bit more complicated.
A notable example is the proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) – a sprawling, complex and controver- sial reworking of the state’s plumbing system that includes creation of habitat for imperiled Delta species. It features the possible construction of two large tunnels around or under the Delta, at a cost of $25 billion, to be footed by wa- ter contractors who serve farmers and urban dwellers across the state. Those contractors have already committed to hundreds of millions of dollars in BDCP planning efforts. They say they are willing to incur the cost to preserve a reliable source of water from the Delta.
“This important investment would serve as an insurance policy for California’s water supply, ensuring safe, clean and reliable water,” wrote Rich Atwater, executive director of the Southern California Water Committee, in a commentary published April 10 in the San Bernardino Sun. “The cost here in Southern California would be about $5 a month – or 17 cents a day – for the average household.” Atwater’s comments were echoed by the city of Los Angeles’ Office of Public Accountability/Ratepayer
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Advocate, which reported in May that “under a wide array of cost and water demand scenarios, the total BDCP is affordable to almost all city households,” and that “selective water policies can minimize the total costs to Los Angeles households and busi- nesses.”
The drought, one of California’s worst, has spurred increased talk of building new storage projects to capture flows in wet years. Two of the most dis- cussed possibilities are Sites Reservoir in Colusa County and Temperance Flat Reservoir in Fresno and Madera coun- ties. Reps. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, and Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, are carrying legislation that would kick-start the Sites project, which has been studied for about 20 years at a cost of $50 million. Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, is carrying legislation that would authorize the expansion of San Luis Reservoir, raise Shasta Dam and build Temperance Flat Reservoir. “Every region and political interest in the state agrees that we must expand our storage capacity,” Costa said, in a statement. “After three dry years, the case for this is being made every day as our reservoirs statewide are turning into mud pits during this drought. Our grandparents’ foresight has carried us for decades, but the bill has come due for our state to again invest in storage.” Water is among the suite of utility bills people regularly pay each month – arguably with less regard than items such as cable television, Internet or cellular telephone service. People are using less water in response to the drought, and that means lower bills for many ratepayers.
But water utilities have to invest in upgrades to keep their systems operable.
Western Water
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