California Drought-Regulatory and Natural- Requires Water Agencies To Conserve and Reuse

The Governor declared a drought in California. What has that declaration meant for the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) in terms of policy, planning, and activities?

Martha Davis: It is a serious situation. The Metropolitan Water District (MWD) has asked all of us in Southern California to conserve and use water more efficiently, and reduce our imported water supply usage by 10 percent. We have been working with the MWD over the last two years because this is actually the third year of our drought. We have been watching the problem unfold and anticipated that we would have to take action to be more reliant on our local water supplies as part of addressing the drought. That is exactly what we have been preparing for.

We have a three year business plan to step up the development of our recycled water, which is high quality treated water that we are using, and encouraging people to use, for outdoor landscaping and industrial processing. That stretches our potable water supply so it is a really significant water efficiency measure. We are also stepping up the amount of water that is being defaulted in the groundwater basin and the Chino basin. Those additional water supplies are flowing to the cities of Chino, Chino Hills, and Ontario. We have been encouraging people to conserve through a number of really easy steps. Probably the most important one, in the long run, will be changing landscaping. We use about 60 percent to 70 percent of the water supply for outdoor landscaping. When people take out lawns and put in plant materials that are adapted to this climate, they get beautiful gardens that don't use very much water. That can make a huge difference to all of us throughout Southern California.

Those aspirations are common among water districts in California and Southern California, but the successes of the Inland Empire Utilities District have been exceptional. What explains the ability of IEUA to be so successful in reaching these conservation goals? What has been your advantage?

Davis: It has been a strategic combination of the board's vision and the staff's excitement in finding every way to cost-effectively develop local water supplies. We link that with the development of renewable energy. All of our programs fit together jigsaw pieces that make one big picture working toward sustainable communities. We have recycled water for ground water recharge, desalinated water, and conservation programs. During the last year we have put online 3.5 megawatts of renewable energy. It is saving us hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy bills. We are doing the same thing with biosolids and other organic materials-turning that into gas that generates power. Looking ahead, the agency is preparing the community as best as we can for a future when we need to be more dependent on our local resources. We are figuring out how to do that cost effectively.

The mix of responsibilities that the IEUA has is unusual. How do your responsibilities differ from other similar agencies?

Davis: Our agency combines responsibilities as a wholesaler for distribution of imported water supplies. We are a member of the Metropolitan Water District. We also provide regional sewage treatment service. We produce high quality recycled water that we promote for outdoor landscaping use and industrial processes that replace potable water supplies. We also produce renewable energy and a high quality compost product. Wherever we can we are looking for ways to take our waste products and turn them into locally useful products.

How has the Inland Empire Utilities District combined its efforts with the work of other jurisdictions?

Davis: We are very fortunate to be working in a community that has already started down the path of working together through the Groundwater Basin. The Chino Basin was adjudicated in 1978, bringing together the seven different cities within the Chino Basin as well as a number of different water agencies. They realized that if they didn't look at ways to collaborate on the management of the groundwater basin, they could lose water that would otherwise be produced in the groundwater basin. That foundation has led to many wonderful collaborations.

In the Chino Basin the cities and the water agencies have realized that there is a lot more to be gained by working on these projects together. This month we dedicated the largest enclosed composting facility in the United States in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Sanitation. It is internal collaboration and external collaboration-recognizing that by making investments in the processing of waste materials and finding ways to appropriately use them locally we will save money for rate payers.

You noted in earlier interviews with TPR/MIR that while the IEUA began with the challenge of dealing with imported water, you have downplayed that reliance and moved in a different direction. Why is that?

Davis: We recognize that there are enormous struggles and challenges connected with imported water. Of course we are importing water through the Metropolitan Water District, Northern California, and the Bay Delta. Between the problems of climate change, the drought, and some very serious environmental problems in the Delta we have become very concerned that it is not realistic to think that there is more water coming from the Delta in the future. In fact, there is probably a pretty good chance that there will be less. The choice that we have for our community is to figure out how we develop our local supply to be part of the solution for the Bay Delta. By using and developing that water locally we have a more reliable water supply and it gives more room for a solution up in Northern California.

The projection for growth in the Inland Empire is about 50 percent in the next 25 years, despite the recent problems with the housing market. How does growth impact your planning?

Davis: Growth requires we develop the recycled water supply. Right now it accounts for about 5 to 10 percent of our supply, but ultimately it is going to reach about 25 percent of our supply. For the groundwater supply, we continue to work with the watermaster and the different cities and producers in the area. We see an opportunity to expand those water supplies. In the future we are going to have the water supplies that we need for our community, but we are going to be doing it predominately by having groundwater, desalinated water, and recycled water-all local water supplies-and then supplementing that with a small amount of imported water.

We are also with Professor Dan Mazmanian, the former dean of the School of Policy, Planning and Development at the University of Southern California. Dan, the second edition of your book, Toward Sustainable Communities, has just come out. What is the thesis of that book?

Professor Dan Mazmanian: Our thesis is exemplified in what we just heard from Martha-the approach to managing our water resources being taken by the Inland Empire Utilities District is the future. While the current drought may be precipitating attention to the issue today, the sustainability movement suggests that we must act to continuously reduce our per capita use of water, and realize that it is to be managed within a close-looped system. What Martha described is an imperative strategic planning approach, applicable not just for California but globally if we are going to achieve a more sustainable quality of life on the planet. I applaud what they are doing and I am pleased to know that we have leaders like her in our state.

You talk about the "new ethic" of the environmental movement, beginning as far back as the ‘70s for some but only now embraced by the mainstream. Can you elaborate on that, relating it to what Martha has been talking about?

Prof. Mazmanian: The conversation about water in the ‘70s was about how to move it from the north to the south where increasing the supply was believed essential to sustaining a growing population. Jumping forward, to the sustainability "ethic" and framing of the issue today, the focus isn't on "How do we get more," but it is moving to, "How do we best use the our precious water resources, though conservation, drought resistant landscaping, recycling, and reuse?" It's about using that vital resource more effectively and efficiently to sustain well into the future the population and economic growth of the entire state.

How are you training people at USC to be just like Martha Davis?

Prof. Mazmanian: I wish we were training more people at USC in the image of Martha, but that is a tall order. Our approach is to encourage students to think positively about change and imbue them with the knowledge and political skills shown by Martha in attacking all matter of challenges. We can help set the compass, teach the skills, but they will have to find their-and our-way in the coming years.

Martha, let's close with this: What politics do the IEUA and all of California have to deal with to be on the cutting edge and get to the goal? Is it AB 32? Is it SB 375? Is it legislation or leadership? What is involved here in public leadership to get to the goals?

Davis: It is a combination of forces. The most powerful is from leadership: people who have a clear vision not just of what is possible in the future and a strong sense of the values that are going to help create livable and strong communities. The legislation has been helpful in focusing some of the bigger machinery in California on the magnitude of what needs to be done, particularly when it comes to climate change. AB 32 has kind of plucked a goal out of the atmosphere, but in doing so it has set forth a series of requirements, changes, and a way of thinking about the problem that will profoundly reshape the way California does business, not just in the distant future but in the near future as major requirements are implemented by 2012. I am more impressed and moved by those that can help us achieve, out of the challenges in front of us, a new way of dealing with these problems. It isn't one dimensional, it's always a multi-dimensional approach.