PRESENTATION TO BAYWAVE STEERING COMMITTEE

November 28, 2017

Last Tuesday (11/28), I presented to the BayWave Steering Committee’s Board of Directors, focusing on the importance of understanding and responding to public sea level rise concerns.
While presenting I had two goals in mind: 1.) bring more awareness about residential and public concerns to a group of people who directly control policies and adaptation strategies, 2.) receive feedback and advice on my research project.
I received great feedback on my project and formed some budding connections for potential ways to distribute my public survey to the Marin County public. Moreover, I believe that I now have resources to “publicize” my project in city news letters.
My goal is to release my survey in a December press release or news letter that a member of the committee offered to put the survey in.

SUMMARY OF THE STATE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO ESTUARY CONFERENCE

October 24, 2017

On October 11, 2017, I attended the 13th bi-annual State of the SF Estuary Conference, a get together of many the local environmental and sustainability agencies, as well as some international speakers.

The conference begin with a series of presentations, my favorite two were 1.) “Policy Recipe for Water Reliability and Resiliency in California” and 2.) Infrastructure Stability in Increasingly Unstable Times Presentation. Here’s a summary of my takeaways from these presentations:

Take-aways from presentation 1: Policy Recipe for Water Reliability and Resiliency in California.

This presentation was given by Steve Moore, Vice Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, who mixed a humorous presentation style with a serious topic: water reliability.

In his presentation, Moore outlined the four important connections that exist between humans and people.

1.) Water to Water Connection

• connect water and transportation

• surface to groundwater

• rivers to floodplains

• connection from headwater to ocean

• diked baylands to estuary

  • i.e. Highway 37

2.) Water to people connection

• safe drinking water for disadvantage communities (human right to water)

• reliable water

• urban and agriculture use

• commercial fisheries, ecosystem protection

• drought contingency plans

• institutional innovation consolidation and coordination

• recreational / ceremonial uses

3.) People to water

• California water ethic, bring people to understanding of the value of water

  • where water comes from?

  • what it costs the environment?

  • what happens to rain that falls where you live or work?

  • where does water go when your down with it?

• develop a healthy relationship with water

• create water efficiency

4.) People to people connection

• break down silos between water agencies and create more information sharing networks

• water, waste, water storm water

• federal, state, and local connections

• public and private collaboration

• urban to agriculture to fishing communities to recreation user

From these four points, Moore outlined his recipe for any good policy regarding water reliability in California.

Recipe for good policy:

1.) Collaboration and trust building between involved parties (public, private, government)

2.) Local management with a state backstop

• the only effective way to implement policies is on a local level, but there must be a support from the state.

3.) Water must be viewed as a service and not a commodity

• water budget: supply and demand organized by basins

• water rate system that cover fixed costs during drought

• human right to water

4.) Open water data

• public investment requires public support build through effective communication of water data

5.) Joint fact finding

• People must be able to see themselves in policy

• Policies must involve and benefit people

Whatever policies, if any, are created that pertain to water reliability and resilience in California, around 40 million people will be directly and indirectly impacted.

Take-aways from presentation 2: Infrastructure Stability in Increasingly Unstable Times Presentation.

This presentation was given by Steven Ritchie, Assistant General Manager of the Water Enterprise, part of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Ritchie identifies the main threats to stability in the Bay Area and California.

Main Threats:

• Fire

• drought

• earthquake

• climate change

• aging workforce

• reduced revenue

• regulatory changes

1.) Rim Fire (2013 Wildfire in Central Sierra Nevada):

• endangers sanitation, reservoirs, water quality (drinking water), water sheds

2.) Drought:

• 2012-2015, hottest driest 4-year period on record

3.) Earthquakes

• Capital Planning in San Francisco created as potential solution:

  • $4.8 billion program (85 water system projects, treatment storage and transmission), 90& complete by 2016, 2018 expected completion

4.) Projections of Decreasing snowpack

• 48% to 66% reduction

• ground water storage improvement will be important with reduced snowpack

5.) Aging workforce

• 43% workforce eligible to retire by 2020

6.) Reduced Revenue due to decreased water sales:

• volumetric water sales

• 37% whole sale demand drop (from 2007-8 to 2017-18)

• 20% retail demand drop (from 2007-8 to 2017-18)

• access to water is getting more expensive

7.) Regulatory Changes

• Flint, Michigan

  • environmental justice (happened in a poorer community)

  • infrastructure replacement priorities

  • public credibility

    • do citizens trust the government to deal with issues like this

  • stricter regulatory oversight must be created

    • review lead and copper rule

    • all compliance issues

Moving Forward:

Lower San Joaquin River Plan:

• state water board proposed to require more flow

• impact on water supply will be significant in dry years

• benefits to fish can be achieved other ways

• working to negotiate an alternative solution

Define and periodically review levels of services:

• water quality

• seismic responsibility

• delivery reliability

• water supply, including diversification

• environmental stewardship

• sustainability

• cost-effectiveness

These policy decision serve as basis for budget priorities leading to risk mitigation.

Questions to Answer:

Is this an issue for the US Capitol, California Capitol, or San Francisco City Hall?

How do you provide stability?