It’s that time of year again when school is letting out and people are getting ready to head outside to enjoy our watershed. As tourists from around the world show, we are lucky to live in such a special place. A place that we must continue to protect through education, coordinated efforts, and, sometimes, difficult compromises so that future generations can continue to enjoy our river community.
These efforts are particularly important as we continue to face the impacts of drought throughout our region, like loss of sufficient flows to maintain a healthy environment and reduced water quality. We have been witnessing these impacts first-hand these past few years and it is clear that we need significant changes in how our waterways are managed. Our past climate is no longer a good indicator for our future. The climate crisis is here and can no longer be ignored.
Past solutions are no longer working and the recent adoption of more Emergency Regulations and potential curtailments this summer shows that. These are merely bandaids to our problem when we need a more robust change in mindset. We need new long-term solutions that are proactive in nature if we hope to succeed in adapting to this new climate.
One possible solution we believe may help get us on this path to achieving sustainability is through system-wide demand management, such that all users in the watershed share the need to conserve equally. Though not as robust as we imagine a future program will look like, the State Water Board has been working with users in the Upper Russian River this year to bring users together to share available waters more equitably. Through this Agreement, user participants will voluntarily choose to reduce their demands by a certain percent based on what is actually available, as opposed to what they may otherwise have a right to. As such, the need for curtailments becomes reduced, water supplies are extended for longer, and fewer user are impacted.
This Agreement is far from perfect though, and future iterations will need greater considerations for protection of our groundwaters and ensure public trust resources are being sufficiently considered. However, it is a step in the right direction with users coming together for the first time to find a viable solution for everyone. Through trial and error, we hope that this Agreement is able to provide a basis for future adaptation, and helps improve the management of our waterways so that all of our beneficial uses are protected and sustainable in future years.
Climate change is going to continue impacting our region, and what matters is how we respond as a society. Every step forward, is one step towards achieving our goals of protecting our little piece of the world for all to enjoy.