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The California Water Commission recently approved a white paper containing potential strategies to protect communities and fish and wildlife in the event of drought. The white paper is in support of Water Resilience Portfolio Action 26.3, and will be shared with the state secretaries for natural resources, environmental protection, and food and agriculture, who requested the commission’s engagement on this topic.
The goals of the portfolio are categorized in four ways:
1. Maintain and diversify water supplies According to the document, the state government will continue to help regions reduce reliance on any one water source and diversify supplies to enable flexibility as conditions change. It adds that diversification will look different in each region based on available water resources, with the aim of strengthening water security and reducing pressure on river systems across the state.
2. Protect and enhance natural ecosystems According to the document, state leadership is essential to restore the environmental health of many of our river systems in order to sustain fish and wildlife. It adds that this entails effective standard setting, continued investments and more adaptive, holistic environmental management.
3. Build connections According to the document, the state aims to improve physical infrastructure to store, move, and share water more flexibly and integrate water management through shared use of science, data and technology.
4. Be prepared According to the document, each region must prepare for new threats, including flash floods, deeper droughts and hotter temperatures. It adds state guidance will enable preparation, protective actions and adaptation.
The white paper states that climate change exacerbates drought in California by creating hotter and drier baseline conditions, leading to more intense droughts. It adds that climate change is creating the conditions for “weather whiplash”—a phenomenon California experienced in the 2022-23 water year, swinging rapidly from severe drought to record-breaking precipitation and flooding.
It also states that to ensure California’s people and environment have sufficient water during times of drought, the state will need to adapt to this new normal of ongoing weather extremes.
“California has experienced two of the worst droughts in our state’s history in the last decade alone,” said Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “While we’ve invested billions across the state to become more drought resilient in light of this new reality, there’s more we need to do to prepare for the next drought, whenever it comes. These thoughtful recommendations by the Water Commission point the way forward and I’m eager to explore how these ideas can be applied in coming years.”
According to a press release from California Water Commission, the commission’s work on drought integrates months of conversations with state agencies, experts, tribes, water users, interest groups, interested parties and the public.
The release also says the commission has taken the input it received and developed four key strategies for augmenting California’s fish and wildlife drought resilience:
1. Scale up groundwater recharge. According to the white paper, during floods, when all other water rights and environmental needs are met, channeling excess flows to groundwater recharge can build drought reserves. It adds that the state can help scale up groundwater recharge by planning and preparing for recharge during times of high flow, promoting recharge efforts through outreach and financial incentives, efficiently permitting recharge projects, supporting the infrastructure needed to conduct recharge and continuing to apply lessons learned.
2. Conduct watershed-level planning to reduce drought impacts to ecosystems. According to the white paper, to enable fish and wildlife to be more resilient to drought, the state must support fish and wildlife during drought periods and work to recover ecosystem function during non-drought periods, supporting viable populations that can weather the next drought. It adds the state can help reduce drought impacts to fish and wildlife by improving water availability for species, advancing habitat restoration and conservation projects, integrating forest management into drought planning and creating a plan to protect species during drought emergencies.
3. Better position communities to prepare for and respond to drought emergencies. According to the white paper, during drought periods, communities need resources to ensure that vulnerable community members are safe in times of crisis and that in advance of drought, they need help reducing future vulnerability to water scarcity by improving water systems and integrating water use into land use planning. It adds that the state can help communities prepare for and respond to drought by offering climate disaster funding, ramping up efforts to improve water system resilience and regional water solutions, and supporting integrated land and water planning.
4. Support improved coordination, information and communication in drought and non-drought years. According to the white paper, in California, droughts need to be dealt with as a chronic phenomenon and not an occasional emergency. It says the state needs to continue to align its staff capacity, improve its data collection and contextualize its drought communication, moving from a crisis mindset to recognizing drought as a natural and inevitable element of the state’s hydrologic cycle.
“Groundwater recharge to replenish our aquifers is a key water strategy for a hotter, drier future,” said California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross. “It provides important ecosystem benefits, protects drinking water wells, and supports climate-resilient agriculture for healthy food production and thriving rural communities.”
“Drought impacts all of California’s water users, but some—small, rural communities and fish and wildlife—are particularly vulnerable,” said Commissioner Sandra Matsumoto. “The strategies proposed by the commission will help the state protect these vulnerable water users in the event of drought. To move forward, water sectors, users and managers must work together to minimize the impacts of drought on all Californians.”
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