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Opinion Mar 02, 2021
Part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the center of much of California’s water disputes. SACRAMENTO BEE FILE
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BY REPS. JIM COSTA AND JOHN GARAMENDI
On issues ranging from climate policy to immigration and health care, the past four years have been full of discord between California and Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, water users throughout California have not escaped the conflict, including in the Central Valley, where our communities have suffered as a result.
Now, with drought conditions returning and the impacts of climate change intensifying, it is time to advance a solution for statewide water policy that will transition us from an era of conflict to one of collaboration. California’s complex water system brings water to approximately 35 million Californians, 5.7 million acres of the most productive agricultural land in the world, and iconic ecosystems.
Unfortunately, conflicts that arose during the previous administration stymied the ability of California’s water managers to work together to achieve shared goals in a sustainable way. The rift between the federal and state governments also hampered efforts to update California’s water quality control plan. If California is to achieve its water reliability goals under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, meet the future water needs for a growing state, and combat the effects of climate change, we must move on from this harmful stalemate. Now, with a new federal administration […]
