The Water Dispute Between Alabama, Florida, and Georgia

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Water governance David L. Feldman Professor and
Chair, Department of Planning, Policy and Design
School of Social Ecology June 25, 2013
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What is water governance?

• In democracies, decisions regarding how water is
  managed, by whom, and through what methods, is
  supposed to be based on popular consent.
• Achieving consent depends on five criteria
• Long term aspirations for community growth and
  development
• Power and control over water sources
• Perceived and actual risks from various water
  management options
• Public trust and confidence in how water is
  managed
• Inclusiveness of decisions who weighs and
  decides upon options

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Long term community aspirations Los Angeles

• In early 20th century, LAs population doubled
  every 10 years Los Angeles River was no longer
  an adequate water source.
• Civic leaders sought reliable sources whose
  rights they could easily obtain Owens Valley
  was surveyed, land and water rights secretly
  acquired. Problems?
• Whose economic development aspirations should
  prevail?
• How should decisions over allocation be made
  openly, or in secret?
• How much water was needed for LA vs. Owens
  Valley, the environment?

JP Lippincott, Fred Eaton, William Mulholland
c. 1910
Los Angeles Aqueduct dynamited - 1927
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Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times May 16,
2009 In the Owens Valley, resentment again flows
with the water
LA's Department of Water and Power is prospecting
again for land and water rights in the valley.
Unlike past battles, the focus is on real estate
locals say is needed for commerce along Highway
395. This is sparking tense disputes among
residents over the agency's influence on their
economic stability. Unlike previous battles
which focused on the environmental and economic
damage caused by L.A.'s pumping of local water
supplies, the current campaign seeks to break the
agency's grip on land the locals say is needed
for commerce, hospitals, parking and affordable
housing along a 112-mile stretch of Highway 395
east of the Sierra Nevada. "I understand their
sentiments" and "I'm open to having
conversations" about releasing property, DWP
General Manger David Nahai said in an interview.
But he also pointed out that three years of
drought, cutbacks instate water allocations and
rationing and its 500-million dust-mitigation
project at Owens Lake have left the agency trying
to cope with "a seriously overburdened water
supply.
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Urban design, water, community expectations
another case

• The Water Conservation in Landscaping Act of 2006
  (AB 1881) requires CA Energy commission to adopt
  regulations that impose performance standards and
  labeling requirements for landscape irrigation
  equipment (e.g., irrigation controllers, moisture
  sensors, emission devices, valves) to reduce the
  wasteful water consumption.
• What if someone exceeds the requirements?

• This family in Orange, CA had a water bill of
  160/every 2 months used 300,000 gal/year after
  removing lawn, 58,000 gal/year.
• City officials appreciated the conservation, but
  had rules regarding ground cover dont want
  just dirt for a front yard, one official said.
• City council has revised ordinance requiring 40
  live ground cover must be attractive and within
  community standards this is an urban planning
  challenge.

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Power and control of water

• Historic approach hard power
• Began with hydraulic societies of antiquity
• Employed large public works to promote economic
  growth
• Responded to drought, flooding through large
  structural measures
• More recent approach soft power
• Seeks sustainability balancing environment and
  development
• Emphasizes participation, negotiation, local
  knowledge, stewardship
• Resilience against climate change, growth through
  adaptive management

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Power and control in antiquity (Egypt c. 2000
B.C.)

• Centralized control and allocation
• Regimentation and orderly management
• Preoccupation with food production, river
  management

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Rome water, power, and control in pre-modern
Europe

• Diverting water great distances enabled cities
  and colonies to grow connected territory
• Enabled development of agriculture and trade
• Who got water, how they used it, a contested
  issue

El Acueducto del Aguila moved water from Nerja
to Maro
It is plain . . . how much more our forefathers
cared for the general good rather than private
luxury, inasmuch as even the water which private
parties used was made to serve the public
interest. - Sextus Julius Frontinus, Water
Supply supervisor, City of Rome (AD 97).
Segovia Acueducto built 1st Century A.D, in
use today
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Water and national security where power and
control can fail

• 2012 State Department report predicted conflict
  in Mideast, Africa, Asia over water.
• By 2040, flooding, drought, pollution will create
  instability, regional tension hinder food and
  energy production.
• Absence of credible, trans-national means to
  settle disputes a continuing challenge.

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Soft power and collaboration Nigeria

• Drought, flooding recurrent problems in
  Hadejia-Jamaare basin residents rely on
  subsistence farming, fishing.
• In 1970s two major dams built for irrigation,
  flood control caused cascading impacts
  siltation, flooding, clogging of streams, erosion
  a mess!
• 2002 World Conservation Union, UK, Nigeria
  established Joint Wetlands Livelihood to
• Preserve existing floodplains for farming,
  grazing, fishing.
• Provide local level forums to allow residents to
  participate in decisions.

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Empowerment via soft power a model for
governance?
Watershed management game farmers serve as
students, role-play solutions to local problems
Break-out discussions comparing solutions and
reaching accord JWL Hadejia office, Dauchi,
Nigeria.
Session 1 brainstorm methods to maintain income
and production with less water. Session 2
prioritize methods by voting results become
basis for by-laws to be followed by
farmers. Session 3 discuss how institutions
should assist in conflict resolution, provide
additional information, support
agreements. Session 4 review, reflect, conduct
evaluation and specify actions.
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Perceived actual risks water supply options
Likely future
Source California Water Plan Update, (CA DWR)
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Risk, water governance, and environmental justice
  Burden of impact Characterization of hazard Nature of conflict Examples of disputes
Traditional notion of environmental justice water Risk of water quality/quantity that are potentially high-consequence fall on poor, women, minorities Threaten human health/well-being - environmental pollutants/toxic wastes, reduce in-stream flow remediation Acute, short term impacts high-intensity social protest violent demonstrations Dam-building, inter-basin diversion massive pollution spills (e.g., Owens Valley Hinkley)
Newer idiom of environmental justice water Risk of water problems potentially high consequence/high uncertainty e.g., climate change Broader welfare issues at stake - cost, affordability, access, actions to address/repair legacy important Lower-intensity social protest may occur, but problems viewed as long-term chronic Waste-water re-use desalination involuntary conservation measures privatizing supply
Feldman, David. 2011. Integrated Water
Management and Environmental Justice - Public
Acceptability and Fairness in Adopting Water
Innovations, Water Science and Technology 11
(2) 135- 141.
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Desalination In California an example of risk
management

• Prop. 50 (2005) provides funding for feasibility
  studies pilot projects support for building
  full-scale facilities goal? Provide 5-10 of
  states freshwater via desalination by 2030.
• Protagonists must assess ecological, public
  health, population growth, energy use, land use,
  other impacts.

Source California Desalination Planning
Handbook, CA DWR, 2008
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Desalination as governance challenge

• Poseidon Resources is building a 950 million
  desalination plant near Carlsbad.
• Goal by 2016 produce 50 million gallons/ day
  serve 300,000 people.
• Specific issues
• Public bonds will pay for a private investment
• Project uses 33 MW, enough for 80,000 homes
• Where/how brine will be disposed unclear, as are
  marine life impacts
• Cost of product water is 2000/acre-foot
• Statewide application unclear

Globally, desalination seems most popular in
regions with high water demand, available energy
supplies, few supply alternatives
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Public trust confidence Australia

• Worlds driest inhabited continent.
• 90 of 23 million inhabitants live in cities.
• Millennium Drought gravely affected SE region
• Reservoirs fell to 26 capacity, bush fires
  erupted.
• Affected public attitudes toward climate change,
  drought, water conservation.

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Southeast Australia drought impacts
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Optimizing choices, fostering trust

• What the public and local officials came up with!
• Public outreach to encourage household
  conservation using water bills to show savings.
• Substitute low-quality treated water for
  non-potable needs.
• Capture storm-water runoff before contaminated by
  landscape.
• Reclaim wastewater.
• Create and sustain a culture of community
  engagement innovation.
• Assessment? Public engagement and consensus
  energized officials to adopt a wide range of
  approaches to augment water supplies/improve
  drinking water productivity.

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Achieving consensus priorities emerging from
public meetings
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Public trust and confidence some California
examples

• GW recharge Coachella Valley
• Land use reforms
• Recharge easements

• Reclaim wastewater GW recharge Orange County
• Education outreach
• Water harvesting

Irvine Ranch Service Area Residential Water Rates (Potable) Irvine Ranch Service Area Residential Water Rates (Potable) Irvine Ranch Service Area Residential Water Rates (Potable) Irvine Ranch Service Area Residential Water Rates (Potable)
Monthly water service charge Monthly water service charge 8.75 (up to a 1" meter) 8.75 (up to a 1" meter)
  Tier Percent of Allocation Cost per ccf (i.e., 100 cubic feet)
Commodity charge Low Volume 0 - 40 0.91
Commodity charge Base Rate 41 - 100 1.22
Commodity charge Inefficient 101 - 150 2.50
Commodity charge Excessive 151 - 200 4.32
Commodity charge Wasteful 201 9.48

• Conservation pricing Irvine
• Public outreach
• High-efficiency landscaping

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LAs tap is running dry why not reclaim water?

• Most of Los Angeles water supply is imported
• Three major sources have limited future capacity
• The fourth recycled water use could increase
  but public opposition remains high
• Why? In parts of LA with environmental legacy
  issues (e.g., abandoned waste sites, contaminated
  groundwater) recycling arouses mistrust is also
  viewed by some as subsidizing additional
  residential growth

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Inclusiveness of decisions Bolivia and
privatization

• Conflicts over privatization of municipal
  supplies lasted a decade 1995-2005.
• Issues?
• Foreign control French-U.S consortium
  controlled all supplies
• Cost to consumers rose nearly five-fold
• Local ratepayers excluded from decisions

Cochabamba
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China inclusiveness and development

• 2 million displaced 1,500 cities, towns,
  villages inundated
• Numerous adverse environmental impacts
• Decisions made without consulting affected groups

Displaced family waiting for housing
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Colorado River Compact (1922) can inclusive
decisions be made among states?

• Allocates water among upper and lower basins, and
  between 7 states Mexico based on priority uses
• States were told that, given wide fluctuation in
  flow, US government would build dams to ensure
  priorities were met
• Colorado River now over-allocated climate change
  will curtail supplies without behavior change
  brought about by including many voices future
  needs will be inadequately met

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Conclusions future governance challenges?

• Acknowledging that decisions over water
  management made in one location may adversely
  affect users in another inclusion.
• Admitting that no group has a monopoly of
  knowledge about water groups define their needs
  differently participation trust.
• Emphasizing adaptive management solutions that
  are small-scale, incremental, reversible if they
  fail innovative risk management.
• Understanding that control over water must be
  tempered by fairness and accountability sharing
  power.

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An example of a future governance direction
Dublin principles

• Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable
  Development (1992) 150 countries met to
  discuss need for an ethically just global water
  policy.
• Major recommendations?
• Freshwater is a finite, vulnerable resource,
  essential to life, development, environment
  risks to its protection must be better assessed.
• Water development management should be based on
  a participatory approach, involving water users,
  planners, and policy-makers at all levels.
• Women play a central role in provision,
  management, safeguarding of water and must have
  rights.
• Water has an economic value in all its competing
  uses should be recognized as an valuable good.