Reducing Our Water Supply to a Drip

The recent spell of minor earthquakes in Southern California and the hundreds of aftershocks that have followed highlight the risks involved in living in a seismically active area. The timing could not be more appropriate – April is Earthquake Preparedness Month in California. As families and businesses are reminded to create disaster plans and build earthquake kits, we should also remember just how badly our state’s water supply needs earthquake-proofing. As it stands, Southern California’s major source of fresh water is extremely vulnerable to earthquake damage. About 30 percent of Southern California’s water supply, including here in the San Fernando Valley, comes from snowmelt that flows through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the hub of the state’s water delivery system. But the only thing separating the fresh water in the Delta from the salt water in the San Francisco Bay is a system of 100-year-old dirt levees. This antiquated system is not fit for protecting this critical water source that supplies water to two-thirds of the state. Should a quake hit the Bay Area, the delta’s dirt levees could collapse and salt water would contaminate this fresh water supply. Water deliveries from the area may be cut off for up to one year once these weak levees fail. The economic toll of this seismic event could amount to $40 billion from losses in water supplies, farm production, wages and jobs, and downed utilities. This isn’t a matter of if, but when. The U.S. Geological Survey says there’s a 63 percent chance of a magnitude 6.7 quake striking the Bay Area in the next 30 years. Our water supply is certainly not prepared for such a seismic event, and the consequences would be disastrous. There is, however, a solution. A comprehensive proposal to strengthen our state’s water infrastructure, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), would provide for the construction of two underground tunnels that will safely route fresh water under the fragile Delta, rather than through it. The tunnels would be designed and constructed with modern technology that is already being used successfully throughout the world. Not only would this plan ensure Southern California’s supply of water is stable, safe, and adequate, it would also offer long-term protection from earthquakes. Billions of dollars have been spent retrofitting bridges, highways, hospitals, schools and prisons in the state to ensure they are earthquake safe. But no real measures have been taken to secure the hub of our state’s water supply in the same way. Having a safe and secure water supply is vital to every person and industry in California and it is important that steps are taken to ensure its safety. Making the investment in the BDCP now helps ensure a reliable supply of water and prevents an expensive emergency solution after a disaster has already occurred. This plan would also create and protect more than 1 million jobs in California over the life of the project – construction, operation and maintenance, and habitat restoration jobs that will help to move California’s unemployment rate down and provide much needed revenue to our state. Just like an earthquake kit for your home or business, there are a number of different tools and important elements that must be included when earthquake-proofing the state’s water system. The BDCP is a crucial element of that effort, but the importance of increasing local supply projects and conservation cannot be understated. Southern California is a leader in this effort; the San Fernando Valley itself is home to spreading basins that capture storm water runoff and allow water managers to bank this water underground for use at later times. Projects like these provide much-needed flexibility to water agencies and must continue to be developed in concert with the necessary upgrades to our statewide system. While we may not feel the rumbles of an earthquake in Northern California, we Southern Californians would feel the direct impacts if a major earthquake strikes the Bay Area. The damage to our water supply would be disastrous and the BDCP is being developed to prevent such an ending. Richard Atwater is executive director of the Southern California Water Committee, a nonpartisan partnership of water agencies, cities and business organizations dedicated to water resource education.