Contact Information: Contact: Jennifer Persike ACWA Director of Strategic Coordination and Public Affairs 916/441-4545 916/296-3981 (cell)
Association of California Water Agencies Adopts Principles on Sustainability
ACWA Board Also OKs Effort to Develop Water Conservation Roadmap
| Source: Association of California Water Agencies
SACRAMENTO, CA--(Marketwire - November 26, 2008) - The Association of California Water Agencies
(ACWA) has formally adopted policy principles embracing environmental and
economic sustainability as co-equal priorities for water management in
California.
The principles, adopted last week by ACWA's Board of Directors, express
strong support for policies that promote significant improvements in both
water supply reliability and ecosystem health. The principles are intended
to expand on ACWA's 2005 water policy document, "No Time to Waste: A
Blueprint for California Water," and guide the association as California
grapples with numerous water supply challenges and the decline of aquatic
species and habitats.
"California is on an unsustainable path today," ACWA Executive Director
Timothy Quinn said. "The state of the aquatic environment is degrading,
while water supply reliability and water quality are both in serious
decline. It is imperative that we change course for both the environment
and the economy of California."
The principles note that sustainability can be achieved only through
comprehensive solutions that include conveyance improvements in the Delta
and elsewhere, additional surface and groundwater storage, substantial
investments in water use efficiency and local resources, and investments in
habitat and actions that address all significant environmental stressors.
In other action, the Board agreed to move ahead with development of
cohesive policies on water use efficiency to guide the water community as
well as a water conservation roadmap for achieving a 20% reduction in per
capita water use by 2020. The roadmap effort will be a key focus for the
association in 2009.
"ACWA supports the statewide goal of reducing per capita water use, but we
can't impose a
one-size-fits-all approach," Quinn said. "Local water agencies need
management flexibility to adapt to widely varying local conditions. ACWA's
approach is to allow for that flexibility, while accomplishing the
statewide goal set out by Governor Schwarzenegger."
ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 450 members are
responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more
information, visit www.acwa.com.