Some Curious Things about Water Management

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Water policy and management discussions often seem to assume that state and federal government decisions and funding are the most important aspects of water management (Lund 2006). This is not nearly true. Historically, culturally, and practically, most water management in California and the United States is local (Lund 2006). There might be a dozen or more state and federal agencies, but there are thousands of local water, drainage, sanitation, and irrigation districts and millions of households and businesses. Local demand, supply, and operating decisions are the most important parts of water management and the areas from which most innovations in water management are coming. Because of the substantial build-out of large water projects, lack of water policy consensus, and debilitating state and federal budget deficits, local decisions, funding, innovations, and leadership are likely to become still more important in California and the United States. In California, in roughly 2011, local agencies spent a total of US$24 billion per year on water (US$12.1 billion), wastewater (US$6.5 billion), and flood control (US$1.3 billion). By comparison, state agencies spent approximately US$3.6 billion (mostly for flood control and the State Water Project), and federal agencies spent approximately US$0.5 billion (Delta Stewardship Council 2012).