On November 21, 2019, the California Natural Resources Agency made an announcement about the state process to permit State Water Project operations and litigation challenging the federal biological opinion for the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. Together, these projects provide water for 27 million Californians and millions of acres of some of the most productive farmland in the world.
SCWC Executive Director Charles Wilson released the following statement on this latest news for key sources of water supply in the state.
“Our message is simple. It is imperative that the state of California and the federal government work together to operate the water system in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and modernize it for the future. Twenty-five million Californians depend on it.
Today’s announcement of litigation by the state against the new federal biological opinions will challenge the ability of both governments to work closely together going forward. Yet, their approaches to managing the existing water systems with adaptive, real-time operations have more similarities than differences.
The Southern California Water Coalition urges the two administrations to resolve these issues through collaboration, not in the courtroom.”
Established in 1984, the Southern California Water Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public education partnership dedicated to informing Southern Californians about our water needs and our state’s water resources. Spanning Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Imperial, Riverside, Ventura and Kern counties, the SCWC’s members include representatives from business, government, agriculture, water agencies, labor and the general public. Visit us at www.socalwater.org and follow us on Facebook by clicking here.