{"id":17949,"date":"2019-06-14T08:08:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T15:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/?p=17949"},"modified":"2019-06-14T08:08:16","modified_gmt":"2019-06-14T15:08:16","slug":"cdfa-joins-partner-agencies-in-seeking-input-on-creating-climate-resilient-water-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/index.php\/2019\/06\/14\/cdfa-joins-partner-agencies-in-seeking-input-on-creating-climate-resilient-water-system\/","title":{"rendered":"CDFA joins partner agencies in seeking input on creating climate-resilient water system"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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News release from the California Natural Resources Agency <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

State agencies are asking\nCalifornians to help shape a roadmap for meeting future water needs and\nensuring environmental and economic resilience through the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The effort seeks to broaden\nCalifornia\u2019s approach on water in the face of a range of existing challenges,\nincluding unsafe drinking water, major flood risks that threaten public safety,\nseverely depleted groundwater aquifers, agricultural communities coping with\nuncertain water supplies and native fish populations threatened with\nextinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Input from the public will\nhelp the Natural Resources Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency,\nand Department of Food and Agriculture craft recommendations to Governor Gavin\nNewsom to fulfill his April 29 executive order<\/a> calling for a suite of actions to build a\nclimate-resilient water system and ensure healthy waterways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agencies want ideas for\nactions needed now to help California cope with more extreme droughts and\nfloods, rising temperatures, year-round wildfires, species declines, aging\ninfrastructure, contaminated water supplies and changing demands for water. The\ninput will help determine priorities and identify complementary actions to\nensure safe and dependable water supplies, flood protection and healthy\nwaterways for the state\u2019s communities, economy and environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThink about California\u2019s\ndiverse regions 30 years from now,\u201d Cal EPA Secretary Jared Blumenfeld said. \u201cWhat\ncan the state do now to best help people, the environment and the economy\nthrive even as California\u2019s natural fluctuations grow more variable and\nextreme?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natural Resources Secretary\nWade Crowfoot urged Californians to think broadly, given scientists\u2019\nexpectations that the Sierra Nevada snowpack\u2014source of much of the state\u2019s\nwater supplies\u2014will shrink in coming decades as storms grow warmer. At the same\ntime, sea levels are rising, and warmer average temperatures are affecting\neverything from soil moisture and wildfire risk to energy consumption and crop\npatterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWater management is risk\nmanagement, and our risks are changing,\u201d said Crowfoot. \u201cAt the same time, our\nmajor water projects are aging, overdrawn aquifers must be brought into\nbalance, and we\u2019re struggling to restore native fish and wildlife populations.\nWe\u2019re counting on California\u2019s water experts and the public to help us identify\npolicies and projects that benefit all water users over time.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

State officials will solicit\ninput through the summer at regularly scheduled and special public meetings of\nthe California State Board of Food and Agriculture, California Water\nCommission, State Water Resources Control Board, and other state agencies. The\nstate will work with universities, community organizations, water agencies and\nothers to hold workshops and listening sessions around the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To see a calendar of events\nand learn how to provide input directly to the state agency team, please visit WaterResilience.ca.gov<\/a>. The agencies expect to submit recommendations to\nGovernor Newsom later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCalifornia\u2019s water history\nshows that the most durable solutions involve collaboration,\u201d said Secretary of\nthe Department of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross. \u201cWe\u2019re one state with\ntremendous regional variety. We urge those of you who know your regions best to\nlook ahead, think broadly, and consider what it will take to achieve regional\nresilience by 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the questions agency\nofficials are considering:<\/p>\n\n\n\n