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The last river: tapping California’s largest source of water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 31, 2008 at 7:24 am

From the San Diego Union-Tribune, this commentary by Barry Nelson of the Natural Resources Defense Council:

There is only one river left to slake the thirst of California, as the nation’s most populous state keeps growing. The state’s other rivers are tapped out. We need this last great river more than ever as global warming threatens to make longer, drier droughts the norm throughout the West. But you won’t find California’s last river on any map because it’s a virtual river. It doesn’t exist as a physical river, but that doesn’t make it any less real.

One needn’t look far to find the virtual river. It’s just a Google search away. State water managers have known about it for years. In fact, they put it in California’s State Water Plan for anyone to see. And they identified it as the largest source of new water supply in California, the largest source by far. Simply put, the virtual river is a combination of water-use efficiency, water recycling, improved groundwater management and advanced urban runoff management. The virtual river dwarfs all other options.

With the ecosystem crashing in the Delta and persistent drought plaguing the Colorado River, California needs to tap this virtual river more than ever, says Barry:

Making the most of the virtual river will require a whole new mindset. It will require recognition that every water drop saved – whether by conservation, recycling or groundwater and storm water management – counts as water supply. Those drops add up to more than 7 million acre-feet of water a year. That is more than has ever been exported from the Delta – the largest single source of water in the state. It is larger than the American, the Merced and the San Joaquin rivers combined. Environmentalists and urban water agencies agree that no other future source comes close to the virtual river.

The virtual river offers many other benefits. It can save energy and reduce global warming pollution because vast amounts of energy are currently needed to pump water from the Delta and the Colorado River. Moreover, the virtual river is less vulnerable to global warming; shrinking snowpacks and extended droughts will not affect its flow. One of its headwaters – advanced urban runoff management – can help clean up Southern California beaches by capturing storm water runoff before it picks up contaminants and pollutes our coastal waters. Finally, the virtual river can help us leave water in our real rivers, helping to save the Bay-Delta and our salmon fishing heritage.

Read more of Barry Nelson’s commentary in the San Diego Union-Tribune by clicking here.

May 31, 2008 · Filed Under Conservation

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