On Monday, 7 January, State Senator Lois Wolk gave the inaugural talk in the California Water Policy Seminar Series. She addressed a standing-room-only crowd of faculty, grad students, and interested members of the public for over 45 minutes, and took questions afterwards.
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Wolk represents California's Third Senate District, which includes parts of Contra Costa, Solano, Yolo, and Sacramento County -- four of the five counties in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. She has an interest in water issues that dates back to her time on the Davis City Council, and currently chairs the Senate subcommittee on Delta Stewardship and Sustainability, as well as serving on the Committees on Agriculture and Natural Resources & Water. |
Senator Wolk opened by describing the current climate in the state capitol: "We now have an activist governor, prepared to move on a controversial proposal" and encouraged seminar participants to ask the "movers and shakers" scheduled to speak later in the quarter about ideas that will impact California. She praised the students in the audience, saying, "We don't have enough well-trained people in California...I can't imagine anything more important to California and the West."
She emphasized the importance of the interconnectedness of California water as the key to understanding California water policy and describe the Delta as a "wicked, wicked problem." In her view, successful processes to determine the future of the Delta must bring all stakeholders to the table -- environmental organizations, the San Joaquin Valley agricultural sector, the Delta community, Southern California water users, recreation enthusiasts, Delta ports, upstream water users.
The Bay Delta Conservation Plan, currently under consideration, proposes to run two tunnels under the Delta to convey water for users in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California while minimizing effects on listed species. Senator Wolk critiqued the drafting process because it didn't include Delta counties and upstream water users. She encouraged state officials to adjust the plan to account for these other interests. "The path forward is going to have to be a negotiation and discussion with all parties at the table..." because the current plan is unlikely to garner enough support to pass a water bond.
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Senator Wolk closed with optimism: "A lot of people are tired of the fighting." As a result, diverse stakeholder groups have initiated collaborative processes to work on numerous smaller projects on which they all agree. Senator Wolk lauded this work, saying that it may have helped develop more trust between people in different organizations, which will help in larger discussions about the Delta. If you missed the seminar, you can download the video at this link: |
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