In 2014, the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) released the an assessment of innovation opportunities in the water sector, including this clarion call to:
Develop and implement an integrated water information management system for water supplies, uses, and quality including precipitation, runoff, and storage; for surface water, groundwater, and water use… Near-Term Actions: The Governor and key agencies should immediately take the lead to form a consortium of parties, including the State Water Resources Control Board and the Department of Water Resources as well as a broad coalition of water experts in academia, trade organizations and non-governmental organizations…
In that time period, the Delta Stewardship Council, Western Governor's Association, Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE), and New York Times also called on for improving water data systems in California and across the West. The AWE report on the lessons from Australia’s big drought is particularly apropos. Here is a summary post from yours truly at the time and the key quote from that report is provided below:
“Good data and robust monitoring and evaluation are critical. To manage demand requires measurement at the sector, household and end use levels in order to be able to design and implement well targeted water saving measures.”
In the intervening years, the California Data Collaborative was formed by a visionary group of water managers, bringing together urban usage data at said sector, household and end use levels from tens of millions of Californians. That network expanded from an initial pilot of six water utilities to over twenty three today. In addition, the state in collaboration with philanthropic organizations, academia, and the broader water industry launched the type of consortium called for by the CCST. That's progress!
Still, the CA Water data consortium released a report on the fragmented urban water use reporting landscape, a subset of the broader water data space in 2022. Since that report there is now the monthly SAFER report which also flows into the annual urban water demand and supply sections of the eAR.
Fulling integrating those systems and the larger universe of water data remains a work in progress. It would be good to listen to wise words from those early years about the deeper challenges underlying data integration. From Jay Lund, an esteemed and actively engaged water intellectual:
Disorganized data is a symptom of disorganized technical work. California has many agencies and programs involved in water management and regulation, particularly its Department of Water Resources, State Water Resource Control Boards, and Department of Fish and Wildlife. Each agency has some excellent employees and the state supports some exemplary data and technical resources, particularly regarding floods, often in collaboration with other agencies. But most of the state’s overall water-related scientific and technical activities are notoriously splintered across programs with independent legal mandates, funding sources, and lines of management, and overall leadership to serve the common good. Addressing the root disorganization of the state’s technical efforts on water management and regulation is needed for long-term data success.
More to come.
