By Dan York, General Manager, Sacramento Suburban Water District
Each summer, California’s water supply makes headlines. This year, El Niño is strengthening and federal forecasters say it could become very strong, raising questions about what the coming winter could bring. Reservoir levels fluctuate, drought concerns lead to calls for conservation, and communities wonder what the latest conditions mean for the season ahead.
These conversations are important. But they can also obscure a bigger story: reliable water service isn’t built in a single wet year or solved after a single dry one. It’s the result of decisions made years — often decades — before customers ever turn on the tap.
This kind of long-term planning matters more than ever. California’s Water Supply Strategy estimates that hotter, drier conditions could reduce the state’s water supply by as much as 10% by 2040. For water providers, adapting means looking beyond today’s conditions and preparing communities for an increasingly variable future.
At Sacramento Suburban Water District (SSWD), our Urban Water Management Plan looks at projected demand, available supplies, and reliability through 2050. We evaluate how our water supplies would perform under a range of conditions — not to predict the future, but to identify vulnerabilities and give ourselves time to prepare.
The most effective time to address a potential water supply challenge isn’t after it becomes a shortage. It’s before. And the decisions made during wet years are just as important to water reliability as those made during drought.
Groundwater has long been the foundation of SSWD’s water supply. The District has operated an active conjunctive-use program since 1998, and regional groundwater management efforts predate California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Conjunctive use may sound technical, but the idea is straightforward: when excess surface water, from rivers, lakes and reservoirs, is available, use it instead of pumping groundwater. This lets the aquifer replenish naturally, building a reserve for dry periods.
Long-term water reliability also requires looking beyond jurisdictional boundaries. Groundwater basins, rivers, and water systems must be operated together to maximize water supplies, which requires collaboration among water providers. Across the Sacramento region, agreements like the Water Forum 2050 Agreement and the ARTESIAN Agreement bring water providers together to manage surface water and groundwater as a shared regional resource, supporting reliable supplies, groundwater sustainability and healthy rivers.
No forecast can tell us exactly what the Sacramento region will experience this winter, or in the years ahead. Whatever conditions arrive, SSWD has spent years building the flexibility to adapt: protecting its main supply, groundwater, by accessing surface water when available and priced reasonably through partnerships with Placer County Water Agency and the City of Sacramento. Supplementing groundwater with surface water lets us reduce pumping when surface water is available, allowing wells to rest and groundwater reserves to grow, while groundwater itself provides a reserve when conditions turn dry.
Taken together, these decisions leave SSWD well positioned for an uncertain winter and future. But preparedness isn’t a finish line. As conditions become more variable, SSWD and water providers across the region must continue investing in the infrastructure, diverse water supplies and regional coordination that give us flexibility to adapt.
Customers don’t, and shouldn’t, have to think about everything that makes the water run when they turn on the tap. That’s our job. And doing that job well means continuing to prepare for conditions we may not see for years.
As another summer closes with renewed attention on water conditions, and we look toward a new water year in October, we should certainly ask how our water supplies look today. But we should also ask a more important question: What are we doing today to make sure we have reliable water decades from now?
The best time to prepare for the next dry year isn’t when it arrives. It’s before it begins.
_____
Dan York is General Manager of Sacramento Suburban Water District
GUEST COMMENTARY: Planning for tomorrow’s water today
By Dan York, General Manager, Sacramento Suburban Water District
Each summer, California’s water supply makes headlines. This year, El Niño is strengthening and federal forecasters say it could become very strong, raising questions about what the coming winter could bring. Reservoir levels fluctuate, drought concerns lead to calls for conservation, and communities wonder what the latest conditions mean for the season ahead.
These conversations are important. But they can also obscure a bigger story: reliable water service isn’t built in a single wet year or solved after a single dry one. It’s the result of decisions made years — often decades — before customers ever turn on the tap.
This kind of long-term planning matters more than ever. California’s Water Supply Strategy estimates that hotter, drier conditions could reduce the state’s water supply by as much as 10% by 2040. For water providers, adapting means looking beyond today’s conditions and preparing communities for an increasingly variable future.
At Sacramento Suburban Water District (SSWD), our Urban Water Management Plan looks at projected demand, available supplies, and reliability through 2050. We evaluate how our water supplies would perform under a range of conditions — not to predict the future, but to identify vulnerabilities and give ourselves time to prepare.
The most effective time to address a potential water supply challenge isn’t after it becomes a shortage. It’s before. And the decisions made during wet years are just as important to water reliability as those made during drought.
Groundwater has long been the foundation of SSWD’s water supply. The District has operated an active conjunctive-use program since 1998, and regional groundwater management efforts predate California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Conjunctive use may sound technical, but the idea is straightforward: when excess surface water, from rivers, lakes and reservoirs, is available, use it instead of pumping groundwater. This lets the aquifer replenish naturally, building a reserve for dry periods.
Long-term water reliability also requires looking beyond jurisdictional boundaries. Groundwater basins, rivers, and water systems must be operated together to maximize water supplies, which requires collaboration among water providers. Across the Sacramento region, agreements like the Water Forum 2050 Agreement and the ARTESIAN Agreement bring water providers together to manage surface water and groundwater as a shared regional resource, supporting reliable supplies, groundwater sustainability and healthy rivers.
No forecast can tell us exactly what the Sacramento region will experience this winter, or in the years ahead. Whatever conditions arrive, SSWD has spent years building the flexibility to adapt: protecting its main supply, groundwater, by accessing surface water when available and priced reasonably through partnerships with Placer County Water Agency and the City of Sacramento. Supplementing groundwater with surface water lets us reduce pumping when surface water is available, allowing wells to rest and groundwater reserves to grow, while groundwater itself provides a reserve when conditions turn dry.
Taken together, these decisions leave SSWD well positioned for an uncertain winter and future. But preparedness isn’t a finish line. As conditions become more variable, SSWD and water providers across the region must continue investing in the infrastructure, diverse water supplies and regional coordination that give us flexibility to adapt.
Customers don’t, and shouldn’t, have to think about everything that makes the water run when they turn on the tap. That’s our job. And doing that job well means continuing to prepare for conditions we may not see for years.
As another summer closes with renewed attention on water conditions, and we look toward a new water year in October, we should certainly ask how our water supplies look today. But we should also ask a more important question: What are we doing today to make sure we have reliable water decades from now?
The best time to prepare for the next dry year isn’t when it arrives. It’s before it begins.
_____
Dan York is General Manager of Sacramento Suburban Water District