How will California meet growing demands for water with a limited water supply? That is a central question posed in a new online tool that a nonprofit group created to encourage Californians to think about potential strategies for dealing with the state's big water woes.
The California Water Challenge, which was developed by the San Francisco-based nonprofit Next 10, allows people to weigh the costs and benefits of various policy options, such as increasing water rates, recycling more wastewater, and building seawater desalination plants.
Each section of the online questionnaire lays out pros and cons, and provides estimates of the costs based on research. Those who pull up the website can choose from a menu of strategies and can see what percentage of other participants made similar choices.
It's not intended to be used as a poll, but rather to help people engage with water issues as the state faces important policy choices in the coming years, said F. Noel Perry, a venture capitalist and philanthropist who founded Next 10.
"We think that it can get Californians thinking about water and the strategies that might be adopted on a local, regional or state level," Perry said. "We really see it as an educational tool."
Users are also asked questions about current issues, such as whether they agree with fines for those who waste water, and whether they support the proposed $7.5 billion water bond on the November ballot, which would provide money for various water projects.
Perry said the nonprofit group, which he funds, is nonpartisan and doesn't take positions on the water bond or other issues. The group's purpose, he said, is to conduct research and provide factual information to help Californians make decisions. It also recently produced the "California Budget Challenge," which allows users to make choices about state spending.
After completing the "California Water Challenge," people can see the estimated price tag of their choices, as well as how far they would go toward easing the state's water supply problems.
One of the most severe droughts in history has heightened attention to water issues, as shown by the Legislature's recent passage of landmark legislation to regulate groundwater in California.
The state remains far from emerging from the drought, despite heavy rains that caused flooding in the Coachella Valley and other parts of Southern California on Sunday and Monday.
"What we need are some of those really large winter storms to break the drought," said Jeanine Jones, the state's deputy drought manager. "We have a ways to go."
Even when the drought eventually ends, though, California will still face difficult long-term water problems. And the choose-your-own approach of the "California Water Challenge" website will allow people to tinker and see which combinations of remedies might work.
Ian James covers water and the environment for The Desert Sun. He can be reached by email at ian.james@desertsun.com and on Twitter at @TDSIanJames.
More information