Opinion: Newsom displays responsive approach to water crisis
Two recent watershed decisions in California exemplified how difficult it is to manage this precious resource. Last month, many water leaders applauded Gov. Gavin Newsom for taking quick action to suspend a 1999 environmental regulation and keep more water in reservoirs on a temporary basis. This was a commonsense and prudent move to allow California to adapt in the face of changed climate conditions and severe pressure on the state’s other main source of supply, the Colorado River. The thinking: Let’s hold on to this water now in case drier times are ahead. Then the weather forecast changed.
-Written by Charley Wilson is the executive director of the Southern California Water Coalition.