Sacramento - After three years and 28,000 hours of negotiations, Water Forum Stakeholder representatives are releasing to their respective governing boards the "Draft Recommendations for a Water Forum Agreement" (Draft Recommendations.) A milestone in the process to create a regional water agreement, the Draft Recommendations includes seven key elements that will fulfill the group's co-equal objectives: to provide a reliable and safe water supply for the region's economic health and planned development through to the year 2030; and to preserve the fishery, wildlife, recreational and aesthetic values of the Lower American River.

Ironically, the release of this document comes at a time when the region is dealing with the impacts of recent storms. It may seem unbelievable now, but the region faces serious water shortages in the future unless a regional water plan is developed. California can face a drought one year and flooding the next. That is why Stakeholders, including business and agricultural leaders, environmentalists, citizen groups, local governments and water managers, have been working to address this unpredictable water situation.

The Draft Recommendations outlines the region's best hope for ending the long-standing battle for water. Specifically, the Draft Recommendations calls for these seven key elements:

Increased surface water diversion on the Lower American River. In average and wetter rainfall years, the diversions would increase from the current level of 210,000 acre feet to about 525,000 acre feet annually by 2030.

Alternative water supplies to meet customers' needs while reducing impacts on the Lower American River in drier years. These supplies include conjunctive use of groundwater basins consistent with sustainable yield objectives; utilizing other surface water resources; reservoir reoperation; increased conservation; and reclamation.

An improved pattern of fishery flow releases from Folsom Reservoir. To more closely match the pattern of water releases to the needs of anadromous fish, the Draft Recommendations calls for actively supporting continued implementation of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's "fish friendly" flow patterns. These releases would preserve the fall run chinook salmon even with the proposed increased diversions.

Lower American River habitat mitigation. To soften some of the impacts of increased water diversions, the document includes the following four components: a monitoring program to assess the health of the river as diversions increase over time; a technical assistance program to provide input to federal and state agencies for actions that will preserve the values of the river; a habitat mitigation plan to identify what can be done to offset impacts of future diversions; and specific measures to diminish impacts of increased diversions.

Water conservation. The Draft Recommendations supports residential water meters and pricing based on the quantity of water used. Since 1992, the state has mandated meters for all new residences. For those not equipped with meters, a gradually phased-in retrofit program is proposed to start in the year 2000 and be completed by 2030. For areas that prohibit water meters or may not greatly benefit from the final water agreement, voluntary programs would be pursued.

Groundwater management. This element creates a framework to protect and manage the area's groundwater resource. Because the majority of residents rely on groundwater and the region lacks a coordinated strategy for its use, a groundwater management plan is vital. Three groundwater management councils would monitor the amount of groundwater withdrawn and establish sustainable yields. By using existing authority and institutions, a publicly accountable governance structure would be established.

Water Forum successor effort. Implementation of this complex agreement over the next three decades will require an ongoing successor effort. The successor effort would ensure that the plan is meeting its objectives, track the progress of the agreement and adapt to any unforeseen changes. 

In addition to the seven elements, the Draft Recommendations addresses assurances needed for each element to be realized. Additionally, nothing in the document calls for the reduction or forfeiture of existing surface water entitlements. Likewise, it does not call for any land use authority to be transferred from local governments that currently are responsible for planning decisions.

Undoubtedly, over the next three decades the region will need to spend money to maintain a reliable and safe water supply. By working together as a region, the Water Forum stakeholders have developed recommendations that are cheaper, avoid gridlock, and make the most of the limited water supply by taking everyone's needs into account.

The Water Forum consists of 46 Stakeholders from Sacramento, El Dorado and Placer counties who are working together in a unique collaborative process that has brought the Water Forum members to this stage in the unparalleled negotiation process. Stakeholder representatives will now bring these recommendations to their governing bodies for a review and comment period lasting until March 31, 1997. During this time, the various boards are asked to generally endorse the recommendations and authorize their respective representatives to develop the final recommendations.

Once all the feedback is received and the Stakeholder representatives have approval to continue negotiations, the final recommendations will be presented for Stakeholder review in July of 1997.