Colorado River

• But the reality that weather whiplash can quickly swing us from a wet year to a dry one requires us to be prepared should 2024 remain dry.
• “Conservation must remain a way of life for all Californians, regardless of the weather.
• As water managers, we also must do our part by planning for a drier, more challenging future due to our changing climate.
• “A recent survey shows that the vast majority of Southern Californians are rightfully concerned about the challenges we face to our water supplies and are willing to be part of the solution.

• Adel Hagekhalil, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, issues the following statement on the California Department of Water Resources’ release today of the final Environmental Impact Report for the Delta Conveyance Project:
  “Today marks a significant milestone in our state’s effort to address the impacts that climate change is exacting on California’s water supply.
• “The Delta Conveyance Project can be part of a balanced, holistic solution that includes capturing, conveying and storing water available during high flows, for use when it is dry.
• “Metropolitan is taking steps to reduce its reliance on the Delta, through increased conservation, water recycling and storage.
• Still, the water imported through the State Water Project will always be an essential component of Southern California’s supply.

• Reports of lengthy shipping delays for vessels traveling through the Panama Canal this year have highlighted the critical but often overlooked role that fresh water plays across global supply chains.
• Drier than normal conditions in Panama, brought on by El Niño, have left the region drought-stricken and water levels in the locks that feed the canal lower than normal.
• As a professor of supply chain management, I think businesses would be wise to pay closer attention to this issue.

Water, water everywhere, and not enough to share

• Each crossing by a ship requires 52 million gallons of fresh water from lakes, rivers and streams across this small country.
• This creates a trade-off between preserving water for local needs and using it to allow ships to traverse the canal.
• Periodic low water levels in the Mississippi River and the Rhine River in Germany have impeded barge traffic for years, disrupting supply chains while stoking debate about how to divide limited amounts of fresh water.

An ancient challenge

• The need to manage water resources isn’t new, with complex water management systems dating back to the Roman Empire and even earlier.
• As my colleagues and I show in a recent journal article, water is an important component of almost everything people buy.
• A lack of water can hamper production and disrupt the supply chains that businesses rely on.

Solutions for businesses

• There are a number of ways in which businesses can improve their water management to reduce their own consumption – and costs – while limiting their exposure to water risks.
• Similarly, not every process pollutes water, so reuse is easy for wastewater resulting from those processes, such as water used for cooling.
• While stronger government regulations and expanded reporting requirements will help, decisions by businesses themselves can move that needle even more.

Dustin Cole does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- California Water Service Group (Group) (NYSE: CWT) today announced the election of Jeffrey Kightlinger, 63, to the Group’s Board of Directors, effective Nov. 1, 2023.
• Kightlinger has the distinction of having been the longest serving Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the largest municipal water supplier in the nation.
• In this capacity, he oversaw the agency’s $1.8 billion budget along with water and power operations serving 19 million residents in Southern California.
• A renowned expert in water law, particularly Colorado River law, Kightlinger now owns Acequia Consulting, LLC, which provides strategic advice on water and energy issues.