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Water Planning Association

The Water Planning Association (WPA) seeks to promote improved land use and water planning throughout the State of California. The link between land use and development and water is an issue of statewide importance. Recently, the California Legislature took action to provide a better link between land development and water planning. Oftentimes, however, the message has not reached counties and municipalities throughout California. The result is little or no link between water planning and land development. This breakdown in planning devastates the farmers and ranchers agricultural areas, and impairs “smart” urban growth, which is needed to accommodate California’s growing population.

With improved planning, California’s agricultural areas will not have to sustain cuts in water availability and higher water rates. Farmers and ranchers will no longer be forced to cut down trees and forego crops in order to meet mandatory water cutbacks. Conflicts between agriculture and urban areas will be minimized, and the promise of better planning will be realized.

The mission of the WPA is to call for improvements in land development and water planning throughout California. The WPA is committed to raising the awareness of our elected officials at the state, regional, and local levels. It wants to focus on those land development projects throughout California that ignore or minimize the importance of the link between land use planning and water. We can no longer afford to ignore the need to ensure adequate water supplies for urban development projects. By ensuring adequate water supplies, we will also minimize persistent conflicts between our agricultural and urban areas. Fortunately, large-scale development projects are required to undergo a public review and comment process. The WP A will participate in this process in order to ensure that such projects:

• Disclose water usage;

        • Identify adequate and available water supplies;
        • Accurately calculate such demand and supplies;
        • Disclose uncertainties in water supplies;

• Require water conservation measures and other sustainable principles; and
• Withhold approvals to those projects that do not satisfy these basic principles.

These measures, in turn, will minimize conflicts over water resources between agricultural and urban users. With statewide cutbacks in water supplies and a growing population, we can no longer ignore or minimize these important statewide issues.

The WPA will also pursue related topics of statewide importance. For example, global climate change needs to be taken into account, particularly as the subject relates to the sufficiency of our state's water supplies. Thus, the WPA's mission includes the promotion of public awareness and adequate planning at all levels to ensure:

• Disclosure of global warming and global climate changes;
• Sustainable uses of our groundwater supplies;

• Promotion of recycled water to reduce reliance on potable water supplies;
• Use of rigorous water conservation best management practices;

• Clean water and improved water quality; and,

• Sustainable environment for sensitive biological resources.

Other topics of importance to the WPA include our state transportation system. The 1-5 corridor is vital to California's travel, movement of goods and services, and tourism. The WP A is dedicated to raising public awareness of the importance of a better planning link between land development and traffic impacts on the 1-5 corridor, including the important arterial roadways connected to the 1-5 system.