AWWA ACE95170

During the 1980s, concern about water quality in California's San Francisco Bay and the Delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers became a matter of contention. The method to address this concern became known as the Bay/Delta Process. After a period of contentious disagreement, California water agencies and public interest groups developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that included best management practices (BMPs) for water conservation and a schedule for their implementation. This paper discusses California's response to the need for accurate reporting and monitoring of the State's water resources and the development of a comprehensive water conservation program. The California Urban Water Conservation Council (CUWCC) was developed to monitor progress on implementing BMPs. The MOU provides a number of benefits to water agencies, including saving water, public education, and setting limits for agency water conservation responsibilities in the Bay/Delta Process. Through the MOU public interest groups gain a mechanism to assure that water conservation measures are implemented, saving water and reducing sewage flows. Indications are that the CUWCC's role in reporting progress on implementing the BMPs to the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).