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<p class=MsoNormal><img width=396 height=60 id="Picture_x0020_1"
src="cid:image001.jpg@01C97174.27C6BA10"
alt="cid:image001.jpg@01C9717B.76B4B440"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h1>In the drying West, dams are no longer the answer<o:p></o:p></h1>
<p class=byline>George Miller<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=date>Thursday, January 8, 2009<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>In the 1960s, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began planning a reservoir on
the American River, hoping it would become a major element of California's
extensive system of dams and canals that ships water across the state. The
bureau studied the proposal, to be called Auburn Dam, for decades only to find
the dam would cost $10 billion to construct - if it ever survived environmental
review and if earthquakes didn't render the site useless in the interim. This
fall, the State of California finally revoked the federal government's unused
water right for the project. Ultimately, the Bureau of Reclamation spent more
than 40 years and $300 million studying a dam that would never be built and
would never deliver a drop of water. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The Auburn Dam boondoggle is not an outlier. The Bureau of Reclamation is a
billion-dollar-a-year water management agency created for a different era, when
our nation had different needs. Enormous water infrastructure projects like
dams and reservoirs once drove agricultural and urban development, but no
longer. Today, the serious water challenges facing the American West have been
exacerbated by climate change, and the largest water manager in the country
hasn't adapted. The Bureau of Reclamation has constantly convinced themselves
that building one more big dam - or one more canal - would finally solve our
water problems. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>In some cases, reservoirs help to meet our new water needs, but such
expensive and time-consuming projects only make sense in the context of an
agency that follows the science and the law, is a wise steward of the resource,
and promotes cost-effective solutions. It's hard to say that the Bureau of
Reclamation is that agency, and to remain relevant in the coming years the
agency will have to reinvent itself. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>President-elect Barack Obama has articulated a clear and compelling vision
of a government that, in sharp contrast to the last eight years, addresses
real-world problems. As he said last month, "This isn't about big
government or small government. It's about building a smarter government that
focuses on what works." <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Smart government, when it comes to supplying water to cities, farms and the
environment in the 21st century, will mean leaving behind the dam-building and
pipeline-laying federal bureaucracy of the last hundred years. If we put our
money into proven and cost-effective strategies like groundwater cleanup and
better coordination between reservoirs, then we can dramatically improve the
reliability of our existing clean water supplies without wasting time and
energy chasing the cumbersome and expensive infrastructure dreams of the past
century. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Instead of spending time and money we can't afford to study dams that will
never be built, the federal government should work with local water managers
who have cost-effective plans to stretch their existing water supplies. In the
city of Pittsburg, in my congressional district, and in other parts of the Bay
Area, for example, water managers are actively pursuing alternative water
supplies through water recycling, where wastewater is treated and the clean
result is reused for commercial irrigation and industrial processes. This
allows us to add water to the system - quickly, reliably and without causing
environmental damage or depending on increasingly unreliable snowpack. Congress
authorized the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program last
year, which will pump nearly $30 million in federal seed money into the system
that will be matched many times over by local entities. Congress will be
pursuing similar efforts in the years to come.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Under the Bush administration, the Bureau of Reclamation fought these
proposals every step of the way. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Federal agencies also need to do much more to help businesses, farms and
cities adjust to a new, more water-constrained future by becoming more
efficient. California has already proved it can rise to such a challenge with
energy use: We use 40 percent less electricity per capita than the national
average, and a recent UC Berkeley study found that our investments in energy
efficiency have created more than a million jobs while saving Californians $56
billion in energy costs. We can take that model and apply it to our world of
water. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Significantly improving the water-use efficiency of major appliances and
fixtures could save billions of gallons of water per day, yet today there are
no tax incentives targeted specifically at water conservation. Expanded federal
incentives, improved research and development, and stronger federal efficiency
requirements can help us reduce our reliance on dwindling or unstable water
supplies, while driving innovation, saving money and adding to the economy. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Now is the time to have a serious conversation about whether we will still
need a $1 billion-a-year federal dam construction and water management agency
in the 21st century. The president-elect and his team clearly understand the
challenges posed by a warming and more variable climate, and they recognize
that a smarter government can help America meet its challenges. It's time to
insist that an old bureaucracy learn new tricks so that we can meet our clean
water needs without breaking the bank or wreaking havoc on our natural
waterways. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=dtlcomment>Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, is a member of the House
Democratic Leadership and the former chairman of the House Natural Resources
Committee.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
cell</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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