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GS:SES:CP:wtrconf Santa Monica, California
Council Meeting: September 24, 1991
To: Mayor and City Council
From: city Staff
Subject: Recommendation to Co-Sponsor Conference on
California Water Policy and Approve Financial
Support in the Amount of $2,500
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that City Council approve co-sponsorship of
a conference on California Water Policy which is to be held on
November 8-9, 1991, at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel. The report
also recommends approval of a financial contribution of $2,500 to
the conference.
DISCUSSION
As the fifth year of the current drought continues, increasing
attention has been paid to the long-term importance of water
conservation in California. It has become clear to many policy
makers, environmental activists, and informed citizens that the
state's water problems will not magically vanish with several good
storms. Over the past several months, reports in both the print and
electronic media have presented the recurring theme of imminent
conflict between the various water interest groups in the state
e.g., urban vs. agricultural users, southern Californians vs.
northern Californians, and developers vs. advocates for reduced
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growth.
The road towards a solution to these increasingly critical problems
must be charted so that the state can be fully prepared for
inevitable future water shortages. A comprehensive conference has
been planned under the auspices of the Environmental Water
Leadership Council, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
and the Local Government Commission to do just that. This
conference will create a public forum for a broad spectrum of state
and local elected officials, government staff, developers,
environmentalists, agriculture, water districts and industries to
seek solutions to long-range water problems.
The goals of the conference are primarily to: provide a public
forum to air the concerns of all the major players, and identify
and prioritize feasible and equitable long-range solutions to
California's water problems. It is anticipated that the following
specific issues will be among those discussed:
-- analysis of current and future water supplies and their
reliability
-- water pricing and water markets
-- water conservation
-- growth and development
-- water delivery infrastructure
-- protection of water quality
The City of Santa Monica is an acknowledged leader in California
wi th respect to its progressive water resource management policies.
Co-sponsorship of this planned conference would therefore be a
logical extension of the City's interest in broad water policy
issues.
FISCAL IMPACT
Council approval of the recommendations in this report will result
in the expenditure of $2,500 from existing Water Division account
number 25-500-671-00000-4439-00000 "Other costs". These funds will
be paid in one lump sum to the Local Government Commission, the
conference coordinator, to offset anticipated conference costs. The
estimated total budget for this planned conference exceeds
$100,000.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended that Council approve co-sponsorship of a
conference on California Water policy and approve a contribution
of $2,500 to help offset conference costs.
Prepared by: stanley Scholl, Director of General Services
Craig Perkins, Environmental Services Manager