MISSION: WATER 18 SURFACE WATER Tackling the Problem The government of California has worked to solve the water shortage problem since before the 2014 drought. Legislation has been passed to better control where water is allocated during times of extreme dryness and also to help combat fires in the national parks system. The state also executed a statewide mandatory water reduction in 2015 focused on reducing water usage by 25%. A statewide rebate was put into place to help families replace old appliances with new, water efficient ones. California is also partnering with local governments to replace 50 million square feet (4.65 million m2 ) of grass with turf to reduce water consumption from lawn care. While government policy changes and citizen mandates have helped, there’s more to be done. California’s voters approved two major propositions within the last few years that the state hopes have a big impact. California is also using water reuse to combat groundwater depletion. Legislation helped establish the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) in Orange County. Per the water district, the GWRS “is the world’s largest water purification system for indirect potable reuse.”10 The system takes water from reclamation facilities and uses advanced treatment technologies to recycle it, pumping approximately 65 million gallons (246 million liters) of water into the district’s percolation basins every day. There, the water is naturally filtered and returned to the deep aquifers of the groundwater basin.11 10 Orange County Water District, Water Reuse 8 CA - EPA, Proposition 1 9 Legislative Analyst's Office, Proposition 68 7 Thomson Reuters Westlaw, California Code of Regulations 11 Orange County Water District, GWRS "The state...focused on reducing water usage by 25%." Proposition 1 has three main objectives for its multibillion dollar funding. These include creating more reliable water supplies, restoring important species and habitat, and creating more resilient and sustainably managed water infrastructure.7 This proposition was voted into effect on November 4, 2014 and authorized $7.545 billion in general obligation bonds for the use on water projects relating to surface and groundwater storage, ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration, and drinking water protection. As of May 2018, approximately $185 million has been disbursed, and there are more projects to come.8 Proposition 68 was passed on the June 5, 2018 ballet. This authorizes the state to sell $4 billion in general obligation bonds to fund natural resources related programs. It provides grants for companies to construct water recycling and reuse projects. It also provides funds to natural resource conversation efforts which include improvements to wilderness and open spaced areas. This could include the discarding of dried out plants and dead trees by way of controlled burns in an effort to prevent wildfires and revitalize charcoaled portions of forests.9 PROPOSITION 1 PROPOSITION 68