Dorothy Green 
Managing Water 
Avoiding Crisis in California

Water in California is controlled, stored, delivered, and managed within a complex network of interlocking and cooperating districts and agencies. Unraveling and understanding this system is not easy. This book describes how the current system works (or doesn’t work) and discusses the issues that face elected officials, water and resource managers, and the general public. Using the Los Angeles area as a microcosm of the state, environmental activist Dorothy Green gathers detailed information on its water systems and applies the lessons learned from this data statewide. A useful primer on watershed and water policy issues, this book provides reasoned, thoughtful, and insightful arguments about sustainability.

Table of Content

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

A Land and Water Overview 4

Climate 6

Our Rivers Today 9


1. Los Angeles Area Water Supplies 14

Local Surface Water: Rivers, Streams, Lakes,

and Reservoirs 14

Groundwater 22

Imported Water 33

Conclusion 50


2. Water Management: Who’s in Charge? 53

Water Suppliers—Wholesale 55

Water Suppliers—Retail 70

Groundwater Management Agencies 82

Wastewater Management Agencies 92

Stormwater Management Agencies 96

Water Quality Regulatory Agencies 100

Associations of Water Agencies 104

Water Management Accountability 105

The CALFED Process 109

Conclusion 111


3. Water Use Efficiency 113

Conservation—Current Practices 114

Reclamation and Reuse 132

Conjunctive Use 151

Watershed Management 155

Ocean Desalination 164

Conclusion 166


4. Drinking Water Quality 170

Drinking Water Regulatory Overview 171

Drinking Water Standards and Monitoring

Requirements 179

Water Treatment Processes 183

Potential Types of Contaminants in Drinking Water

Sources 188

Water Quality Issues, by Source 191

Coordinated Efforts to Clean Up Drinking Water

in the Los Angeles Area 214

Conclusion 216


5. State Policy and the Los Angeles Area 218

Statewide Uncertainties 219

Projected Shortages at Each Aqueduct System 224

Statewide Efficiencies 228

Water Rights, Costs 237

Water Transfers vs. Water Marketing 239

Planning Processes 249

Political Consensus 263

Conclusion 265


Elements of a Sustainable Statewide Water Policy 269

Glossary 273

Native Plant Resources 285

Websites of Interest 287

Suggested Readings 293

Index 297

About the author

Dorothy Green is founding president of Heal the Bay and among the founders of the Los Angeles & San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council, of which she is also president emeritus. She has chaired the California Water Policy (POWER) conference for the past 17 years and has helped to found the only non-profit in the state, the California Water Impact Network (c-win.org), totally devoted to water supply issues.