Publications

- February 1, 2016: Vol. 3, Number 2

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State of Dehydration: California will have to dig deep to tap new ways to deliver water, and private investors have a role to play

by David Richardson

California is in its fourth year of a record-breaking drought that is wreaking havoc on California residents and affecting the rest of the country. With no end in sight, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a State of Emergency and imposed strict water conservation measures on residents, businesses, municipalities and farms, with a mandate to cities and towns to reduce their water usage by 25 percent.

While farmers are by far the largest consumers of water, residents, businesses and municipalities also are learning to embrace water-saving techniques. Residents and businesses were slow to respond to state appeals for voluntary water conservation during the first three years of the drought. They have been much quicker to respond to the recent imposition of $500 per day excess water usage fines.

In the face of these challenges, California municipalities are embarking on a course that will take advantage of new technologies to keep water flowing, and investors will have opportunities

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