Featuring Charles Wilson, Executive Director and CEO of the Southern California Water Coalition
In February of 2022, a team of researchers from Columbia University and UCLA published a study that concluded the Southwest United States had entered its worst drought in 1,200 Years. Many Americans were alarmed by the news and took to social media to ask questions to try and understand how this happened and what this means for the future. Many connected the drought with the issue of climate change.
To gain a better perspective on the drought and water consumption in California, I reached out to Charles Wilson, Executive Director and CEO of the Southern California Water Coalition (SCWC). Charles generously took the time to explain our current situation to me and provide insight on the issue of the overconsumption of natural resources.
To take on the issue, Charles says it is best to take a forward thinking approach when it comes to the severe drought.
"You've got to look forward. You have to look through the front windshield as opposed to the rearview mirror if you're going to drive down the freeway. Nobody drives down the freeway going backwards."
He adds that climate change is a pressing issue in its own right, but if you're going to solve the issue of making sure we can supply people with water, that must be your focus.
Conditions are constantly changing, and as technology continues to improve, we need to constantly adapt how we approach the new issues that present themselves with the latest technology in order to find the best solution. Charles made a point of this by stating:
"You will never prevent a drought. You will never prevent dry spells. They Happen. They will always happen and they have always happened. The question is: What do you do to manage through really dry times and how do you prepare for the next dry time."
As for how people can help during a drought, Charles reminded me that we all can always use water wiser. According to Charles, rather than asking ourselves how we can conserve or use less water, we need to ask ourselves how we can stop wasting water. However, this has proved to be easier said than done –because a shocking number of people don't fully understand where their water comes from and how it gets to them.
In a public poll conducted by SCWC, Southern California residents were asked where their water comes from. A concerning amount of them simply responded with "the sink". The follow up question of "Where is the Bay Delta?" resulted in another troubling number of individuals once again referring to their Delta brand faucet on their sink. Without the amount of large lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water that many other states have (not including the ocean) Charles says that for many "out of sight is out of mind." Because of this, Charles adds, people don't realize how much goes into providing them with a "limitless" supply of clean water each and every day. Therefore, the way to change the public's understanding of water is through the education of natural resources.
"You begin with education, so they understand where the water comes from and the huge levels of work it takes to bring [water] in from hundreds of miles away; and/or from their local groundwater resources."
Charles says he has found that prioritizing public education on natural resources leads to positive shifts in how we think about the value of water; which ultimately leads to sustainable changes.
We begin to question our choices through the lens of understanding how our choices impact water consumption. One of the positive changes that many are beginning to make is switching out their grass lawn and rose garden for drought-tolerant plants that are natural to the area and create a sense of character in a community.
One area where we can start to change our consumption habits is outdoor water use, and all it takes it learning to use water wisely. Charles likes to say that through his nonprofit they "educate to advocate" and believes that an increase in natural resource education is one of the best ways to create change for the future:
"If people understand where their water comes from, what it takes to deliver their water, and then what it takes to go forward, they will advocate in their own special interest with policy makers to make the shift."
Though we have come a long way in resource technology, it alone won't save us. We need to have citizens that can make informed choices when they vote on policy, and it all begins with education.
That being said, in terms of technology we have continued to make leaps and bounds in finding ways to further stretch out our resources. The future, Charles believes, lies in water recycling.
Charles Wilson is no stranger to this subject. He served as president of the Santa Margarita Water District and was part of turning Lake Mission Viejo into the first recycled-water recreational lake in California. While recycling water isn't a new concept and has been used in the past for crops and irrigation, technologies have continued to improve to the point where we can now put water back into the system and refine it to the point where it can safely be consumed on a larger scale than ever before; with Orange County standing as the world leader in Water Recycling.
Even as it's become such a big part of local life here in Orange County, this is only the beginning for recycled water's big future. So why haven't water recycling plants become more common?
Like any new technology, the early adopters pay the biggest price. While places like Los Angeles and Orange County currently have these programs, it is not financially feasible for many others to follow suit. However, as the technology improves and more and more city's build water recycling plants, the costs will begin to lower and it will become one of the biggest contributors in stretching out our most valuable resource. Charles compares this cycle to the initial costs of putting solar panels on houses when they first became commercially available, compared to where the cost is now.
While our technology is improving and there is hope for us to make it through the drought, it is imperative that we begin to understand the effects of our own consumption on water and other natural resources.
For more information, visit the Southern California Water Coalition's website
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