Water and Food Supply Roundtable (CA) Releases Recommendations

On June 22, the California Roundtable on Water and Food Supply (CRWFS) released a set of recommendations to shift thinking and spur action to balance the water needs of both farms and the broader environment.  CRWFS is a project of Ag Innovations Network. Based on the concept of water stewardship, the group has called for water management approaches to be grounded in local environmental and socio-economic conditions and for efforts to optimize on-farm use while serving needs in the broader watershed. To advance this framework, the Roundtable has issued specific recommendations for state agencies, water suppliers, local water management groups, the agricultural community, and the research community. Recommendations overview: 1. Create a stronger knowledge base.

• Prioritize research objectives.
• Develop clear indicators of success for water stewardship.
• Improve research & data communications.

2. Improve support mechanisms for growers.

• Expand technical, financial and peer support for agricultural water stewardship practices.
• Enhance the ability of Integrated Regional Water Management processes to advance agricultural water stewardship solutions as part of their place-based focus.

3. Move toward outcome-based policy and regulatory frameworks that foster agricultural water stewardship.

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CRWFS members:

• Thad Bettner, Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District
• Juliet Christian-Smith, Pacific Institute
• Martha Davis, Inland Empire Utilities Agency
• Brock Dolman, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center WATER Institute
• Allan Fulton, UC Cooperative Extension
• Corny Gallagher, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Sarge Green, California Water Institute
• Kamyar Guivetchi, Department of Water Resources
• Martha Guzman Aceves, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
• Glenda Humiston, USDA Rural Development
• Jacob Katz, UC Davis, Dept. of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology
• Luana Kiger, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Mary Ann King, Trout Unlimited
• Danny Merkley, California Farm Bureau Federation
• David Orth, Kings River Conservation District
• Jovita Pajarillo, US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9
• Mark Rentz, Association of California Water Agencies
• Bruce Rominger, Rominger West Winery
• Dave Runsten, Community Alliance with Family Farmers
• Steve Shaffer, Environmental Consulting for Agriculture
• Fran Spivy-Weber, California State Water Resources Control Board
• Tom Tomich, UC Davis Sustainability Institute
• Casey Walsh Cady, California Department of Food and Agriculture
• Diana Westmoreland Pedrozo, Agricultural Advocate
• Leo Winternitz, The Nature Conservancy