Since the end of the legislative session in September, support for ambitious water reform legislation has been growing steadily. Not only is the list of those calling for change long, but it also includes some unlikely allies. Major stakeholders from Northern California, the Central Valley, and Southern California -- the same groups that have been locked in California’s water wars for generations -- have joined together to back reform legislation -- either recent proposals or legislative proposals that address the same issues.

This list now includes the following:

Environmental and Fishing Groups

• NRDC
• The Environmental Defense Fund
• The Nature Conservancy
• Defenders of Wildlife
• The Bay Institute
• The Audubon Society
• Trout Unlimited

Water Agencies

• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
• Contra Costa Water District
• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
• San Diego County Water Authority
• Westlands Water District. 

Business Leaders

• Silicon Valley Leadership Group
• Bay Area Council
• The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
• The Orange County Business Council
• The Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• BioCom

Read that list again.  Over the past several decades, fights among these groups have spilled through state and federal courtrooms, as well as the halls of the state capitol, the nation’s capitol, state and federal agencies and the White House – not to mention your morning paper.  The fact that such a diverse and growing list can come together around ambitious legislation holds out hope that, contrary to our collective reputation, water interests can behave like responsible, problem-solving adults.

It’s important to note that the new version of SB 68 (now known as SB 1-7x) was released just last Friday.  Some of the groups above have not completed their review of its provisions.  However, all of these groups have either supported SB 68 or encouraged the legislature to pass a comprehensive package of bills.  Many of these groups testified on Monday in support of Senator Steinberg’s legislation.  Some of these interests are also watching carefully to see how a few remaining issues will be resolved.  (In fact, so is NRDC.  I’ll write separately about a remarkable debate about whether or not to waive the constitutional prohibition against wasting water.) 

Want another sign that something interesting is going on?  Take a look at this story in The Economist.  It states, in part, that “Westlands’ Mr Birmingham feels that many environmental groups, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Nature Conservancy, have become “genuinely interested in working with water agencies.”  That’s something you don’t hear every day.  Suffice it to say that NRDC and the Westlands Water District have disagreed about many things over the years – frequently before a federal judge.   

California’s water wars are regularly marked by periods when lawyers retreat to their trenches for a legal war of attrition.  These skirmishes are too seldom halted by moments of cooperation.  The growing support for state water reform legislation does not indicate that peace has broken out.  But perhaps it is a sign that a truce is possible -- giving us time and breathing room to develop workable solutions to meet the legitimate needs of the environment, fishermen, farmers and urban residents.