Back in July 2020, I wrote in this column about the increasing use of the term “resilience” in water policy circles. Looking back at that column, I wondered if I had been a little snarky and dismissive. After all, we all want and need a water infrastructure and governing system that is, among other things, resilient. Especially as we endure the changing climate impacts on our snowpack throughout the West.
Then again, if one were to embark on a mission to fundamentally change the water policies that have enabled California and other Western states to grow and prosper over their history, asserting that those very systems—water infrastructure and governance—no longer provide resiliency would be a smart way to create broad acceptance of the need for reforms.