March 31, 2011
University of California, Berkeley
Sustainable Water Resources in California and the Nation: Facts & Myths
The principal dilemma to solving California’s water problems is how to
revitalize the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta ecosystem while ensuring
water for Californians (north and south) including the most fertile
agricultural land in the world. This is a only one part of a larger U.S.
national problem of shrinking aquifers and that national problem is a subset of
the World’s sustainable water supply crisis. About 70 % of available water in
the world is being used for agriculture and farmers are experiences water
shortages. In many countries river water no longer reaches the seas and 50 % of
the Earth’s wetlands have disappeared because water is being diverted to
irrigation. This situation has a major impact on food supply. The impact of
scarce water on human health is tremendous. Overall, 15 % of the World’s
population does not have adequate access to pure water. In some countries half
the population has a scarcity of uncontaminated water. Each day nearly five
thousand children worldwide die from diarrhea-related diseases, a toll that
would drop dramatically if water for sanitation is made available. Another
dimension of water resources is hydrologic hazards, including floods and
droughts. Over three-quarters of United States disaster declarations are
associated with water-related events.
This symposium focuses on major aspects of water supply
ranging from water balances, distribution, reuse and purification including
economic perspectives. Eight speakers and panelists will focus on the problem
and some solutions with examples from California that can carry lessons for
other regions. The symposium is sponsored by the University of California,
Department of Bioengineering and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It
is under the aegis of the National Academy of Engineering and is part of the
NAE regional meetings.
Meeting Sponsors:
Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley
College of Engineering, UC Berkeley
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, University of California
National Academy of Engineering
