ESSP 387 - Water Resource Assessment, Law & Policy

Fall Semester, 2005

Tu-Th 12-1:50 in 53/E105

California State University Monterey Bay

Earth Systems Science & Policy

Bob Curry and Myriam Weber-- Syllabus Version 2.0 Final

Office hours: Tue 2-4 and by appointment

 

HuangHe, China (Yellow River) [click image for full size]

 

Salmon attempting to migrate over Highway 1, Humboldt County, California

 

1. Prerequisites to count for ESSP major: Geology/Hydrology and Introductory Economics or consent of instructors
2. Prerequisite for other majors: Consent of Instructors and Upper Division status
3. Ability to attend at least one of two scheduled Saturday field trips and a couple of short local site visits
4. Three class papers are required. The Constitution exercise (#1) is a short individual project that addresses some of the Democratic Participation ULR requirements. The second paper looks at embodied water in a product or service, the third is an individual effort involving original research, may become a Capstone Project, and is to be presented both orally and in written form. The ULR also requires a political involvement that we will me with some invited guests that you will question, and/or a review of the requirements to get elected to a local water supply agency.
5. Serious attention to your real potential to make a change through your education. There are 20 people signed up for 8 hours a week of class + 16 hours field + project effort + 8-10 hours a week of class prep, reading and writing. That's almost 4800 person hours, or about 2 person years of 40-hour weeks. With the added time of outside speakers and project coordinators, our extraordinary opportunity should be put to work to effect real lasting policy contributions that will make a difference to your grandchildren. The time to make a real difference is NOW!

Democratic Participation ULR:

REQUIREMENTS:

The Democratic Participation ULR asks students to demonstrate both historical and contemporary understanding of (1) the United States and California Constitutions; (2) the political philosophies and political processes associated with constitutional issues; and (3) at least one alternative form of governance.

What does this mean ?

Students will be expected to (1) write at least one research essay or extended discussion on a contemporary or historical issue relative to democratic participation in the United States, and (2) conduct a project that demonstrates an understanding of the tools of political action and report on that project (in any medium mutually agreed upon by the student and the instructor) in a manner that shows reflection on the values and assumptions that inform the student's political participation.

Learning Outcomes: This course satisfies both the Democratic Participation ULR, and Case Studies and Policy portions of ESSP

Reading Assignments, Class Resources & Texts:

We ask that you have as a basic background reference: Water Law in a Nutshell (Nutshell Series) by David H. Getches, paperback: 456 pages ;West Publishing Company; 3rd edition (December 1, 1996) ISBN: 0314211578. Most of our readings will be from contemporary on-line sources.  We assume that you have access to any paperback copy of Cadillac Desert by Mark Reisner. We will also put on reserve the critically important California Water Atlas that provides a snapshot of some of the issues facing the State back in 1978 and other basic references.

An update of the data in the Water Atlas is available through the "California Water Plan" which is California Water Resources Agency Bulletin 160-98 that is accessible through the excellent monolake.org/ site or directly through DWR at http://rubicon.water.ca.gov/b160index.html.  Snow survey and irrigation resources are available for all western states through the Cooperative Snow Surveys.  For California, the latest data is at cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/current/snow/.  Historic and projection data are also available through the California Data Exchange cdec.water.ca.gov.

Water agencies, districts, and other purveyors all belong to a private association in California - the Association of California Water Agencies.  They are not all interested in public dissemination of what they do, but some background is available at their web site http://www.acwanet.com/.  Uniquely Southern California are Water Replenishment Districts (http://wrd.org).  Each of you will be asked to read and subscribe to a free daily or weekly water newsletter throughout the semester.  These are Safedrinkingwater.com News and other regional US and California Water News.  Please sign-up now. Please enter your name at the subscription sites (cf., www.bcwaternews.com, etc.). Spam is minimal. There will be assigned readings from these newsletters.

Assessments:

Course assessments are to be based on in-class participation, exercises, and the final presentation.  Writing must be at least at the university Junior level.  Grammar and spelling and citation style count.  Oral presentations are informal but not casual.  I want to see evidence of critical independent thinking, not regurgitation.  I assess your reading and background research based on the character of your in-class questions and responses and short announced tests.  Volume of class comment is not as important as content. Exact points for each effort cannot be allocated because I work on a scale that considers your total and individual contributions. . Classroom participation (voluntary, oral, interactive, field trips, etc.) will count an extra 15% bonus. In the event that you develop a class paper based on an exercise (I encourage this) or a capstone project around a class paper, weightings may change to your benefit.

Exercise 1: 5
Exercise 2: 7
Exercise 3: 7
Exercise 4: Moot Court: 20
Exercise 5: 6
Classroom participation: 15
Final presentation: 40

ULR Democratic Participation writing: [Exercise 5]
   Choose a Water District (in California) or water purveyor, perhaps in your home-town, and find out the following:

• When was it established?, By whom? Is there legislative history?
• Does it have powers of taxation?  How are its costs passed on to rate-payers?
• Does it have a governing Board?  Are they elected?  Does it have a paid staff?  Are they appointed?
• What does the Board (or equivalent) do?  What would you have to do to get elected or appointed?  What are the politics? - real estate, lawyers, land developers; do they campaign to get elected?
• Then write a 4 page essay about your perceptions of the process and the knowledge base of those who make decisions about this water supply.  Write it as an editorial opinion piece for a newspaper in that water service area. Keep in mind the requirements of the ULR.
• Note how it is established and functions within the State Water Code if in California.

 Potential Individual Paper topics: 

   These include potential paper topics posted last year for individual research effort during that semester and many new topics. In some cases two or more persons may work on aspects of a given topic, but in most cases these are designed as suggestions for individual paper topics. You are encouraged to develop your own topics. A pre-proposal will be required by the 6th week, with a list of sources of information you expect to use and your strategy for developing your paper. These may become capstone projects for ESSP majors.

1. The California Coastal Commission reports that desalinization plants will ruin California beaches and coasts. Is this true?
2. What is the role of Oncorhynchus mykiss in western US water policy? (NB ESU page)
3. The bottled water industry has changed in the past six years, in part in response to work in this class. How has it changed? What are it's future prospects? How fast is the industry growing? How is water quality regulated or protected? Where do Calistoga, Arrowhead, Crystal Geyser, Big Sur, and other common supplies come from? Which are really springs?
4. For a chemist, investigate claims of a source of common regional bottled water, cf Calistoga, etc., based upon published or instructor-supplied chemical data. Is Calistoga from Calistoga? Is it from Napa Valley? How do advertising campaigns match real information? Why is Evian naivE, spelled backwards?
5. Why do building codes seem to ignore water conservation. If it takes 20 gallons of wasted water to supply hot water to your shower, what good is a low-flow showerhead or 2.5 gallon flush toilet? Who makes these code rules?
6. Two or three could investigate and evaluate the ongoing issues of groundwater management as part of the strategic plans for conjunctive use in the Salinas Valley (or elsewhere) as promulgated by the Monterey County Water Resource Agency and the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
7. One or two could evaluate aspects of the ongoing Monterey Peninsula Water Management District's search for water supplies for the Monterey Peninsula and Seaside.
8. Someone could do an historical review of the Public Trust Doctrine as applied in the Mono Lake Decision, and its potential impact on all water rights in California or other states that follow its water doctrines.
9. Review the Carmel River underflow decision and its impacts on local and regional water supplies. Who decided that CalAm could no longer pump from the Carmel Aquifer as in the past? What was the basis? How does that decision affect other regional, and statewide water supplies?
10. Some could evaluate the economics of one or more alternative water supplies for the Monterey Peninsula, including wastewater reuse. Evaluate the Seaside desalinization efforts and new proposals. Why are desal plants being planned throughout coastal California?
11. Look at current desalinization proposals for the Monterey Peninsula. How many, where, by whom; effects upon growth constraints and self-sufficiency?
12. Look at desalinization in the Arabian Gulf countries. Can countries like the United Arab Emirates continue to add new plants. Is there an assimilative capacity limit for waste brines. What are the tradeoffs?
13. One could evaluate the comparative treatments of instream flow requirements under states with the Colorado doctrine and with the California doctrine.
14. A number cruncher may want to investigate the embodied energy and energy costs in imported water as, for example,  bottled water from Figi or Evian versus a local bottled water.
15. Bottle your own water (www.greatwater.com) with your own labels and sell it..
16. Any number of soft-water path options could be chosen and the impediments to their implementation investigated. IE; gray-water vs building codes, groundwater injection vs public health, usefruct vs ownership; protection of recharge areas, etc.
17. How are water agencies and Districts working on the "yuck factor" to prepare the public to accept recycled water? Orange County; LA; Singapore...
18. Explore an alternative water technology (soft path technology) such as rainwater capture, solar desalinization or brackish water, agricultural enhancement of recharge, etc.
19. How is Budweiser Beer involved in a major debate ongoing in Owens Valley to rewater the Owens River and then pump back into the LA Aqueduct?
20. Present arguements for and against water resource privatization? Or pick a company [CalAm-RWE-Thames, Western Water Co., Enron in Madera Co., U.S. Filter in S. Calif., Vidler Water, etc] and explore their experiences with privatization. See the Water for All website for links to the water privitazation corporations.

Capstone Projects:

If you would like to consider using your class project in this class for a capstone in ESSP, we need to determine what added work will be necessary to meet that capstone requirement. It need NOT be completed this semester, but the work undertaken this semester should follow the ESSP capstone guidelines:

 

Students with disabilities who may need accommodations please see me by the third week of classes during

office hours or make an appointment by calling 582-4098 or by email bob_curry@csumb.edu. ALSO, contact: Student_Disability_Resources@csumb.edu Phone: 831/582-3672 voice, or 582-4024 fax/TTY
http://www.csumb.edu/student/sdr/ "

Version 2.0 December 13, 2005