Rising to Resilience: Sustainable Water Management
"...at a turning point and on the precipice"
5th Annual Darcy Aston lecturer, Felicia Marcus, J.D., shares her perspectives on water policy and management in California and beyond.
Written by Elijah Baker
Environmental Studies hosted it’s 5th annual Darcy Aston Memorial Water Lecture last Fall, on October 29th, 2019. The program's distinguished speaker was Felicia Marcus, the former chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board and a former Administrator for the US EPA Region 9. Marcus’ wealth of knowledge and her incredible stage presence made for a truly engaging, educational, and enjoyable experience. Felicia Marcus has experience in law, land management, water management, and has worked with non-profits, NGOs, and state and federal government positions. She co-founded Heal the Bay, a leading nonprofit organization over 30 years ago.
Marcus’ talk took the audience through some of the biggest issues in water management in California. Felicia Marcus expertly used images, graphs, and humor to further her lecture, showcasing her prowess as a science communicator. Marcus noted how conversations about water management in California are often oversimplified. In fact, she noted that California in particular has the most variable hydrology in the U.S., meaning our rain cycle is unpredictable, we get our water from a variety of sources and that it is needed for a variety of sectors, all of which complicate water management.
Marcus focused on the need for collaboration in order to make progress. To make an effective change and solve something this complex, “you have to have an awareness of those other pieces [and perspectives]...rule number 1 is to respect what everyone looks at and figure out how to acknowledge it.”
“We are at a turning point and on the precipice.” While discussing the severity of the recent drought in California, Marcus noted that we were able to make incredible strides towards better water management over a few years than we had made in previous decades. She hopes that the ambition to improve our water systems will have the same support as we continue to face climate change. Marcus believes that there needs to be a cultural paradigm shift in how we view water and water management. She noted a need for improved groundwater management, watershed management, water conservation, and ecosystem restoration as means to achieve better water quality and management.
As always with the Darcy Aston Memorial talks, the lecture ended with a lively potluck attended by Environmental Studies Students, Faculty, and staff, Bren Graduate students, and community members. All of the food was provided by lecture-viewers, further highlighting the close-knit environmental community we are lucky to be a part of. The Darcy Aston Memorial Lecture Series is an event held in honor of former Environmental Studies alumna, Darcy Aston. The lecture series is an opportunity for the community to engage in a free, educational event surrounding one of the critical areas that Aston was most engaged in, water. We thank the Bren School for generously sharing their lecture hall for this event.
Banner image credit: Department of Water Resources
