State water leader Lester Snow talks about precious resource
The need for a clean and reliable water supply is of utmost importance to the agricultural industry, a growing urban population, and wildlife in California. Lester Snow, Director of the California Department of Water Resources, focused on the challenges of maintaining that supply during an October 15 talk at CSU Stanislaus.
Director Snow provided attendees at the Fall Ag Studies Speaker Series Lecture, sponsored by Yosemite Farm Credit, with an overview of California’s current water crisis and the challenges created by a three-year drought, population growth, and a changing climate. His presentation opened the Third Annual Conference for Sustainable Futures co-sponsored by the College of Humanities & Social Sciences that continued through the weekend on the CSU Stanislaus campus. The Agricultural Studies Speaker Series is held in the spring and fall to provide a learning experience about relevant agricultural issues for students, faculty, and the public.
Snow described how the Department of Water Resources forecasts future water needs, evaluates and inventories existing water supplies, explores conservation and storage options, supervises flood management, and supports ecosystem restoration.
The Department of Water Resources protects, conserves, and manages the State’s water supply, including operation of the California State Water Project, the largest state-run, multi-purpose water and power system in the United States. The State Water Project provides a supplemental water source for 23 million Californians and about 750,000 acres of irrigated farmland and directly sustains over $400 billion of the state’s economy.
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