Silicon Valley's integrated water system - EPW paper

California’s Santa Clara Valley widely known as the Silicon Valley, manages its water resources admirably, integrating surface water, groundwater, artificial recharge, waste-water  treatment, imported water, water conservation and public participation. 

As India seriously tackles its water challenges, Silicon Valley’s case  history provides insights into how citizens of a hydrological basin may take control of their indigenous water resources based on an understanding of the essential attributes of hydrological systems, and drawing upon the best  available science to achieve sustainable management.

This case history also highlights the fact that even with the most sophisticated integrated water management, there are definite limits to the extent to which indigenous resources can satisfy water demands.

Historically the community efforts to manage its water resources in an integrated and highly scientific manner were initially met with resistance, primarily because of high costs of implementation.

However with persistent efforts of some proponents, their efforts got a legislative backing. Santa Clara Valley Water District is a noteworthy example of a public institution in which elected representatives use the best available scientific knowledge as a basis for equitable sharing of a finite, vital resource for human benefit and for the benefit of other living things. Some of the encouraging facts to this effort are:

• Synergism between science and water policy, within the framework of democratic governance.
• Community ownership and control of water, and its sharing through transparent administration  embellished by public participation.
• Nurture of local management and its legitimisation through democratic values.

However some of the main points of critiques have been:

• Involvement of substantial costs, increased tax burden and the potential for unaccountable governance.
• Difficulty in extrapolating the Valley experience to other areas because of the unique nature of present water use in the Valley that is mostly municipal and industrial, with minimal agriculture and per capita water consumption.

Finally the key lesson that emerges here is that carefully laid out permanent groundwater and surface water monitoring systems are essential for integrated water management.

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