Dr. Brenda Ortigoza Bateman, Senior Policy Analyst for the Oregon Water Resources Department and Chair of AWRA's Policy Technical Committee, was kind enough to send me this list her committee produced. It was distributed at her panel discussion, State Water Resource Plans: Expensive Doorstops or Valuable Tools?, at the recent AWRA meeting. Great title!
I dropped 'Future' from the post title (the list's title is actually 'Top Ten List For Future Water Resource Planners') since I think the list is valuable for current planners. The list will be published shortly in AWRA's IMPACT.
Here is a copy of the list and a description of the panel session, including panelists.
Download 2008 AWRA Policy Panel - Top 10 List
Brenda was recently awarded the AWRA's Outstanding Young Professional Award for her leadership and achievement. It is quite an honor.
1. Start by Developing a Vision. A product that is cost-effective and that resonates with policy-makers is one in which participants brainstorm what they want the landscape to look like in 20 or 50 years, putting recommendations up front and identifying benchmarks that help get there. By comparison, plans often start with data collection and a gap analysis, which is resource intensive and controversial.
2. Develop a Political Plan. This is the piece that will make a technically good plan into a politically acceptable plan. It includes the development of an overall game plan and identifies up front which issues may be deal makers versus deal killers
3. Build a Solid Foundation on Water Law. Planners must convey how they plan to allocate any “new” water (i.e., have water laws in place and well understood). Certainty helps build and maintain support during the planning process.
4. Establish Funding Sources. Planning is not a one-time effort. On-going funding is a key ingredient to ensure buy-in, participation, quality, and implementation of each plan. Find a dedicated funding source, but also leverage additional funding. Integrated planning that includes quality and quantity, water and land, etc., helps leverage additional funds from the federal government, foundations, etc.
5. Employ an Open, Transparent Process. Give stakeholders plenty of opportunities to suggest goals, methodologies, data sources, and content. Post documents on-line so they are easy to access. Establish Advisory, Stakeholder, and/or Technical Groups that will ensure a wide range of perspectives and expertise.
6. Turn Challenges into Opportunities. Challenges such as droughts, floods, climate change conditions, population growth, or other water-related events provide opportunities to establish or strengthen a water plan. Water challenges can provide needed insights and political support to improve plans and their implementation.
7. Collaborate across Political Boundaries. Planning is an inherently political process and must account for the fact that multiple counties, states, and even countries depend on water from the same river basins, watersheds, and aquifers.
8. Use Regional Partnerships to Create Local Solutions. In states with limited financial resources, supporting a series of disconnected local projects is no longer practical. Foster region-wide or basin-wide partnerships that will account not just for water quantity, but also water quality, ecological needs, land-use planning, and other factors.
9. Standardize Data Sets and Methodologies. Robust, state-wide forecasting tools, water budgets, and program evaluations require access to data sets that are developed with standardized methodologies. Use incentives to encourage the adoption and sharing of these methodologies.
10. Strive for Consistency (and Flexibility)! Provide a sense of continuity by building upon the work begun in previous plans and studies. At the same time, those with a background in planning recognize that times change, leaders change, and so does climate. Address important issues of the day to keep your plan relevant. As much as anything, this process is about managing “change,” not just managing “water.”
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
"A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow." -- Unknown
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