I am not one for wish lists but thought I'd take a crack at one for 2017. No great thought was put into the list, the ordering is arbitrary and the focus is decidedly on the USA. My main criterion is that these things are not impossible, but could actually be realized.
1) The Supreme Court rules on the Mississippi v. Tennessee (Memphis) groundwater case. The case is already before SCOTUS, but right now there is the potential for a 4-4 vote which means the status quo prevails.
2) The Supreme Court rules on the ACF basin case - Florida v. Georgia. Same comment made in (1) is operative.
3) Oregon allocates sufficient long-term funding to assess its groundwater depletion and available groundwater in storage.
4) Above-average snowpack and runoff occur in the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and Cascade Range. Corollary: the California and Southwestern USA's droughts start to wane as reservoir and subsurface storage increases.
5) Groundwater is increasingly discussed at all levels: local, state, national, and international. See here, here, and here. Did you think I was going to omit this?
6) The Flint water crisis is resolved (or well on its way to such) and lead in drinking water is addressed.
7) The world continues to aggressively provide clean drinking water and sanitation for all those who need it. The USA is not immune to the affliction - think farmworkers in the Central Valley of California and elsewhere, native American reservations, et al. No excuses - this is not rocket science, folks. Oh, yeah - don't forget the integrated approach to sustainable development of water resources.
8) Federal and state water and climate agencies are not gutted.
9) My friends and colleagues John Fleck and Bill and Rosemarie Alley enjoy
huge sales on their respective books. Why? Because these are great books with important stories to tell. Also - Cynthia Barnett starts another water book. Why? Because I want to read another one!
10) People become more aware of the importance of ethics in the water realm.
Special bonus:
11) California addresses its Bay-Delta conflict and all parties start to seek some common ground upon which an agreement can be crafted. This is the USA's most difficult water problem and I'm not sure it will be resolved in my lifetime.
We'll see how I do. I'd love to hear of your lists.
My best wishes to you for 2017!
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."- Gandhi
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