Water conference dominated by drought

California’s water problems have more to do with management than they do with supply, an attorney who deals exclusively with water issues said Friday.

“The state has plenty of water, but it has to do a better job of managing it,” said Russell McGlothlin of the Santa Barbara office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. “The state legislature has to come up with better water policies.”

McGlothlin was part of a panel discussion at the 12th annual San Bernardino County Water Conference, which was sponsored by the Baldy View chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California.

This year’s session at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario was dominated by talk of the drought, just as it has been for the past few years. McGlothlin and his fellow speakers implored the state to find more ways to save water, including trapping water from rainstorms rather than letting most of it run into the ocean.

“We need to set priorities,” McGlothlin said. “Is the best use of our water golf courses in Palm Springs, or greens lawns in Los Angeles? No one seems to know.”

Jack Simes, area planning officer and acting area manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Temecula office, gave a more pessimistic assessment of the state’s water supply.

Two of the state’s primary storage site, at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, are currently operating at 49 percent and 38 percent, respectively, and the state’s entire supply system is under 50 percent, Simes said.

“We’re in an 18-year drought, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to end soon,” Simes told the crowd of about 300. “We’re facing some serious challenges.”