Emperor Brown's New Groove?

By Artun Ereren

As the California legislative session came to a close, perhaps the most important (and polarizing) piece of legislation had to have been Governor Brown’s Water Conservation Ordinance. By demanding a statewide 25 percent water consumption reduction, Governor Brown is the latest in a long line of historical lawmakers that implemented such water conservation laws.

Last month off the Aegean coast of Turkey, archaeologists found evidence of one of the world’s first laws of water conservation. According to Hürriyet newspaper a set of conservation laws inscribed on a marble slab dating back almost 2,000 years from the time Anatolia was part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were notorious for their magnificent aqueducts and irrigation lines both above and underground, so it is no surprise that Roman citizens were called on by their leaders to do their part. Much like Governor Brown’s Ordinance, the Governor of the Lidocean province passed these laws through the assembly in order to effectively utilize water coming from the Karci Mountains. The law proclaimed penalties for wasting water and diverting the water from non-state usage. The Roman state even rewarded those who reported water waste. In hindsight, it is of course easy to draw parallels on laws old and new, but the discovery of the Roman conservation slab tells us that water conservation is a legal construct that has been part of human history for quite some time.

For those who think the Roman conservation law parallels maybe a bit out of historical scope, let’s look at conservation laws implemented in Israel since the 1940s. In Seth Siegel’s book, “Let There Be Water” we are presented with a water conservation strategy that is nearly identical to what Governor Brown initiated in California June 2015.  Besides the revolutionary developments of drip irrigation, wastewater management, and desalination, Israel’s conservation laws affected all social levels. Starting in the classroom, children at a young age were strictly taught to save water and in effect would grow into adults with a water-saving sixth sense. From that point on, Israelis in a wide range of industries from telecommunications to medical fields all played some part in developing water-saving technologies. Conservation in Israel, of course, has had an effect on the Palestinian territories. From her article “Israeli Watergate Scandal” in Haaretz online newspaper, Amira Hass mentions the limits on how much Palestinians can draw groundwater from West Bank wells which in effect limit dependency on self-sustained agriculture. Without the technology that the Israelis developed, the Palestinians had no choice but to abide by Israel’s conservation measures and hope to work together for a better future.

So is there anything special or unique that came out of Governor Brown’s Conservation Ordinance?  Irvine Ranch Water District in Southern California is the conservation leader in the state. Effective wastewater management has enabled Irvine to become the suburban Eden that its planners had always envisioned. Rows of green trees and recreational parks abound, water conservation has been a key part to Irvine’s growth as a city. A massive volunteer program comprised of landscapers and environmentalists have been putting together water-saving workshops for residents much before Governor Brown enacted his ordinance.

As the conditional February deadline looms ahead for Governor Brown’s emergency conservation measure, the question of whether or not Governor Brown will keep the conservation laws as is springs up in the minds of concerned Californians. Since conservation itself is a cultural/ habitual change, it will be tough for Governor Brown to suddenly stop holding Californians accountable. As long as there are water districts like Irvine Ranch, whose customers have reacted positively to conservation, to think the state will suddenly remove the mandatory water cuts (especially during a drought) is far-fetched. Whatever happens, conservation is here for the time being, meaning Governor Brown could keep his new groove.

Artun Ereren is a firm believer of history’s role in science and vice versa. During his time at Cal State Fullerton, Artun researched topics ranging from water use in the Caucasus to present-day struggles in the education system. Blending his passion for water with his experience as an activist for education reform, Artun is now a Water Conservation Representative at Yorba Linda Water District.