From
page A3 | September 18, 2015
FAIRFIELD — Water and the economy
were the major topics at the fifth annual Impact Solano business conference
presented Thursday by the North Bay Business Journal at the Hilton Garden Inn.
Micah Weinberg, who heads the Bay
Area Council Economic Institute, discussed the economy in the Bay Area and
Solano County; while Wade Crowfoot, deputy cabinet secretary and senior adviser
in the governor’s office, addressed water issues.
Forecasters are optimistic of
continued growth in the region, Weinberg said of economic conditions in the
region. The area has experienced a steady period of economic growth, rather
than a spike, he said. Some forecasts predict the Bay Area economy will get
even hotter, he said.
What happens with the economy during
the next two to three years will greatly affect Solano County,
Weinberg said. Large projects and some things that were anticipated prior to
the Great Recession could come back into focus, he said.
One of the industries leading the
way in job growth in the Bay Area is construction, which is also doing well in
Solano County, he said. Housing permits, however, do remain well below peak
amounts experienced in the 1970s and 1980s, he said.
Bright spots for Solano County
include construction, agriculture, aircraft construction, falling unemployment
and decent per capita income growth, Weinberg said.
Two major issues faced by the
overall region are a lack of affordable housing and the lack of a comprehensive
transportation plan, he said.
In wrapping up his presentation,
Weinberg talked of a mega-region that would extend from the Bay Area to
Sacramento. Solano County would be in the heart of such an area, he said. The
county would be well positioned to take advantage of a mega-region, he said.
Water and the drought
Much of Crowfoot’s discussion
centered on the drought. He also pointed, however, to climate change as a major
issue contributing to the situation.
Droughts come in cycles and the
state has endured them in the past, Crowfoot said. What has changed now is the
climate, Crowfoot said. In addition to rainfall, California’s thirst for water
has been sustained through dry months by the snowpack in the mountains. But now
there isn’t a snowpack because it’s warmer, he said.
The situation has also
affected the way major fires have spread, Crowfoot said.
Incident command teams that
determine a strategy in battling a major fire develop computer modeling,
running hundreds of forecasts in terms of how the fire will behave, he said.
Those forecasts determine where they deploy assets, he said.
The Rocky Fire, the Valley Fire and
the Butte Fire spread completely outside of the computer modeling that the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection had done, based on all
the historic data, he said.
Crowfoot also pointed to the spread
of the King Fire nearly a year ago.
“That fire made a 15-mile run in one
day, which completely stunned the most seasoned Cal Fire veterans in the
state,” he said. “Those are the conditions now that we’re facing fighting fires
and those are some of the impacts of a changing climate.”
Crowfoot acknowledged the politics
of the issue.
“Climate change is, obviously, a
political football in Washington, D.C., certainly in the presidential primary –
but I can tell you from somebody who’s living the impact day to day, it’s real
and it’s impacting Californians,” he said.
Crowfoot also talked of the human
impact of the drought.
While residents in Solano County and
other regions have made big cutbacks in their water usage and experienced
browning lawns, they have not felt the weight of the drought in the same
manner as residents in San Joaquin County or parts of the Central Valley.
About 5,000 to 10,000
people there don’t have running water in their homes because domestic
wells have gone dry, he said.
Crowfoot also discussed what El Nino
might mean to Californians. Despite the predictions of El Nino, it won’t
necessarily bring rains to Northern California, he said. The message is clear
that we need to continue to conserve, he said.
While officials are pleased with the
30 percent reduction in water usage that has been reached in the state, they
want to maintain that level, he said.
“We want to make sure when it does
rain again that we don’t revert back,” he said.
Continued restrictions will be
needed to assure there will be enough water for the future, he said.
Questioned about the distribution of
water, Crowfoot said about 80 percent goes for agriculture and 20 percent goes
to communities.
Growing food takes a lot of water,
he said. It’s a major part of what is driving the economy in many parts of the
state, he said.
He pointed out, meanwhile, that
agriculture is working to be more efficient in its water use.
Also participating in Thursday’s
business conference was a panel, representing three Solano County businesses.
Panel members were Ron Lanza, vice president of Wooden Valley Winery; Brooks
Pedder, senior managing director of the commercial real estate firm DTZ; and
Kent Fortner, founder, Mare Island Brewing Company.
The conference was co-hosted by
Travis Credit Union and underwritten by NorthBay Healthcare and Dickenson
Peatman & Fogarty. The conference is produced in collaboration with the
Solano Economic Development Corporation.
Reach Kevin W. Green at 427-6974 or kgreen@dailyrepublic.net.
