Karla Nemeth, Director of the California Department of Water Resources, a verifiable Woman of Water – aka a WOW - joins Darcy and Darcy this week and the conversation never stops! Karla shares her experiences and how relationships are the key to California’s water response success – especially in a crisis. She tells the Darcys how she has learned and adapted. Those lessons and adaptations came from weather uncertainty, regulations, legislation, and serving four (Yes FOUR!) Governors, each with their own Water and Delta plans. The complexity of her job grows daily, however, that has not dissuaded her. Karla shares that her job is to solve problems and she is ready for whatever may come.

Darcy and Darcy don’t let her off easy. They ask her about floods and California’s preparedness, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the Delta Conservation Plan (DCP), Infrastructure or lack thereof, and what keeps her up at night. Listen in! This is an episode you don’t want to miss!

To learn more about the California Department of Water Resources, visit www.water.ca.gov.

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We Grow California Podcast is paid for by the Exchange Contractors Federal PAC and Exchange Contractors State PAC and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

Time is of the essence for the Delta Conveyance Plan (DCP) studies and to help us understand what’s going on and the urgency, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Chairman Adán Ortega joined Darcy and Darcy. Recently Governor Newsome included the DCP as part of his Budget Trailer Package. Adán sets the record straight on how this legislation simply finishes the studies that are necessary so that decisions can be made with good data, rather than propaganda, misinformation, and wishful thinking. He stresses throughout the interview that this legislation is not a blank check to build the tunnel; rather it does what hasn’t been able to be done since the mid-1800’s - finish a Delta conveyance study.

This episode is a little intense, and sadly Darcy V. is suffering from laryngitis, but Darcy B. asks some tough questions. Adán doesn’t sugar coat the dire situation the Delta finds itself in. The impact the Delta failure will have on its region, state, and country is catastrophic at best. Adán shares some great insight on how Metropolitan has been preparing for a Delta failure, investing in storage and other risk mitigation efforts including its CAMP4H2O, but the reality is, this is a statewide issue.

Help get the necessary studies completed and make the information available so that an informed decision can be made about the DCP once and for all. Contact your California state legislator and ask them to support the Governor’s DCP Budget Trailer Package. If you are not sure who your legislator is, you can look them up at https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/. You can even send them an email from their official page. Every voice counts and it’s about time the legislature started counting yours.

To learn more about Chairman Adán Ortega and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, please visit, www.mwdh2o.com.

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We Grow California Podcast is paid for by the Exchange Contractors Federal PAC and Exchange Contractors State PAC and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

Darcy and Darcy are back from the Association of California Water Agencies’ (ACWA) Spring Conference! They had the pleasure of meeting Dan Keppen, the Executive Director at the Family Farm Alliance (Alliance). This week Dan joins them and discusses his upcoming retirement, his successes, challenges, and accomplishments.

After twenty years with the Alliance, and over thirty years in agriculture and water, Dan shares some advice and insights for our next generation leaders, as well as those that are leading now. The Alliance has members from all 16 western states and actively represents their ag water interests at the federal level. Dan’s been able to do this successfully by building coalitions and focusing on what can be agreed upon – which as we all know, is easier said than done. Listen in, learn how Dan has made it work on a very tight budget, and how the Family Farm Alliance earned their seat at the table. Check them out at www.familyfarmalliance.org/

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We Grow California Podcast is paid for by the Exchange Contractors Federal PAC and Exchange Contractors State PAC and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.