California's 1995 Water Bank Program: Purchasing Water Supply Options

Abstract

In anticipation of a second consecutive critically dry year, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) organized the 1995 Drought Water Bank Program. For the first time, DWR purchased water supply options from willing sellers as insurance against a possible water-short year. These options could be used by Water Bank members if needed to meet critical needs. If the options were not needed, sellers kept the option payment. This paper provides a program manager's view of the planning, management, operations, and financing of the 1995 Drought Water Bank Program and shares the writer's experiences in securing options to provide water supply certainty to California water agencies.