By James Workman

To ease risks from crippling drought, the Marin Municipal Water District has set out to secure more water. For years it has considered new supply-side options, from desalination plants, to an emergency East Bay pipeline, to expanding Marin’s seven local reservoirs. Last month, in a unanimous vote, the district decided to import Sonoma County water.

That solid plan arose through a thoughtful and democratic process. And the decision, made during a wet season with full reservoirs, showed foresight. Yet, before investing $168 million to construct a 13-mile pipeline over a half decade (while diverting 3,800 acre-feet to 4,750 acre-feet out of the Russian River’s ecosystem, let’s first build resilience from within.

Marin could quietly augment our water security through a fast and affordable strategy that, oddly, no one seems to be talking about: reduce systemic losses.

Does that sound boring? Perhaps, but the savings are far from negligible. Cutting waste yields massive social, fiscal and ecological returns. It could measurably reward 191,000 residents and recover billions of gallons of drinkable water in a customized process that soon pays for itself.

Systemic loss takes several forms. First there’s physical leaks: tiny fissures and holes that, in aggregate, bleed more than 500 million gallons a year from 3,400 miles of pipes before any district water reaches our metered accounts. Next is apparent loss: 225 million gallons of water that goes uncounted due to errors and inaccuracies. Third, on our side of the meter, consider excessive waste – water sacrificed, indoors and outside, from neglect and carelessness.

In short, every day, for each of our 63,853 metered connections, MMWD leaks 21.5 gallons, misplaces another 9.6 and sends us 320 ridiculously cheap gallons to spray around wherever and however we want.

Efficiency isn’t an “either-or” situation. It is a “both-and” solution. Slashing water loss in Marin before grasping for new supplies across county lines brings political security and economic value.

Let’s generously assume the district’s upper estimate of securing 4,750 acre feet. Let’s also assume that, amid regional drought, Sonoma County won’t withhold 20% of its water deliveries to us when freaking out over its own shortages, as it did in 2021. That still leaves a resilience “road map” shortfall of 2,000 acre-feet to 4,000 acre-feet of potable water – all of which can be recovered right here, right now at a fraction of alternatives.

MMWD annually loses 2,348 acre-feet, which, according to their estimates, would be valued at $3.75 million if ratepayers footed the bill. A $10 million fix — think pipes, sensors and smart meters — cuts that in half, recovering 1,200 acre-feet fast. Based on imported infrastructure’s $1,305 per acre-foot price tag, water loss reduction saves $1.6 million a year, paying itself off before any new pipeline’s up and running.

The district should then add a voluntary buyback program. Buying back water is hardly a new idea. Western conservationists have routinely compensated irrigators to leave water in streams. More recently, Sonoma County piloted a municipal program that paid families and firms to reduce demand for much less than the cost of developing new supply. Incentives beat any new supply-side scheme hands down. By rewarding wasteful users $850 per acre-foot to free up 2,800 more, you’ve achieved resilience cheap and quick.

These proven savvy investments, on both sides of the meter, would avoid shipping jobs and cash out of Marin. A $10 million fix hires local plumbers and technicians to find and addresses leaks; buybacks put millions back into our pockets, spurring a bottom-up, countywide race to conserve.

These socially equitable buyouts focus on large wastrels, not water-frugal low-income families.

Nature also benefits. Ending systemic water loss avoids burning more energy, emitting more greenhouse gases, scarring more landscapes or stressing more Russian River salmon habitat.

This isn’t about blame or shame. Marin performs better than many water districts. But we can and want to do better.

And, refreshingly, cutting systemic water loss doesn’t require mandatory rations, higher rates, painful sacrifice or collective punishment. It simply empowers all Marin residents to build our own lasting resilience together, from below.

James Workman of Mill Valley designs resource conservation strategies; he is the author of the award-winning book “Heart of Dryness” and founder of water credit platform, AquaShares Inc.