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While the Willits Water Wisdom coalition does not advocate any particular water policy in particular, we do prioritize a list of actions to be taken. The order of the list is determined by 3 factors:

• perceived importance
• how soon the action needs to be implemented
• the level of agreement within the coalition as to the appropriateness of each recommendation

Recommended Actions:

1. Municipal Water Supply Infrastructure Repairs
   There is universal agreement that the city's infrastructure leakages must be addressed immediately.
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2. Detailed and Thorough Analysis of Current Water Usage
   Before we can address the issue of water conservation, rate restructuring and increases, and water restrictions and rationing policies, we need to understand exactly how water is currently being used.
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3. Education and Outreach
   Efforts to make the public aware of the significance of water issues is critical to the success of any public policy. This must be addressed to everyone within the watershed, including schools, businesses, industry, public facilities managers, residential water users, valley and hill residents, etc.
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4. Responsible Usage Practices
   The water education efforts must be accompanied by an exhaustive list of strategies for achieving water savings. This includes strategies for residential as well as business, industry and public facilities.
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5. Retrofitting Support Program
   Grant money and/or city funding should be allocated to help low income families retrofit their homes with low-flow toilets, aerators, and water appliances.
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6. Water Rate Restructuring
   A more effective tiered rate system must be put in place to provide the proper motivation for water conservation and discourage profligate waste. The rate structure must be clear on the billing statement and the rationale for the tiered system must be communicated clearly to the public.
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7. Watershed Restoration
   Ultimately, the amount of water available to us is dependent on a healthy watershed. A degraded watershed means less water captured in the landscape, increased flooding and less ability to have water available when needed.
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8. Infrastructure Enhancements
   We should re-examine the current infrastructure and determine if some long-term fundamental changes could enhance water security and reduce energy use and costs.
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9. Creation of a Watershed-wide Unified Water District
   Political divisions between incorporated areas and county as well as county boundaries that cut through watersheds present major barriers to ecologically sound water management. Bringing water districts in sync with watersheds would allow for more wholisitc solutions to our water problems.
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10. Rethinking our Water Extraction and Storage Strategies
    Successful watershed restoration and redistricting would allow us to reconsider the way we extract water from the watershed and store it. This could enhance water security and supply as well as revitalize our struggling river systems - a win-win situation.
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11. New Surface Water Sources
    As a last resort, we may have to look for new surface water sources. However, even this option must be approached with creativity and a sensitivity to watershed health.
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We do not recommend drilling major new wells into already degraded and depleted aquifers under any circumstances. Worldwide this strategy is proving to have catastrophic impacts on human society everywhere and is a one-way ticket to severe future water shortages - not to mention extreme irreversible environmental impact.

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