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134 Part i california Water <br />environmental management challenges of the current era. Such redirection of <br />science will be essential in an Era of Reconciliation. <br />Finally, although money alone is not sufficient for successful water manage- <br />ment, it is necessary. Those parts of the water system that rely primarily on <br />ratepayer contributions—water supply and wastewater utilities—seem relatively <br />well-positioned to meet their investment needs. In contrast, flood management, <br />ecosystem management, and the state’s overall strategic planning, monitoring, <br />and technical functions have become dependent on unreliable state general <br />obligation bond funding, often well below the levels needed to sustain adequate <br />efforts. California residents have supported these bonds, while also voting to <br />restrict local funding and state funding through fees on water users. Fiscal <br />reforms are needed to provide the state with the financial capacity to adapt <br />and strengthen water supply reliability and flood protection and to redress its <br />failing aquatic ecosystems. <br />Despite a history of hard-won successes in managing water, California’s <br />water system, designed in the 1930s for a very different economy and society, <br />is showing signs of decay and potential disaster. The state is standing on the <br />edge of a very real crisis as it faces the collapse of native ecosystems, the effects <br />of droughts, threats of widespread flooding, and a conspicuous absence of gov- <br />ernmental technical and political leadership and funding. <br />Today’s challenges are likely to become even more acute in the coming <br />decades. As described in the next chapter, a range of natural, physical, eco- <br />nomic, and demographic forces will increasingly threaten scarce water supplies <br />and heighten the risk of continuing the ecological and economic deterioration <br />of the state’s water system.