In consultation with urban water suppliers, local governments, environmental groups and other partners, DWR will strengthen standards for local Water Shortage Contingency Plans, which are part of the Urban Water Management Plans that water districts must submit every five years.
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Jerry Brown issued an executive order Monday that makes permanent some water conservation measures imposed in response to the devastating drought in the state.
“Californians stepped up during this drought and saved more water than ever before”.
Citing the state’s improved hydrology and impressive regional conservation, officials at Southern California’s massive water wholesaler voted Tuesday to rescind the cuts they imposed on regional water deliveries past year.
Brown’s order directs state water officials to develop new, permanent water conservation guidelines for state water agencies. In February 2016, the targets were adjusted to reflect climate, growth, and new water supplies.
“All of our member agencies met the water-savings targets we set, which is why we are confident that lower water use will continue into the future”, MWD General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger said in the news release.
The Metropolitan Water District, the Southlands largest imported water provider, is rolling back mandatory water restrictions that were instituted last summer. Right now only water districts with 25,000 acres or more must file a plan.
Similarly, the state reported Monday that Californians in the past 10 months cut water use 24 percent compared to the same period in 2013.
While Record called the board’s action a welcome reprieve from the shortage conditions the region has dealt with the last few years, he warned that Southern Californians can not become complacent about using water wisely.
Gov. Jerry Brown is ordering California to permanently follow some conservation measures taken during the state’s drought. As a result, almost 90 percent of the state is still suffering drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Water officials are proposing lifting the mandatory conservation target for cities and towns that can prove they have enough water to get by should the drought persist another three years.
But Brown’s order did not include an extension of the mandatory 25 percent cutback he ordered a year ago, nor of rules banning restaurants from offering water to customers who do not ask for it.
But the news isn’t all bad-even as nature betrays us, we ordinarily selfish Californians have actually been doing a pretty decent job reducing our water use.
“It put us in a better position to endure a longer drought and show us what is possible”, said Nancy Vogel, a spokeswoman for the California Natural Resources Agency.
Brown issued an executive order Monday that places an indefinite moratorium on hosing off sidewalks and driveways, as well as washing cars with hoses that don’t have a shut-off valve.
But water agencies up and down the state complained that the conservation targets didn’t take into account regional climate differences, previous conservation efforts or alternative supplies such as desalinated seawater.
“This is not a walk in the park”, said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the state Water Resources Control Board.
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In April, officials announced that contractors served by the project – including MWD – would get about 60% of the water they requested.
