California water officials say they will consider dropping a mandate requiring conservation in the state’s fifth year of drought.
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Starting next month, hundreds of local water districts will set their own conservation goals after a wet winter eased the five-year drought in some parts of the state.
The Coachella Valley’s water districts have largely fallen short of state-ordered conservation targets, which depending on the agency ranged from 20 percent to 36 percent below 2013 levels.
In an executive order on May 9, Brown directed state officials to make permanent some of the rules that were adopted temporarily under the drought rules a year ago.
The adopted regulation also keeps in place the specific prohibitions against certain water uses.
FILE In this May 6, 2015 file photo, local resident Martha Mattison, left, helps out her son Jacob, 14, with his dog walking business as they walk past recently installed synthetic grass, seen at right, in Garden Grove, Calif. California water officials say they will consider dropping a mandate requiring conservation in the state¿s fifth year of drought.
The change was praised by local water districts.
In the new plan, each agency would have to project its own water supply assuming three more dry years. Southern California, however, missed out on much of the precipitation.
Regulators said they maintain the authority to return to strict conservation, if conservation dramatically slips or if last winter’s rain and snow turns out to be a blip in the easing of the drought.
Southern California, however, remains deep in drought, and it’s unclear what the future will bring.
“It definitely looks at regional water conditions”, said Chris DeGabriele, general manager of the North Marin Water District, of the new rule.
Many water suppliers passed their required reductions on to customers in the form of outdoor watering rules and even quotas on total water consumption.
Other parts of western Ventura County do not. But Modesto Utilities Director Larry Parlin said the city wants to avoid using too much groundwater, especially because of the state’s concerns over groundwater sustainability. “Reservoirs are full, and normal water year conditions prevail on Lagunitas Creek and the Russian River”.
But more than 70 percent of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, called it a hard set of decisions for the panel. “We also don’t want us to put our head in the sand”, she said.
However, board member Tam Doduc abstained from the vote, saying she did not think the new conservation measures were adequate in the face of continuing drought. Fiona Sanchez, director of water resources for the district, said she is confident that districts statewide will carefully study their supply and demand ratio.
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Felicia Marcus, chairperson of the California Water Resources Control Board discusses a proposal to drop a mandate requiring water conservation in the state’s fifth year of the drought, during a hearing Wednesday, May 18, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif. He noted that climatologists suspect a dry La Niña weather pattern is likely this year. “The state never goes, ‘hey, we’re doing good, here’s your money back”. Weve moved to a show us the water approach, that allows local agencies to demonstrate that they are prepared for three more lousy water years. Valley officials, in particular, complained the rules unfairly punished the region, where hot summers and relatively large lot sizes accounted for heavier irrigation patterns. Conversely, if a supplier can prove it will have enough water to meet expected demand in 2019, it can set a conservation standard of 0 percent. “Conservation needs to be a way of life in California”. “It doesn’t seem to be the time to send a message that there is no real urgent need to conserve at all”. As it stands, some water districts in parched portions of the state may find themselves conserving frantically while districts a few hours away operate without restriction.
