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It may be difficult to think about conserving water as the rain continues to pound down, causing mudslides and flooding in some areas, but the California State Water Resources Control Board is considering keeping water use restrictions in place because, despite the rain, the drought may not be over.
The state water board must decide whether to extend or modify the current regulations on water use before they expire at the end of February.
The water board’s staff has recommended extending the current regulations, which require water companies to develop their own conservation plans and goals based on their supplies, and to report usage monthly.
Water uses that are considered wasteful, such as using sprinklers within 48 hours of rain or having water features that don’t recycle water, are currently prohibited.
See an earlier Almanac story on the current regulations.
In a statement, the water board says water supply conditions, based on precipitation plus reservoir and snow pack storage, are better than they have been for the last several years. “However, we are only halfway through the traditionally wet period of the year. History shows that rains can stop suddenly and not return,” the board says.
Restricted uses of water currently in effect are:
•Applying water to outdoor landscapes that causes runoff onto adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, private and public walkways, roadways, parking lots, or structures
•Using a hose to wash motor vehicles unless the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle or device that causes it to cease dispensing water immediately when not in use
•Applying water to driveways and sidewalks
•Using water in a fountain or other decorative water feature, except where the water is part of a recirculating system
•Applying water to outdoor landscapes during and within 48 hours after measurable rainfall
•Using potable water to irrigate outside of new construction without drip or microspray systems
•Using potable water on street medians
•Filling or refilling ornamental lakes or ponds except to sustain existing aquatic life
•Customers must fix leaks within their control within five business days of notification
•Hotel/motel operators must provide option to not have towels or linens laundered daily during a guest’s stay, and must provide clear notice of this option in easy-to-understand language
•Restaurants and other eating and drinking establishments may only serve drinking water upon request.
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I am never against water conservation but I’m appalled by the idiots in Sacramento. These folks are elected to think for us what not one of them has thought of building supplementary reservoirs in the state so that instead of letting the water drain away into the ocean it could flow into supplementary reservoirs. The billions of gallons that were deliberately sent down the drain by the authorities was mindboggling.
Without water there is nothing.
California’s golden dam-building era ended decades ago, nearly all of the best sites are already taken. The best available places left only add 1% or 2% capacity.
“The best available places left only add 1% or 2% capacity.”
What is the source for this claim?
As farm exports decrease with the new political environment, we would expect agricultural use of water to decline greatly, so usage in the near future may drop. The almond growers in the central valley will be one large user bases that should see declines.