Will Newsom ever require mandatory water-usage cuts?
The problem with empty threats is, after a while, people just stop listening.
When it comes to water usage, Gov. Gavin Newsom is learning that lesson the hard way.
Newsom on Monday urged Californians to cut water consumption or face mandatory water restrictions as the state heads into its third summer of severe drought.
If you think you've heard that ultimatum before, you're right. Newsom's warning marked the fourth time in 11 months that he has threatened to impose mandatory water cuts.
How have Californians responded? The state just experienced the driest January, February and March in its recorded history. Yet, in March, the most recent month for which data is available, residents, rather than conserve, instead increased urban water use a staggering 18.9% statewide compared to March 2020.
That sort of irresponsibility calls for immediate action. But Newsom instead said the state will monitor the situation over the next 60 days. He asked the state's water agencies to send data to the state more frequently for evaluation and step up their efforts to communicate the urgency to the public.
Wow. We know it's an election year and Newsom doesn't want to anger voters, but failing to impose mandatory water cuts in the midst of this crisis demonstrates a stunning lack of leadership.
An ongoing lack of leadership. Newsom should have acted nearly a year ago after the state concluded its driest rain season in recorded history, leaving 88% of the state in extreme drought conditions.
Newsom's passive behavior stands in stark contrast to the leadership of his predecessor. When Californians failed to meet voluntary conservation targets in 2015, then-Gov. Jerry Brown issued an order requiring 25% mandatory urban water use reductions with targets and fines for agencies that failed to comply. During the 11 months the rules were in effect, Californians cut their water use by 24.5% before a series of storms ended the drought in 2017.
But Newsom shows no signs of similar urgency about the current drought. As a result, some water districts most impacted by the drought are just beginning to take action to warn, and then fine, consumers who violate watering rules. But it's nothing like the restrictions Brown insisted on.
Under new drought rules approved Tuesday by the Santa Clara Valley Water District that will go into effect June 1, customers could face fines of up to $500 — and in extreme cases, $10,000 — for wasting water. But don't expect water-wasters to pony up anytime soon. The district currently has only three people to enforce the rules for its 2 million customers.
This at a time when Valley Water's 10 reservoirs were just 23% full, as of Monday. Santa Clara County residents' water shortage was exacerbated when Valley Water in 2020 was forced to drain Anderson Reservoir in order to rebuild its aging dam. The reservoir, the largest in the county, generally holds more water than all other nine dams operated by the water district combined.
Elsewhere in the Bay Area, the East Bay Municipal Utility District is asking customers to cut total water use by 10% over 2020 rates. It also has instituted an excessive-use penalty for households that use more than 1,646 gallons per day,
The Contra Costa Water District, which serves 500,000 people, is asking customers to cut water use by 15% compared to what they were using in 2020.
Clearly, Newsom has failed to instill a much-needed statewide sense of urgency. The time for relying on the bully pulpit is over. The governor should have acted last year. Imposition of mandatory water cuts is overdue.