SUPERVISORS DIRECT AGENCY HEADS TO CONSERVE MORE WATER

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has directed heads of county agencies to step up efforts to promote water conservation amid the worsening drought.

In a 5-0 vote without comment on June 7, the board embraced Supervisor Kevin Jeffries’ call for county government to “set an example for the community of water conservation wherever possible.” Under the directive, Executive Office staff will work with agencies’ administrators who oversee county-owned facilities and properties to “evaluate and implement efforts to reduce exterior water usage on non-functional landscaping.”

“These efforts should protect trees wherever possible and consider long-term damage to landscaping in the process of evaluating options in the short-term,” Jeffries said in a statement posted to the board’s agenda. “(We) should look for opportunities to replace heavy-water-using landscape with drought-tolerant alternatives moving forward, to create long-term reductions in water usage by the county.”

The supervisor noted that in his First District, cumulatively, barely an inch of rain has been recorded since Jan. 1.

“By reducing water usage, the county can help mitigate the impact of the drought and demonstrate the necessity of conservation during this crisis,” Jeffries said.

According to the governor’s office, this year’s January-toMarch period was the “driest first three months in the state’s recorded history.” California’s largest reservoirs are at half their normal volumes, and the state’s snowpack is more than 80 percent below average, officials said.

Last month the California State Water Resources Control Board announced a statewide ban on watering non-functional turf in commercial and industrial sectors, signaling the first of what could be a series of measures to promote conservation.

Despite the grim outlook, some of the county’s largest water providers have said that they’re in a better position to withstand further “dry years” than they were during the 2014-17 drought emergency. Most of them have maintained water conservation programs since the previous drought, and water tables are bearing up.