California plans ban on waste of water
Conservation measures put in during drought would be permanent
Sprinklers that splash more water onto the sidewalk than the lawn, which have increasingly drawn scornful looks in drought-distressed California, are about to be banned forever. Same goes for hosing down a driveway or patio, or washing a car with a garden-variety hose.
Recognizing California’s increasing propensity for parched weather — this winter being no exception — state water officials are planning to resurrect many of the temporary water restrictions that were enacted during the recent five-year dry spell and make them permanent.
Regulation proposed by the State Water Resources Control Board would bar resi-
dents from doing any watering that causes wasteful runoff. Among the actions that could trigger a $500 fine are dousing landscaping within 48 hours of rainfall or cleaning a car with a hose that has no shut-off valve.
While the proposed rules would save a relatively small amount of water, state officials say they want to send a message that conservation is critical as California endures warmer and more extreme weather driven by climate change.
Water officials noticed with concern that residents have become looser with the taps since Gov. Jerry Brown declared an end to the drought in April.
In December, the latest month for which state data are available, statewide water use was down 2.9 percent compared with the same period in 2013, before the drought fully took hold and the state launched rationing efforts. In December 2016, the savings were 20.6 percent below the 2013 baseline.
Although most of California’s big reservoirs remain fuller than average because of last winter’s record storms, state water officials expect that dry periods will become longer and more severe as the planet continues to warm.
This wet season has been one of the driest to date. Precipitation in the northern Sierra, where most of the state’s water supply originates, was 59 percent of average on Tuesday. Snowpack across the range, which fills the reservoirs during the dry spring and summer months, measured just 20 percent of average.
“These rules are about a larger suite of actions designed to build resilience to future droughts and climate change,” said Max Gomberg, a senior environmental scientist for the state water board. “Conservation is a very cost-effective way of stretching our supplies and reducing our vulnerability.”
In addition to restricting residents’ water use, the proposed regulation would force cities and counties to stop irrigating roadway median strips. Hotels would have to get permission from guests before laundering towels and sheets during their stay.
A drought-time measure that required restaurants to serve water only when requested was not included in the new proposal. State officials said the rule, which was initially put in place to raise conservation awareness, should be reserved for official droughts.
On Tuesday, the water board’s governing panel was scheduled to adopt the regulation on water waste, but it postponed the vote after a handful of water agencies raised concern about the state’s authority. While the board has the power to restrict “wasteful and unreasonable” water use, some said that such a determination should be made on a case-bycase basis and that a blanket policy went too far.
“You are making an adjudicative determination without due process,” said Rob Donlan, an attorney who addressed the board on behalf of a group of water suppliers.
The water board plans to review the regulation before bringing it back for a vote. No date was scheduled, but state officials said they hoped to put most of the measures in place by summer, when water use is highest.
“This is low-hanging-fruit stuff,” said water board member Dorene D’Adamo.
State records show that California’s five largest urban water suppliers have been delivering more water since the end of the drought, with residents in the south relapsing the most on conservation. Both the massive Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the city of San Diego saw water demand in December return to predrought levels.
Northern California’s largest water suppliers did better in December, but also slipped on savings. Residents in the East Bay Municipal Utility District used 11 percent less water than they did in the same month in 2013, while a year earlier, residents used 21 percent less water.
In San Francisco, residents used 8 percent less water in December than in 2013, compared with 15 percent less a year earlier. Residents served by the San Jose Water Company used 20 percent less water, compared with 31 percent the prior year.
Also on Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that many of the state’s farmers would likely receive just 20 percent of the water they’d requested from the Central Valley Project this year. The federally run system of reservoirs and canals had too little water to guarantee any more to growers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, officials said.
The major water project run by the state, which serves many urban water agencies, similarly expects to meet just 20 percent of allocation requests unless the weather changes.