Prepare to do more.
That’s the message Santa Clarita Valley water users can derive from an executive order by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Wednesday mandating statewide water conservation measures intended to reduce water use by 25 percent.
While many specific measures are not yet determined, it’s clear that SCV residents, institutions and businesses will be asked to conserve more than they already have.
“The devil will be in the details as the situation unfolds, and the State Water Resources Control Board examines specific measures to implement the governor’s executive order,” said Dan Masnada, General Manager of the Castaic Lake Water Agency. “With the state’s snowpack at an all-time low, and no end in sight for this historic drought, all of us have to expect even more restrictive limits on water use.”
In announcing the executive order from the Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Brown drove home his point about the snowpack, a vital source of California’s water supply: “Today we are standing on dry grass where there should be 5 feet of snow. This historic drought demands unprecedented action.”
The governor’s announcement was the first major statewide mention of a 25 percent conservation goal, which in recent years has been set at 20 percent. The order calls for drip irrigation to be used exclusively for new construction, and targets large water users – such as industrial and institutional properties like campuses, golf courses and cemeteries – to be required to immediately take measures to achieve the 25 percent reduction.
Some of the order’s other mandated actions will cause a visual impact on communities. For example, the executive order requires a statewide ban on watering ornamental turf on public medians. So, you can expect your drive around town to become a little more brown.
What will likely impact individual residents to a greater degree will be the yet-to-be-determined local measures to be taken in order to achieve that 25 percent reduction. As always, CLWA and the local water retailers are encouraging residents to emphasize conservation in the areas that can have the biggest impact, in particular irrigation and other outdoor water uses.
Masnada said CLWA and other members of the Santa Clarita Valley Water Committee (which includes representatives from CLWA, the four local water retailers, the City and County) will continue applying the mandatory local restrictions that were enacted last summer, including bans on using potable water to hose down driveways, and a system of odd-even irrigation days that currently limits irrigation to three days per week for each user.
“However, it’s clear that we will need to do more than that,” Masnada said, adding that it’s likely the SCV Water Committee will await the details of a State Water Resources Control Board decision on how to implement Brown’s executive order, then determine what additional measures must be taken locally.
That, he said, puts the timing of any expected additional local requirements into the late spring or early summer.
“Thanks to long-range planning, we have a pretty diverse water supply portfolio in the SCV and we have reserves we can lean on in times like this,” Masnada said. “But, as this drought drags on, we need to do everything we can to stretch those reserves and, obviously, make sure our community is in compliance with the state’s directives. This problem is statewide, and we all have to share in solving it.”
About the Castaic Lake Water Agency
The Castaic Lake Water Agency (CLWA) is the Santa Clarita Valley’s public water wholesaler. CLWA is one of 29 State Water Project contractors and receives water imported from northern California and Kern County through the California Aqueduct. CLWA operates three large treatment plants, three major pump stations, three water storage facilities and over 45 miles of large diameter transmission pipelines delivering water to four local water retailers. Our mission is to provide reliable, quality water at a reasonable cost to the Santa Clarita Valley. www.clwa.org
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15 Comments
I wonder if it will stop two of my neighbors who water every day, sometimes twice! Probably not.
I wonder if it will stop two of my neighbors who water every day, sometimes twice! Probably not.
So is the city going to pull out all plants in the medians? They’re not grass but still… It’s insane to keep planting when we don’t have enough water for what is already there.
So is the city going to pull out all plants in the medians? They’re not grass but still… It’s insane to keep planting when we don’t have enough water for what is already there.
So that the state of California can raise your taxes again.
That’s it Doug, the drought is a government conspiracy.
That’s it Doug, the drought is a government conspiracy.
I call bs. After reducing our usage over the last 2 years they want us to reduce our usage even more but homes only account for 10 to 15% of the state’s water needs. A 25% reduction of 10% of water usage is a reduction of about 2.5% in total state water usage. That is a drop in the bucket compared to agriculture using 80% of the state’s water. Why no call for them to use less water? Surely technology has changed in the last 20 years. The governor only calls for voluntary things for them. You know that almonds alone account for 10% of the state’s water usage? I can’t believe that rice farming is still allowed. It is a huge waste of water a requires the whole field to be flooded.
I call bs. After reducing our usage over the last 2 years they want us to reduce our usage even more but homes only account for 10 to 15% of the state’s water needs. A 25% reduction of 10% of water usage is a reduction of about 2.5% in total state water usage. That is a drop in the bucket compared to agriculture using 80% of the state’s water. Why no call for them to use less water? Surely technology has changed in the last 20 years. The governor only calls for voluntary things for them. You know that almonds alone account for 10% of the state’s water usage? I can’t believe that rice farming is still allowed. It is a huge waste of water a requires the whole field to be flooded.
In the last 6 months, $8 billion has been approved to address this crisis, with at least $7 billion coming from bonds. But as long as water costs NEXT TO NOTHING for most California residents, real public and business conservation efforts are NEVER going to take place. Undo the historic water agreements and laws, substantially increase the cost of water-in/water-out, and use the positive net cash proceeds to fund infrastructure upgrades that will reduce the 10% average loss due distribution leakage. Or, use the $8 billion to install 32 million 0.8 GPF (Gallons-Per-Flush) toilets at $250 net each, which would yield a minimum net return of approximately 200 million GPD (Gallons-Per-Day) savings, or 73 billion gallons per year, while creating thousands of new jobs. The current bond-funded programs will NEVER yield an annualized savings even close to 73 billion gallons per year, but those programs will surely increase the bureaucracy needed to manage and oversee the same. More politics, same problems…except the problems are getting worse. It’s time for some common sense.
Did Gov Brown just roll out of bed and realize “crap, we’ve got a water problem!”. Stop playing with your high speed choo-choo and refocus your priorities and $$$.
It’s the farmers! Don’t get distracted with car washing and lawn watering excuses. This is a seventy-plus year state policy of inviting any and all farming to our state. We’ve heard it for decades, “California is the nation’s breadbasket, if not the worlds!” I’m not blaming the farmers, they were invited. Be clear people, the problem is decades of state policy from all parties. Now we–the the taxpayer are currently paying farmers millions to stop planting. It is madness and soon will be insanity!
It would help if every household, homeowners association, city department, and business whose sprinklers are on an automatic timer would check them from time to time and make sure the sprinkler heads are still on and the water is landing on the plantings rather than on street or sidewalk. I run in the early morning, when most automatic sprinklers are set to run, and I frequently see water bubbling up and running off the landscaping where a sprinkler head is broken or missing. Set it and forget it works for slow cookers but NOT for irrigation systems.
Cancel the Crazy Train to Nowhere project and invest in water infrastructure. Elections have consequences.
“Crazy Train to Nowhere”…lol…classic!!!