It is hard to believe how many Santa Ana residents are still hosing off their driveways and sidewalks and wasting water by over-watering their lawns. They are going to have to check themselves as the state’s water emergency has reached a new crisis level.
With record dry conditions straining Southern California’s water supplies, the Metropolitan Water District’s (MWD) Board of Directors declared a Drought Emergency on Nov. 9, calling for increased efforts to maximize conservation, especially in communities facing the greatest challenges.
The California Department of Water Resources has indicated its initial SWP allocation next month will be zero. And if drought conditions continue, the state could do something it has never done before – provide only enough water as deemed necessary to protect the health and safety of Californians. Under this never-before-used provision of the SWP contract, the state has indicated it would constrain water deliveries to a level that may prevent any outdoor watering.
In August, Metropolitan’s board declared a Water Supply Alert for the region, calling for consumers and businesses to voluntarily reduce their water use and help preserve the region’s storage reserves. Some of Metropolitan’s member agencies have already gone a step further by implementing new mandatory conservation measures or maintaining past ones.
Under the expanded conservation programs approved today, Metropolitan will provide an additional $5.5 million to install high-efficiency toilets in older apartment buildings; increase its turf replacement program rebate from $2 to $3 a square foot for public agencies that replace grass with more water-efficient landscaping; and provide an additional $1.5 million for its program to directly install water-efficient devices for income-qualified customers. In addition, the board approved a new $2.6 million grant program to help public agencies detect and repair leaks in their distribution systems.
When will our state get smart and spend some Tax Payer Money on Desalinization Plants and take advantage of Unlimited Water supplies all along our coast? Why
do residents of the state have to be intimidated by water shortages.???
Hey Jerry, growing up in California, I always wondered why we couldn’t use the ocean water to help irrigate parks and other public land or use it for wild fires. I’m sure your suggestion would be a solid recommendation. I just wonder how much it would cost to start up and maintain. In the long run, I’m sure it will work out. That’s the unfortunate thing, we worry about the NOW and not the FUTURE.
We encourage illegal aliens to flood the city. If there was a water shortage we wouldn’t allow this now would we?
Always a demand side concern and nothing is ever done about supply. Yet we continue to build housing at an incredible rate. What have our politicians done to increase our supply over the last 10,20,30 years?
The sad thing is when it does rain most of the water is allowed to just go back to the ocean. The State of CA is spending billions of dollars on a high speed rail to nowhere instead of building more water storage facilities, which is what we really need.
Bingo!!
Those of us who voted to recall the incumbent are advocates of water-storage infrastructure. It should’ve been initiated DECADES ago.
No one who voted to preserve Governor Greaseball has any room to complain about their water bill.