[ad_1]
Top officials at the San Diego County Water Authority on Wednesday called on the region to voluntarily reduce its water use by up to 10 percent.
The region’s wholesaler’s announcement comes after Governor Gavin Newsom declared a nationwide drought emergency on Tuesday. The state has been asking urban water users for two months to voluntarily reduce consumption by 15 percent – 5 percent more than the new target of the water authority.
The state reduced water consumption in August by 5 percent compared to the same month last year. But there were big differences. While the north coast reduced its water usage by more than 18 percent and the San Francisco Bay Area by nearly 10 percent, southern California reduced its water usage by only 3 percent overall.
Conservation efforts were also mixed in San Diego County in August. While Escondido declined more than 16 percent, the city of San Diego was only able to reduce its water consumption by 1.7 percent.
The water board, as in much of Southern California, has claimed that it has adequate water for this year and next, largely thanks to investments in storage and supplies from the Colorado River. The agency has asked the state not to make mandatory cuts, which could push up already sky-high water costs in the region.
However, Director General Sandra Kerl said Wednesday that residents should step up their volunteer efforts to reduce everything from showers to outdoor irrigation.
“While we hope that a wet winter will ease this current drought, we have to acknowledge that it may not,” said Kerl in a press release. “The entire American West is facing hot and dry conditions that we never saw in our lifetime, and the reality of climate change means we must prepare for it as the new normal.”
The water authority will seek approval from its 36-member board next Thursday to officially activate its Level 1 emergency plan for water scarcity.
Earlier versions of the plan call were activated in 2007 and 2014.
The agency is working on efforts to install low-flow toilets in low-income communities and has a variety of other programs focused on drought, including lawn discounts and water-saving devices. More information is available at watersmartsd.org.
[ad_2]
Source link
