Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP / Getty Images
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, threatened this Monday to impose mandatory water restrictions if the state’s residents do not reduce consumption by your account as the drought drags on and the hottest months of summer approach.
Newsom raised that possibility at a meeting with representatives of major water agencies, including those serving Los Angeles, San Diego and the Bay Area. San Francisco, his office said in a press release.
Every water agency across CA needs to take more aggressive actions to communicate about the drought emergency & implement conservation measures.
Californians made significant changes since the last drought but we’ve seen an uptick in water use. We have to make every drop count. pic.twitter.com/ef099iUcw5
—Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) May 23, 2022
Newsom has avoided issuing sweeping, mandatory cuts in water use and instead favored an approach that gives local water agencies the power to set rules for water use in the cities and towns they serve.
January through March is typically when most of California’s annual rain and snow falls, but this year those months were the driest in at least a century.
Related: Water use in California increased by nearly 19% during March, despite the request of the authorities to conserve the vital liquid
Despite calls for conservation, state water use increased drastically in March, a 15% compared to the same month of 2020, and now Newsom is considering changing his approach.
“All water agencies statewide must take more aggressive steps to communicate about the drought emergency and implement conservation measures,” said the governor.
Three years of drought in California
California is in its third year of drought and virtually all areas of the state are classified as severe or extreme drought.
Last summer, Newsom asked Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15% making some changes like taking 5-minute showers s, use the washing machine and dishwasher with full loads and limit the use of water to clean outdoor areas. But the residents did not reach the goal.
It is not clear how soon the governor could impose mandatory restrictions if conservation does not improve.
Newsom’s office said the governor plans to meet again with water agencies in 2 months,
Spokeswoman Erin Mellon said the administration would reassess conservation progress in just a few weeks, without offering the metric that would be used to evaluate the reduction in consumption.
First measures of the state government
.Newsom has already taken steps to force greater conservation of local water districts. Instructed the State Water Resources Control Board to consider a ban on watering decorative grass, such as lawns in office parks, and force local agencies to intensify their conservation efforts.
After the last drought, the state began requiring cities and other water districts to submit plans response to drought that detail six levels of conservation based on the amount of water available. Newsom has asked the board to require those districts to move to “Tier 2” of their plans, which assumes a water shortage of 19%.
Each district can set its own rules for “Tier 2”, which often includes further limiting the use of water for outdoor purposes and paying people to to install more efficient appliances or landscaping that needs less water.
The board will vote on those measures on Tuesday and they would go into effect on 10 of June.
The state water board imposed some statewide restrictions, such as prohibiting people from watering lawns during 48 hours after storms and sprinklers water sidewalks. People can be fined $500 dollars per day if they do not comply with the instruction.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the East Bay Municipal Utilities District, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California , the Alameda County Water District, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Valley Water, the San Diego County Water Department, the Association of California Water Agencies, the California Urban Water Agencies, and the Association of Municipal Public Services of California.
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