What Happened?
For the first time in California history, mandatory water use reductions have been imposed in response to a four-year drought and record-low snowfall has greatly strained water supplies.
Goal
California Governor Jerry Brown imposed a 25 percent reduction on all 400 local water supply agencies that serve 90 of the state’s residents. Under the executive order, the water supply agencies will determine how to cut back water use and monitor customer compliance to meet the mandatory restriction. To achieve the 25 percent cutback, state officials anticipate reductions in water use across the board including residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers.
The statewide mandatory water restrictions are designed to:
- Preserve valuable water supplies
- Save 1.5 million acre-feet of water over the next nine months
- Replace 50 million square feet of lawns with drought tolerant landscaping
- Create a statewide consumer rebate program to upgrade to energy efficient appliances
- Prohibit new homes and developments from irrigating with potable water unless using water-efficient drip systems
- Increase enforcement to prevent wasteful water use
- Local water agencies will adjust their rate structures to implement conservation pricing and discourage water waste
- Monthly reporting of water usage, conservation and enforcement actions by local water suppliers
- Taking action against noncompliant water agencies
- Streamline the state’s response to drought
- Prioritize water infrastructure projects at the state level
- Streamline permitting and review of emergency drought salinity barriers
- Simplify the review and approval process for water transfers and emergency drinking water projects
- Provide temporary relocation assistance to families in communities with dried wells
- Invest in new technologies to make the state more drought resilient
- Incentivize new technology development to boost state resiliency
California declared a drought state of emergency in 2014 after consecutive years of drought and low snowfall forced state agencies to manage water resources more conservatively. The executive order will help the state weather the current drought and be better prepared to manage resources the next time similar conditions impact the region.
Watch That Water
According to UNESCO, the United States is not the worst country with regard to total water withdrawal per capita, but it is near the top. High consumption rates coupled with prolonged drought-like conditions in many regions of the country has catalyzed the implementation of conservation practices and new technology to better manage resources.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for example, has awarded the University of Tulsa with a $15,000 grant to help develop a low cost wireless device to monitor water use in hotel guest room showers. Administered through the EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet ( P3) program, the overall goal of the project is to help the EPA determine how much water is used during an average shower. Researchers will develop a measurement device that will fit onto existing hotel shower fixtures for simplified implementation.
EPA data reports 17 percent of residential indoor water use is attributed to showering – equal to 30 gallons per household per day and up to 1.2 trillion gallons of water per year. The monitoring technology would allow hotel guests to calculate their daily water use online or with a smartphone app. Once the device is created, researchers hope to place them in all major hotels nationwide, while also encouraging hotel guests to limit showers to just seven minutes.
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