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Water Authority Board Adopts Enhanced Efforts to Reduce Regional Water Use
Goal is to help local agencies achieve state-mandated conservation targets
The Water Authority's Board of Directors today acted to help local water agencies meet state mandated water-use reduction targets by restricting irrigation of ornamental landscapes to no more than two days a week across the region and immediately boosting regional conservation and outreach efforts by $1 million. In addition, the Board established local urban and agricultural water supply cutbacks based on reduced water deliveries from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and set penalties for local agencies that exceed their supply allocations.
The regional approach centers on decreasing ornamental landscape irrigation first to minimize the economic disruption caused by cuts to water used by industrial, commercial and farming operations. Local water agencies are responsible for determining the specific measures necessary to meet state mandates and avoid financial penalties by the State Water Resources Control Board.
The $1 million for conservation and outreach will be spent on projects that include: increasing advertising for the regional "When in Drought" campaign; enhancing a smartphone app so that users can report water waste across the region; expanding customer assistance by funding more indoor and outdoor water-use evaluations; creating a web-based, step-by-step guide for homeowners to convert to water-efficient landscaping; offering a water-use efficiency training program for landscaping professionals; and recruiting interns to help local member agencies with drought outreach. The initiatives will be rolled out over the next few months.
Water Authority member agencies are under state orders to reduce water use by 12 to 36 percent.
Click here to learn more about the Board's actions today.
Go to www.whenindrought.org to learn more about drought conditions and the region's response. |
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Second May Storm Offers Big Chance to Save Water
A storm that is dousing the county today and expected to continue tomorrow offers a big opportunity to conserve large volumes of water by turning off irrigation systems and leaving them off for as long as possible. The predicted showers and cool temperatures follow a storm last week that provided much-needed rain across the region -- an unusual weather pattern for May.
By state law, it's illegal to irrigate landscapes during measurable rainfall and for 48 hours afterward. As a practical matter, irrigation systems can be left off for much longer after a significant rain event.
For information about water-use rules by community, along with details about drought conditions and conservation-related resources, go to www.whenindrought.org.
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