On July 29, the National Drought Mitigation Center released its newest map, showing that 58 percent of California is now in exceptional drought conditions, the most severe level. It’s the first time more than half of California has experienced this level of drought since the reports began in the late 1990s.
This is truly an extraordinary drought, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District has taken extraordinary actions every step of the way to ensure our region preserves enough drinking water resources to sustain us through the year and possibly another critically dry one next year.
In January, just a week after Gov. Jerry Brown proclaimed a drought emergency, the water district board called for a countywide water use reduction of 10 percent. As the dry winter continued and conditions worsened, the board called for a 20 percent water use reduction on Feb. 25. We called upon all water providers (cities, the county and retail water companies) to implement mandatory measures, as necessary, to reach this target.
We also formed a water conservation ad hoc board committee to discuss measures needed to meet the water use reduction target and make policy recommendations to the full board. I also participate in our longstanding landscaping and water recycling ad hoc committees, which are helping to ensure we are addressing the latest drought-related information.
In April, the board approved up to $1 million in drought response funds to increase water conservation rebates for programs through September, and $250,000 to develop a summer multimedia campaign. In May, we approved an additional $500,000 to support the campaign. In total, the district board has approved $2.75 million since January to support water conservation programs and outreach. We also launched a youth poster and video contest to engage high school and college students in the fight against the drought.
The water district has been walking the talk. Water use at our own facilities was down by 29 percent between February and June from 2013 use. We achieved this primarily by setting irrigation controllers to reduce programmed water use by 20 percent, shutting off water for landscaping where possible and minimizing it elsewhere. Staff has checked for leaks and reduced car washing.
In late July, the district announced a new phase of its media campaign. The “Brown is the New Green” campaign includes ads on radio, cable television, online, billboards, buses and banners at sporting events. The $460,000 multilingual ad campaign includes the distribution of free “Brown is the New Green” lawn signs to encourage residents to show off their brown lawns, and to encourage others to follow suit. Water collection buckets are also part of the campaign, to encourage residents to capture cold water from the shower while it’s warming up for use in the yard or to flush a toilet.
While we knew that it would take local water providers several weeks for water restriction measures to be put into place and communicated residents and businesses, the results through June have not come close to reaching the 20 percent target.
As a result, the board of directors in July approved up to $500,000 to hire a team of inspectors to help identify wasteful water use. This team will help educate residents and businesses on what local water restrictions are in place, refer them to any appropriate services, such as our Water Wise House Calls program, and if necessary, refer them to their local water provider, which could issue warnings or fines.
The drought affords the water district some opportunities as well. With many groundwater recharge ponds now dry, we are able to conduct much-needed maintenance. By removing sediment in these ponds, they will be far more effective in their groundwater replenishment capacity once the rains return. We are also advancing plans to expand recycled water use in our county.
No one can predict what next winter will bring. We can not count on El Niño conditions bringing us more rain. We must prepare for the possibility of yet another dry year. By saving water now, we can avoid even more burdensome water use restrictions in the future. Until the drought is over, we will continue to take prudent actions to manage our diminishing water supplies.
Please remember to use water wisely. Visit valley water.org/drought2014.
Director Richard P. Santos represents District 3 of the Santa Clara Valley Water District. He can be reached at 408.234.7707.
