Residents and businesses in the San Diego region consumed 18 percent less water in December than the same month in 2013. But that was below the state target of 20 percent for the area, the County Water Authority reported Wednesday.
Despite the decline in conservation, which continues a local and statewide trend, San Diegans have reduced usage 24 percent overall since June.
Residents and businesses in the San Diego region consumed 18 percent less water in December than the same month in 2013, below the state target of 20 percent for the area, the County Water Authority reported Wednesday. Despite the decline in conservation, which continues a local and statewide trend, San Diegans have reduced usage 24 percent overall since June.
“Much less water is used outdoors in the wet winter months, and that makes it much harder to achieve significant water savings,” said Dana Friehauf, water resources manager for the Water Authority.
El Niño, have you abandoned us?
After a super stormy stretch last week, San Diego County has warmed up and dried out. And the forecast for the coming week calls for a few spritzes locally, but that’s about it.
Has El Niño, the periodic phenomenon that shifts the storm track and holds promise of drought relief for parched California, left us in the lurch?
Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the majority whip in the House of Representatives, explained how the fight to get more water for farmers played out in the last session — a fight which ended with no resolution.
We encourage him to keep up that fight.
The congressman placed the defeat of a water bill at the feet of California U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, saying the long-time senator pulled her support at the 11th hour, leaving no time for negotiations and thus, killing the bill. Feinstein blamed Republicans for the bill’s demise, saying she had never agreed to any part of the proposed legislation which would have moved more water out of the San Joaquin Delta to the Central Valley and also paved the way to develop more storage of water in the future. McCarthy said she pulled her support at the last moment, saying he was “blind-sided” by her action.
Meteorologists are unsure if the current El Niño weather patterns will provide enough rainfall to pull California out of its historic four-year drought. But we do know that things are trending that way after a wet December that marked the halfway point in the water year.
Particularly, the second quarter of the water year finished with the highest number of inches since 2010-11. From Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, Exeter Irrigation District reported 2.36 in October, 2.05 in November and 3.30 inches in December, for a total of 7.71 inches of rain. Lindsay-Strathmore Irrigation District showed a similar trend with .99 inches in October, 2.05 inches in November and 3.12 inches in December, for a total of 6.16 inches. But the real story was in Ivanhoe, where Ivanhoe Irrigation District reported 3.52 inches of rain in October, 1.73 inches in November and 2.48 inches in December, for a total of 7.73 inches of rain.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
