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Last Friday, the California Water Resources Control Board extended for eight months an emergency water conservation mandate that Governor Jerry Brown first ordered on April 1, 2015. The goal of the regulation, issued in response to California’s worst-ever drought, was to reduce urban water use by 25 percent compared to 2013, a year before water reserves began to plummet.

 

By and large, the mandate worked. Californians, despite bristling at the top-down order, followed the governor’s directive. Through November, the 411 urban water suppliers that are covered by the regulation had reduced water use by 26 percent. Homeowners tore out lawns, stopped washing cars, and took shorter showers,

State and federal agencies seem to disagree about California’s drought. The Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s 2016 Drought Contingency Plan, released Friday, painted a grim picture, but that same day, the State Water Resources Control Board staff proposed to relax emergency drought regulations.

 

Some farmers in California’s Central Valley are bracing for a third year without federal irrigation water. So how can we rationalize backing off conservation, recognized as the least expensive, fastest and most environmentally sound way to meet water needs?

The California State Water Resource Control Board on Friday Jan. 15 released a draft proposal to extend state mandated water conservation rules through October. If adopted, the extension will mean that the current water conservation goal of 25 percent less water use compared to 2013 will continue.

 

As written, the latest draft will extend conservation rules through October of this year. The water board is asking for public comment on the proposal.

California’s Lake Oroville reservoir has risen nearly 17 feet in the past 10 days as consistent rains continue to bring relief to the drought-stricken state.

 

California’s Department of Water Resources estimates the reservoir is holding 689.14 feet of water out of a capacity of 900. More rain is expected in the coming weeks, which could bring up to 30 more feet of water to Lake Oroville.

 

“This is excellent. This is what we need,” Kevin Wright , the Sierra Valley watermaster for Department of Water Resources, told KRCR 7 News. “We are not out of the drought … The lake has a long ways to go before it’s full. So, we still need to conserve water.”

Gov. Jerry Brown has a grand stage and likely has some time to kill in his State of the State address Thursday. We’re here to help.

 

We urge the governor to spend some time talking about a topic that polls show the voters are interested in — drought and how to deal with it.

 

He can use current events as an illustration.

 

After a train of storms hit the north state this week, creeks and rivers flooded for the first time in years. It’s a long time since riparian habitats got a good flushing and it’s badly needed.