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Despite drenching rains and heavy snowfall this winter, California moved Tuesday to keep in place its statewide water conservation rules — at least for another three months or so. On Tuesday, the staff of the State Water Resources Control Board recommended that the rules the agency put in place last summer relaxing strict mandates from 2015 should continue at least through May, when they can be re-evaluated after the winter rainy season is over.

 

The worst area of drought in California has significantly narrowed to a small region northwest of Los Angeles that has stubbornly failed to benefit from Pacific storms that have drenched much of the state since the fall and were lining up again Wednesday. Just 2.1 percent of the state is now deemed to be in “exceptional drought” — a far cry from a year earlier when that label applied to a vast region stretching from greater Los Angeles hundreds of miles up the state’s core to far northern counties.

California schools can now ask their water supplier to test for lead on campus. This affects any school from kindergarten through 12th grade, both public and private. Flint, Michigan served as a warning to everyone on the dangers of lead in the water system. Starting this year, California schools can request their water agency to test their water on site at no cost. California Water Service covers most of the state including customers in Stockton, Dixon and Marysville.

Despite the torrential rains of the last few weeks, experts say it’s too early to tell whether California’s interminable drought is really over. It will be necessary to monitor rainfall through at least March to make an assessment. California has been in a drought since 2012. Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought state of emergency in January 2014 after the state experienced record dry conditions.

In case you missed it, we traveled to East Los Angeles to present our side at the Central Basin Municipal Water District Special Meeting on California WaterFix.