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Opinion: California Should Fund Local Drought Resilience Projects Like San Diego and Sacramento

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Sean Bigley and Gary Croucher

On July 8, Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded two earlier drought emergency declarations to cover 50 of the state’s 58 counties. In May, he directed state agencies to consider easing requirements for reservoir releases to conserve water upstream, and to make water transfers easier. Both are needed.

Notably, the governor’s emergency proclamation did not impose water conservation mandates. Instead, Newsom is leaving water conservation to each region — a smart and necessary approach that incentivizes regional investments in water supply.

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San Diego County is Not Being Asked to Reduce Water Usage. Why?

/in , , /by /KUSI-TVby Logan Byrnes Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

As California continues to face a drought brought on by record-breaking temperatures, Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking residents to reduce their water usage by 15%. However, this request does not apply to San Diego County.

Sandra Kerl, General Manager at the San Diego County Water Authority, joined KUSI’s Logan Byrnes on Good Evening San Diego to discuss what “America’s Finest City” is doing right.

Kerl explained that due to a “portfolio” of different water supplies and long-term conservation efforts, the city has enough water supply for now, despite the state’s drought.

After Decades Of Warming And Drying, the Colorado River Struggles to Water the West

/in , , /by /KPBS

A prolonged 21-year warming and drying trend is pushing the nation’s two largest reservoirs to record lows. For the first time this summer, the federal government will declare a shortage.

 

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Governor Asks Californians To Voluntarily Cut Water Use

/in , , /by /KPBS Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: Sandra L. Kerl

Gov. Gavin Newsom called on residents to voluntarily cut back on their water consumption by 15% as California continues to face unseasonably high summer temperatures. Plus, more than a year into the COVID-19 crisis, seven million tenants across the country are behind on rent and many small landlords are struggling to pay their bills as well. And this weekend in the arts: the culmination of a pandemic-era program from the city’s Commission for Arts and Culture, live performances of a haunting dance production, an outdoor music, art and food festival in Oceanside and it’s the closing weekend of a very timely virtual play.

 

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El Cajon Homeowner Wins Otay Water District’s 2021 WaterSmart Landscape Contest

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

El Cajon homeowner Christine Laframboise’s water-saving landscape design trading turf for a less thirsty approach was named the Otay Water District’s 2021 WaterSmart Landscape Contest winner.

The annual contest is held by water agencies throughout San Diego County to award one resident from their respective service area for their water-saving landscape. Otay selected Laframboise for her well-thought-out design, plant selection, maintenance, and methods for efficient irrigation.

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Opinion: San Diegans Don’t Face the Water Woes Seen in Much of the State. But Conserve Anyways

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for all Californians to reduce their water use by 15 percent amid a severe drought across most of the state won’t be met with the same urgency in San Diego County as elsewhere because of a decades-old effort to diversify water supplies here and because of a new court order.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously declined a legal challenge by Imperial Valley farmers that had the potential to threaten the San Diego County Water Authority’s access to Colorado River supplies. This is why San Diego County is being asked to conserve but is not one of 50 counties in the state subject to Newsom’s stricter drought decrees.

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San Diego County Officials Confident They’re Prepared for Drought

/in , , /by /ABC News 10by Jermaine Ong

While California has not imposed drought-related restrictions for the San Diego region, county officials believe they are well prepared in the event the county is told to conserve water or reduce water use.

As of July 8, Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared drought emergencies in 50 of the state’s 58 counties due to the dry conditions impacting California and with the hot summer months approaching.

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El Cajon Resident Wins Otay Water District Landscape Contest

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

The drought-tolerant landscaping at Christine Laframboise’s El Cajon home has been a work in progress since 2015, when she, her husband and their son painstakingly pulled out two layers of grass and sod — 1,070 square feet of lawn.

This past week, her front garden took top honors in the Otay Water District’s WaterSmart Landscape Contest.

The annual contest is held by many water agencies in San Diego County to encourage and recognize residents who exemplify outdoor water-use efficiency. Agencies judge lawns in their service areas, looking at “before” and “after” photos from entrants, then awarding top picks.

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Governor Urges Water Conservation as 9 Counties Added to State’s Drought List

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein and City News Service Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Although Southern California is not included in the state’s drought-emergency proclamation, Gov. Gavin Newsom Thursday urged residents across the state to voluntarily cut their water use by 15% amid worsening conditions across the West Coast.

He also called on businesses to slash their water use. According to the governor’s office, a 15% cut in water use would save 850,000 acre-feet of water — enough to supply more than 1.7 million households for a year.

Newsom said residents have responded to drought conditions before, and he was confident they would take steps again to ease their water use.

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Gov. Newsom asks Californians to Voluntarily Cut Water Use Amid Deepening Drought Conditions

/in , , , /by /CBS 8 San Diego by CBS News 8 Team, Richard Allyn Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked people and businesses Thursday to voluntarily cut how much water they use by 15% amid a drought. Newsom’s request is not an order. But it demonstrates the growing challenges of a drought that will only worsen throughout the summer and fall and is tied to recent heat waves.

Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, issued the following statement following the governor’s announcement:

“While the San Diego region is thankfully drought-safe this summer due to sound planning and decades-long ratepayer investments in new water supplies and storage and adoption of water conservation as a way of life, we must also be part of the statewide movement now underway to address water supply challenges created by drought and climate change in other parts of California.

“The Water Authority strongly supports the governor’s call for the public to voluntarily cutback water use by 15% in order to allow local, regional and state water agencies to plan and take the steps necessary under these changed conditions to maximize the availability of limited water supplies going forward, through the investment of state funding and implementation of other provisions of the Governor’s Proclamation of a State Emergency and Executive Order N-10-21 calling for water conservation. 

“The Water Authority will be working closely with our member agencies and with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California over the next several days, weeks and months, to design and implement strategies to maximize water supply development in collaboration with Governor Newsom and state agencies, in order to protect California.”

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