When Gov. Gavin Newsom asked Californians to voluntarily conserve water last week as he stood in front of the retreating shoreline at Lopez Lake in San Luis Obispo County, some must have had déjà vu.
It was only six years ago when former Gov. Jerry Brown stood in a field near Lake Tahoe that was bereft of normally plentiful snow and called for water restrictions amid the state’s punishing years-long drought.
As California experiences another drought cycle, homeowners in the San Diego region continue to makeover their landscapes with native plants that need less water. An Escondido couple recently transformed their landscape to save water and won the City of Escondido Landscape Makeover Contest too.
Escondido homeowners Michael and Teresa Everett first learned about the 2021 Escondido Landscape Makeover Contest from Escondido family-owned El Pantio Nursery. It was the motivation they needed to makeover their landscaping with native plants.
Nearly $3.25 million in federal funding was preliminarily secured for separate project requests at the Salton Sea and the New River on Monday, July 12, according to the office of Congressman Juan Vargas, D-Chula Vista. The funding was part of a 2022 House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee bill that included requests of $2.546 million for a major Salton Sea research project, $200,000 for a Salton Sea feasibility study, and $500,000 for planning and design phases for a potential New River restoration project, Vargas’ press release states.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
