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A rebate program that will make already discounted rain barrels even less expensive for area residents will be available through the end of this year, the San Diego County Water Authority announced Monday. The 50-gallon barrels will be available at the Solana Center for $90, discounted from $149, according to the water authority. Until Dec. 31, purchasers can also get a $75 rebate through the SoCalWaterSmart program. The offer will be reduced to $35 on Jan. 1, according to the agency. “Water stored in rain barrels can gradually be released into landscapes between rains,” said Joni German, water resources specialist for the water authority.

As a former Huntington Beach mayor, past member of the Coastal Commission and a 52-year resident of Huntington Beach, I am supporting Poseidon’s desalination project in Huntington Beach. I have followed the project for all of the years that it has been talked about, studied, researched and have come to the conclusion that it must be supported. My support comes from a layperson’s knowledge of the project. First, Southern California has been through five years of drought, with the prospect of a sixth year. Water is an absolute necessity when we look at our future.

A rainy October in Northern California has lifted about a quarter of the state out of drought conditions, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported Thursday. It’s the rosiest picture released by federal officials since the spring of 2013, when about 64% of the state was considered to be in “moderate drought” — or worse. The rains so far this fall have given some weather watchers reason for optimism as California braces for a potential sixth year of drought. But much of Central and Southern California remain locked in what the drought monitor calls “exceptional or extreme drought.”

State Department of Water Resources Director Mark Cowin’s commentary (“Unity needed for statewide water solutions,” Oct 29) grossly overstated our region’s reliance on the Bay-Delta. It is not our largest imported water source, accounting for only 4 percent of our region’s supply last year. Nor does the Bay-Delta provide more than half of our water in wet years, as stated in the article. Our reliance on Bay-Delta water continues to decline because our ratepayers embraced conversation and invested heavily in diversified supplies. By 2040, we anticipate less than 7 percent of our supplies will come from the Bay-Delta, while 15 percent will come from potable reuse.

California’s urban water use jumped 8 percent in September compared with a year ago, the fourth-straight month that conservation totals have plunged after drought regulators loosened mandatory restrictions. September’s cumulative savings totaled 18.3 percent over 2013 levels, falling well below the state’s 23 percent average since regulators implemented mandatory drought laws in June 2015. The California State Water Resources Board said that while a majority of Californians remain stingy at the tap during the state’s historic drought, there’s room for major improvement.