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Think the drought’s over? Don’t turn on that sprinkler just yet.

On Monday, May 9, Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order “making water conservation a California way of life.” In other words, drought regulations — from limits on outdoor irrigation to water use targets — will remain in effect in perpetuity throughout the State of California. “Californians stepped up during this drought and saved more water than ever before,” Gov. Brown said in a statement. “But now we know that drought is becoming a regular occurrence and water conservation must be a part of our everyday life.”

Activists who are trying to block Nestle’s bottling of water from a national forest have questioned the company’s claim that it holds water rights dating to the 1800s. Now California regulators are conducting an investigation to get to the bottom of the dispute.

Nestle Waters North America has long been piping water out of the San Bernardino National Forest to produce Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water.

As a consequence of the drought, state water officials are moving toward regulations preventing overdrafting of groundwater basins.
The California Water Commission approved regulations Wednesday that will guide creation of sustainability plans by local groundwater agencies. For more than a century, groundwater pumping in California has been mostly unregulated.
Groundwater supplies over a third of the water Californians use. Unrestrained pumping in recent years has driven groundwater to lowest recorded levels in parts of the San Joaquin Valley. It has caused overlying land to fall, or subside, in some places. Subsidence threatens bridges, aqueducts, roads, and other infrastructure.

This year’s El Niño rains have had a limited impact on our part of the state. Water conservation remains as critical as ever as California enters into its fifth year of drought. Sierra Madre City Council approved a measure earlier this month that would increase the penalty rate assessed on excess water use.

The City of Sierra Madre would like to thank its water-wise customers for doing their part to make every drop count. The latest water billing numbers for May show 75% of Sierra Madre customers met, or outperformed, their water conservation targets.

The U-T Editorial Board met with the Board of Supervisor candidates recently. Here is an edited transcript of the Q&A with Supervisor Dave Roberts.