This winter’s major storms laid down one of the largest snowpacks recorded in California’s Sierra Nevada, along with an unusual amount of snow at low mountain elevations.
But such prolific snowfall at lower elevations is set to become increasingly rare in coming years as climate change drives temperatures higher, according to new research.
This winter produced record snowfall in California, but a new study suggests the state should expect gradually declining snowpacks, even if punctuated with occasional epic snowfalls, in the future.
An analysis by Tamara Shulgina, Alexander Gershunov, and other climate scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography suggest that in the face of unabated global warming, the snowlines marking where rainfall turns to snow have been rising significantly over the past 70 years.
“Thanks for Planting Me!” encourages more widespread adoption of sustainable landscapes to prepare the Southern California region for a hotter and drier climate.
The “Thanks for Planting Me!” summer campaign offers gratitude to the hundreds of thousands of San Diegans who have transformed their landscapes using low-water and native plants as part of a larger effort to use water more efficiently. Thanks for Planting Me! also is intended to show resident the WaterSmart advantages of embracing regenerative low-water landscapes as climate change stresses water supplies across the Southwest.
Sponsored by the San Diego County Water Authority, and supported by state grant funds to promote water-use efficiency, the “spokesplants” will appear on a variety of digital and outdoor advertising platforms starting in May, Water Awareness Month.
Promoting water conservation with landscape transformation complements similar efforts to promote on-going water-use efficiency by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the State of California’s Save Our Water program. The “Thanks for Planting Me!” campaign is driven by a collection of animated plant personalities like Succulent Sam and Rose Marie who express their appreciation for being adopted across San Diego County as the “next-generation landscape.”
The Water Authority and its retail member agencies are also planning to participate in community events over the summer – including the San Diego County Fair – to promote landscapes that provide numerous environmental benefits, including storm-water retention and healthy soils. In addition, the Water Authority has renewed a long-running partnership with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance to co-brand signage at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s conservation garden. The signs educate park visitors about water use practices on park grounds and how people can improve water use on their own landscapes.
“Three years of extreme drought are over, but they remind us about severe water management challenges across the Southwest,” said Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl. “San Diego County has embraced water-use efficiency like few places across the nation, however, there’s always a next step.
“We should not lose the urgency created by the drought to continue adoption of low-water landscapes. This summer outreach effort is a fun way to both thank residents and remind them about resources that the Water Authority and our partners offer as we prepare for the inevitable dry years ahead.”
Those resources include rebates for lawn replacement, rain barrels and other water-efficient devices; on-demand videos filled with landscaping tips; plant guides to make selection easier; and digital workbooks that provide guidance for creating beautiful, low-maintenance landscapes that use far less water than turfgrass. About half of the water used at typical homes is used outside, providing ample opportunities for long-term reductions in water-use.
“There are now thousands of residential and commercial landscapes in our region that show just how attractive and functional climate-friendly landscapes are; most people don’t need or use grass – they just need a little encouragement to find an alternative,” Kerl said. “Using the summer months to plan for landscape upgrades, means you can be ready to take action in the fall and winter when it’s time to plant.”
Decades of investments in water supplies, water infrastructure and efficiency measures have insulated San Diego County from recent droughts. The long-term challenges across the Southwest remain given the severe depletion of the Colorado River and groundwater basins.
“Fundamentally, we are no longer talking about drought but an entirely different reality than we were in decades past – the era of climate-driven impacts to our natural resources,” Kerl said. “Every person in San Diego and the western U.S. must continue to eliminate water waste, adopt low-water landscapes, capture rainwater, and take other steps to adapt to a hotter and drier future.”
The “Thanks for Planting Me!” campaign is supported with grant funds from by the Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, administered by the State of California, Department of Water Resources.
For more information, go to www.sdcwa.org/plant-me.
A messy Colorado River legal fight is much less likely in the near term now that the seven river basin states have reached consensus on how to conserve water amid a historic 23-year drought, legal observers say.
The consensus proposal respects water rights by relying mainly on voluntary conservation and “goes a very long way to avoiding what would have been costly and divisive litigation,” said Jay Weiner, of counsel at Rosette LLP, who represents the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe.
Leaders of Southern California’s water wholesaler hailed a three-state agreement announced Monday aimed at dramatically reducing the amount of water pulled from the Colorado River over the next three years.
The proposed deal among California, Nevada, Arizona and the federal government would stave off what could have been far more dramatic cuts imposed by federal regulators had the states not brokered a deal by the end of the month.
San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl today issued the following statement regarding a new consensus-based plan to conserve water on the Colorado River:
“This consensus-based plan was offered to replace alternatives Reclamation is considering under its draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), released in April to consider changes to the river’s near-term operations. Those existing alternatives, one of which would bypass the Colorado River priority right system so important to California, would potentially mandate reductions to the Lower Basin.
“With the new proposal, Reclamation has announced it is temporarily suspending the SEIS process to allow more time to analyze the Lower Basin proposed plan. As a result, the May 30 deadline for comment letters on the draft SEIS is no longer in effect. As part of its announcement, Reclamation stated it plans to complete the SEIS process later this year.
“The Water Authority applauds the efforts of California, through the Colorado River Board of California, of which the Water Authority is a member, for working closely with the other Lower Basin states to develop a consensus proposal to submit to Reclamation. The Water Authority has been a long-time advocate of collaboration on the Colorado River, and today’s announcement appears to be a positive step in that direction.
“The Water Authority continues to review this proposal, which relies upon voluntary and federally compensated conservation as opposed to mandatory reductions, to make sure it best serves California, protects our region’s Colorado River supplies, and provides equitable, realistic solutions in the near term that will keep the river flowing for all users. If that end is achieved, we can then focus our attention on planning for the river’s long-term operations in a balanced Basin-wide approach.”
May 22, 2023 – San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl today issued the following statement regarding a new consensus-based plan to conserve water on the Colorado River:
“Today, the Lower Colorado River Basin states, California, Arizona, and Nevada, provided the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation with a plan to conserve up to 3 million acre-feet on the river through 2026 to address long-term drought and protect elevations in Lakes Mead and Powell, the two critical reservoirs the Lower Basin depends on for its river supplies.
“This consensus-based plan was offered to replace alternatives Reclamation is considering under its draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), released in April to consider changes to the river’s near-term operations. Those existing alternatives, one of which would bypass the Colorado River priority right system so important to California, would potentially mandate reductions to the Lower Basin.
“With the new proposal, Reclamation has announced it is temporarily suspending the SEIS process to allow more time to analyze the Lower Basin proposed plan. As a result, the May 30 deadline for comment letters on the draft SEIS is no longer in effect. As part of its announcement, Reclamation stated it plans to complete the SEIS process later this year.
“The Water Authority applauds the efforts of California, through the Colorado River Board of California, of which the Water Authority is a member, for working closely with the other Lower Basin states to develop a consensus proposal to submit to Reclamation. The Water Authority has been a long-time advocate of collaboration on the Colorado River, and today’s announcement appears to be a positive step in that direction.
“The Water Authority continues to review this proposal, which relies upon voluntary and federally compensated conservation as opposed to mandatory reductions, to make sure it best serves California, protects our region’s Colorado River supplies, and provides equitable, realistic solutions in the near term that will keep the river flowing for all users. If that end is achieved, we can then focus our attention on planning for the river’s long-term operations in a balanced Basin-wide approach.”
(Editor’s Note: Attached are two letters, including the Lower Basin proposal to Reclamation, and a letter from all seven Basin states calling on Reclamation to pause the SEIS process to review the Lower Basin proposed plan. To see the federal response, click the following link – www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-historic-consensus-system-conservation-proposal)
Through a partnership between the Vallecitos Water District, San Diego County Water Authority, and the County of San Diego, landscape makeover projects in unincorporated areas can take advantage of water-use efficiency rebates as well as professional expertise to maximize conservation and cost savings.
The Waterscape Rebate Program applies to residential, commercial, and agricultural customers who make landscape upgrades to improve the region’s climate resilience and reduce the flow of pollutants into waterways.
The landscape makeover project solicited input from homeowners to provide new amenities. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Multiple homeowners associations within the Lake San Marcos area of the Vallecitos Water District have benefitted from qualifying projects. The scale of these projects and potential savings make them especially successful.
The most recently completed project within the Vallecitos Water District was undertaken by the Mall III Homeowners Association. HOA members had discussed the idea for nearly 15 years. The availability of the County and Vallecitos Water District support helped determine whether the makeover would be effective and cost-neutral.
“This has been a terrific partnership between the County of San Diego, the San Diego County Water Authority, the Vallecitos Water District, and the community of Lake San Marcos,” said Chris Robbins, public information/conservation supervisor for the Vallecitos Water District. “This story focuses on the Mall III Homeowners Association, but the Panorama HOA and Sunrise Pointe HOA already participated in the program. Two other associations, Fairway Knolls and Fairways HOA, are currently in the process right now. All these HOAs will be saving water and money, while also improving the water quality of Lake San Marcos.”
The Mall III HOA landscaping before undertaking its recent makeover project. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Mike Kesler, Mall III HOA Board President, said getting an internal consensus among their homeowners through actively soliciting ideas from homeowners to learn what was important to them was critical in completing this project.
“We found some folks wanted trees. Other folks didn’t want trees because they would block the view,” said Kesler. “Knowing that ahead of time and being able to deal with that in the plan made it easier for people to vote yes on the project. And I think that’s important.
“It took us quite a while to get to a layout that accomplished our goals of saving money and beautifying the area that was net zero from a cost standpoint.”
New pathways and riverbeds to channel water runoff help protect area watersheds. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
To make applying for rebates easier for large landscapes, the County added a Landscape Optimization Service, a unique technical assistance program for large-scale landscaping projects. The program helps applicants with large landscapes, such as HOAs and commercial properties, to navigate the requirements, overcome any barriers, and maximize their rebate eligibility.
In addition, the Vallecitos Water District offers its customers a free assessment of current water use to determine whether investments in irrigation upgrades could be helpful to help HOA boards and other decision-makers determine whether their investment in landscaping projects are cost-effective.
“It’s been a great program for us to pursue and to implement, ” said Mall III HOA Board Member Dave Engel. “We had a need to save water, and to do it in a smart way, which is what this rebate program allows. When those two come together, I think it’s a good match.”
Rebate programs helped to make the Lake San Marcos Mall III HOA project cost-neutral for homeowners. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Rebate amounts can vary. Multiple rebates can be stacked together, including $3 per square foot for turf replacement, $60 per smart controller station, $65 per rain barrel and up to $450 per cistern. The County of San Diego offers $1 per square foot for landscapes planted with California native plants.
Water customers in unincorporated San Diego County can determine their eligibility at: SanDiegoCounty.gov/WatershedRebates. More information on the Landscape Optimization Service can be found here. The program is actively recruiting new participants.
The Waterscape Rebate Program helps protect local waterways by reducing pollutants that enter storm drains. When irrigation systems overflow from landscaping, runoff may carry pollutants like pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers into the storm drain system and cause the same negative effects as runoff from rainfall. Reducing turf helps reduce irrigation use and runoff. HOA landscapes are potentially significant contributors.
Learn more about the County of San Diego Watershed Protection at its website.
(Editor’s note: The Vallecitos Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.)
Climate change’s hotter temperatures and society’s diversion of water have been shrinking the world’s lakes by trillions of gallons of water a year since the early 1990s, a new study finds.
A close examination of nearly 2,000 of the world’s largest lakes found they are losing about 5.7 trillion gallons (21.5 trillion liters) a year. That means from 1992 to 2020, the world lost the equivalent of 17 Lake Meads, America’s largest reservoir, in Nevada. It’s also roughly equal to how much water the United States used in an entire year in 2015.
Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to unveil a sweeping package of legislation and sign an executive order Friday to make it easier to build transportation, clean energy, water and other infrastructure across California, a move intended to capitalize on an infusion of money from the Biden administration to boost climate-friendly construction projects.
