Reservoirs continue to dry up in Marin County and everyone agrees that conservation efforts are ‘not’ where they need to be. Now, the Marin Municipal Water District is looking at some expensive options to tackle the severe drought. “We’re facing historic drought conditions,” Emma Detwiler said.
As the drought intensifies, local water utility California Water Service is helping customers save water every day through expanded water conservation programs and educational resources.
These programs and resources include newly launched lawn-to-garden and spray-to-drip rebates, which offer incentives for Cal Water customers to make their landscaping and irrigation systems as efficient as possible.
The U.S. government released projections Wednesday that indicate an even more troubling outlook for a river that serves 40 million people in the American West.
The Bureau of Reclamation recently declared the first-ever shortage on the Colorado River, which means Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will get less water than normal next year. By 2025, there’s a 66% chance Lake Mead, a barometer for how much river water some states get, will reach a level where California would be in its second phase of cuts. The nation’s most populated state has the most senior rights to river water.
During drought, it’s imore important than ever to conserve water used for irrigation. When you follow just a few smart landscaping irrigation tips, you can get the most from every drop of water applied to your landscaping.
Golden State Water Company issued notice to its customers, including Calipatria residents, of its water shortage contingency and staged mandatory water conservation and rationing program, where the already-disadvantage community would not only be expected to conserve water, but also pay fines for water-use violations.
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors voted to send a letter Tuesday, Sept. 21, requesting a variance for Calipatria Customer Service Area of the Golden State Water Company’s mandatory water conservation and rationing program for the Apple Valley, Barstow, Calipatria, Morongo Valley, and Wrightwood service areas.
So Southern Californians didn’t decrease their water usage in July, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for a voluntary 15% cutback?
Well, of course not. The dusty lake beds, the dry spigots, the serious water-use cutback orders and the most frightening wildfires (so far, anyway) have been in Northern California, and that’s where Newsom focused his most dire warnings. He declared a drought emergency in Mendocino and Sonoma counties in April, expanded it to 41 counties in May, and then to 50 counties in July — but not Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Diego, Riverside or San Bernardino counties. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California warned of unprecedented shortages in Lake Mead and has launched an advertising campaign calling for increased conservation. But the MWD is the victim of its own success, in that it has done a superb job over the decades supplying enough water so that residents generally don’t think about shortages.
On the northern edge of the Mojave Desert, a new trauma has awakened old concerns: What happens if a town’s water gets shut off? The question keeps Danny Tolbert awake most nights. Two years ago his taps ran dry after a 7.1 earthquake nearly brought down his house and community. That was three months before his stroke, before he learned how diseased his heart was.
During drought, it’s more important than ever to conserve water used for irrigation. When you follow just a few smart landscaping irrigation tips, you can get the most from every drop of water applied to your landscaping.
Don’t allow your sprinklers to overspray your landscaping and waste water. Photo: Wikimedia
Watch your irrigation while the system is running. Check to make sure sprinkler heads aren’t spraying water onto sidewalks, patios, or structures.
If water is being applied too fast for your soil to absorb, runoff will occur. This needs to be prevented.
Puddling and pooling water may be an indication your water is being applied too fast or too often. Adjust your system until this isn’t happening anymore.
Repairs to broken pipes and sprinkler heads should be made immediately, or your system should be turned off until those repairs can be made.
Watch how quickly runoff happens when running irrigation. This is the maximum run time for your irrigation controller in a particular hydrozone.
Divide the total irrigation minutes recommended for the specific hydrozone condition into shorter blocks of time before runoff starts. For example, if you should irrigate for 15 minutes but runoff starts within five minutes, irrigate in three five-minute cycles. Allow a 30-minute rest period in between irrigation cycles.
Hand watering can be an effective method to water your landscaping. Photo: Ryan McGuire / Pixabay
Hand watering is especially good when your garden is getting established. You can spend more time watching your plants to be sure they are flourishing in the early stages.
When your landscape plants are new, you may need to water more frequently because roots are shallower. Roots on a newly planted one-gallon plant are only four to ten inches deep. This is why it’s a smart idea to plant during the rainy season.
Before hand watering, look at your plants. Do they appear droopy? Is the soil very dry? If so, give the plants a good drink. Don’t water more than two days in a row. Let the soil dry out completely before watering again. Overwatering and underwater symptoms can be similar.
Once your plants are established after the first year, your sustainable garden will not need watering more than once or twice a month – if at all. Stop watering after the first seasonal rains begin and let nature take over.
This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.
The project is on the drawing board. Now the San Diego County Water Authority and the city of San Diego are looking for a private partner to build and operate a pumped energy storage facility at the San Vicente Reservoir.
The Water Authority and the city have issued a request for proposal to find a suitable team to develop one of the state’s largest “pumped hydro” projects that would add megawattage and flexibility to California’s electric grid. Proposals from potential partners will remain open until Nov. 3.
As drought conditions persist throughout the Southwest, the San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies continue to actively support the state’s call for a 15% voluntary reduction in water use.
San Diego County residents and businesses can continue WaterSmart practices this fall by following these simple and easy tips to save water.
