California is under new orders as of Monday to aggressively work to protect all water supplies from weather extremes brought on by climate change.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to expand statewide storm runoff capture capacity, noting how years of prolonged drought finally paused after three weeks of atmospheric river storms slammed the Golden State at the beginning of the year.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Monday to safeguard his state’s water supplies from the effects of extreme weather.
The order will help expand California’s capacity to capture storm runoff during wet years by accelerating groundwater recharge projects, according to the governor’s office.
The Marin Water Board of Directors rescinded the county’s water shortage emergency declaration and updated its water use rules this week, adopting new requirements for outdoor irrigation and swimming pools.
A water emergency in Marin County was declared in the fall of 2021 after reserves reached critically low levels. According to the water board, the county’s reservoirs are way up and are currently at 90 percent capacity due to record rainfall that arrived in October and December of last year.
With Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order calling on local water systems to start conserving more water, we find ourselves in an all-too familiar cycle.
When signs of drought abound, we hope for miraculous storms to parch the land’s thirst. Hope starts to fade, and our agencies pivot into crisis mode, cutting water use in ways that likely won’t impact daily life but will ensure our faucets keep flowing. But what happens if the faucets stop flowing?
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Monday calling for increased water conservation after the driest first quarter in California’s history, but the San Diego region will be largely spared.
Newsom called on local water suppliers to move to their Level 2 drought plans, which anticipate shortages of up to 20% and could include restrictions on watering in many parts of the state.
Even with our recent storm, San Diego County is still well below our average for rain this year. And as bad as the drought conditions are here, in Northern California they are even worse.
As a result, Governor Gavin Newsom just issued an executive order that moves the state into a stricter level of water saving, but he’s allowing each local district to set its own rules.
“We’re going to continue with our water conservation practices,” said Jeff Stephenson, Water Resources Manager with the San Diego County Water Authority. “We’ve ramped up our messaging and then directing people to our conservation programs.”
A new California Biodiversity Collaborative will help determine how to carry out an executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom aimed at conserving 30% of California’s land and marine areas by 2030—and agricultural organizations said they would participate to assure the collaborative recognizes stewardship efforts carried out on the state’s farms and ranches.
Abundant and clean water supplies will be essential for California’s people, communities and economy to thrive in the future. Yet, the state faces significant challenges on the road to water security.
To address those difficulties, Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration has released a draft “Water Resilience Portfolio” designed to ensure that California’s water systems, both natural and constructed, will adequately support our growing state in the future.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
