As the drought drags on, there is surging demand in Santa Clara County for rebates that pay you back for removing a water-thirsty lawn.
“I have so much more appreciation for the California native plants now,” said Julie Garrett, who re-landscaped her front yard in San Jose.
She used drought tolerant plants, and a patch of UC Verde buffalograss — a new alternative turf grass that can go long periods without water.
Residents in Santa Clara County could face fines of up to $500 — and in extreme cases, $10,000 — for wasting water, under new drought rules approved Tuesday afternoon that are among the toughest of any urban area in California.
Citing the worsening drought, dwindling local water supplies and residents’ failure to hit conservation targets, the board of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, a government agency based in San Jose that serves as the wholesale water provider to 2 million residents, voted unanimously to set up an enforcement program to warn, and then fine, property owners who are violating outdoor watering rules.
If you waste water in Santa Clara County, water cops could soon be on the way
Since last summer, Santa Clara County residents have been asked to cut water use by 15% from 2019 levels to conserve as the state’s drought worsens. But they continue to miss that target — and by a growing amount.
In March, the county’s 2 million residents not only failed to conserve any water, but they increased use by 30% compared to March 2019, according to newly released data.
A plan to build a new $2.3 billion reservoir in southern Santa Clara Couty passed a significant milestone on Wednesday when a key state agency ruled that it continues to qualify for nearly half a billion dollars in state funding.
After more than four years of planning, study and political debate, a proposal to build a $2.3 billion reservoir in Santa Clara County — the largest reservoir constructed in the Bay Area in more than 20 years — will reach a make-or-break moment Wednesday.
The California Water Commission, a 9-member panel appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is scheduled to vote on whether the project, which would be located near Pacheco Pass, will continue to be eligible to receive $496 million in state funding.
One of the largest water districts in the San Francisco Bay Area is falling dramatically short of water conservation goals amid extreme drought conditions across California.
Santa Clara Valley Water declared a water shortage emergency in June with its reservoirs reaching historically low levels, requiring customers to reduce water use by 15% compared with 2019 levels. In July, the district fell short of the goal with residents only reducing water use levels by 6% compared to 2019 levels, according to newly available data first shared by the San Jose Mercury News.
On June 9, as California’s historic drought deepened, the largest water agency in Santa Clara County declared a drought emergency and asked the county’s 2 million residents to cut water use by 15% from 2019 levels to preserve dwindling supplies.
Water levels at several Bay Area reservoirs have reached historical lows — just one of the devastating environmental impacts of California’s punishing drought, the Santa Clara Valley Water District said Wednesday.
Reservoirs operated by Valley Water, the main provider in Santa Clara County, were 85% full in April 2017, the agency said. As of Wednesday morning, they were at 12.5%. Then-and-now images illustrating how low the reservoirs have dwindled reinforced the agency’s grim report.
When it comes to California’s worsening drought, Santa Clara County residents are falling far short in conserving water.
On June 9, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the county’s main wholesale water provider, declared a drought emergency and asked all 2 million county residents to cut water use by 15% from 2019 levels as local reservoirs dropped alarmingly and state and federal water agencies reduced water deliveries.
But new numbers out Friday show that instead of hitting the 15% target, residents saved 0% in June — essentially using the same amount of water as they did in June 2019.
In Santa Clara County, lawns are dry, a reservoir is nearly empty, and water restrictions are mandated. After two winters with very little rain — and San Jose’s driest year in 128 years of record keeping — the county is marked by one of the worst droughts in modern history.
Santa Clara County’s experience of drought is set apart from the rest of the state by a myriad of issues — less water from the Sierra Nevada, the effect of human-caused climate change on water supplies, and a case of incredibly bad luck.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
