Tag Archive for: Water Conservation

Water Conservation is Critical in San Diego County as Colorado River Declines

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Aug. 16, 2022 – Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s 24-month projection for water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

“Today’s announcement by the Bureau of Reclamation is a reminder of just how important it is to increase water conservation across San Diego County and the rest of the arid West. An increasingly hot and dry climate is creating unprecedented challenges for water supplies that will impact life in the Southwest for the foreseeable future.

“The San Diego County Water Authority continues to participate in discussions about the future of the Colorado River. We also continue to highlight the value of the conserved water transfer agreement between the Water Authority and the Imperial Irrigation District, the cornerstone of the landmark Quantification Settlement Agreement, or QSA, negotiated in 2003, as well as our investments in concrete lining sections of the All-American and Coachella Canals to conserve water previously lost to seepage. Through the QSA, the Water Authority funds critical conservation efforts in the Imperial Valley that provide the San Diego County region 277,700 acre-feet of highly reliable, cost-effective conserved water supplies each year. Further, the QSA enables California to live within its historic 4.4-million-acre-foot annual Colorado River apportionment while providing a roadmap for current efforts to balance the complex economic, agriculture, environmental, most notably the Salton Sea, and water-use needs in the Colorado River Basin.

“The Water Authority has not been asked to make any voluntary reductions to Colorado River water supplied by IID under Reclamation’s call for additional basin-wide conservation. If cuts were deemed mandatory to IID through an official Secretarial declared shortage to Priority 3 water in California, the Water Authority would take a pro-rata reduction of its IID transfer supplies.

“Investments by San Diego County residents in other water sources and storage facilities will continue to shield the region from the worst effects of the drought. At the same time, the potential for mandated water-use reductions should inspire every San Diegan to decrease their water use, for instance, by taking shorter showers, reducing irrigation of decorative grass, and upgrading to efficient appliances.”

— Sandra L. Kerl, General Manager, San Diego County Water Authority

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Do It Yourself or Hire a Landscape Professional?

/in , , /by /Water News Network

If you choose to design, implement and maintain a new WaterSmart landscape yourself, you can follow the Homeowner’s Guide to a WaterSmart Landscape to help you plan, prepare, and work through each step. Free classes and online videos can help.

 

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Water Authority Offers Water Saving Tips on CBS 8

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

As the current drought stretches into a third year, the San Diego County Water Authority is providing water saving tips as part of a drought survival kit to San Diegans. San Diegans have learned how to conserve water, but there is always more we can do. Water Authority Water Resources Specialist Efren Lopez joined CBS 8 Anchor/Reporter Carlo Cecchetto on the news program “The Four” to discuss Gov. Newsom’s new water portfolio strategy and offer additional ways San Diegans can reduce water use.

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The Southwest is Running Out of Fresh Water. Could the Ocean Provide a Cure?

/in , , /by /KUNCby Alex Hager Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

It’s a picture-perfect day in Southern California. The sun is beating down on this Carlsbad beach, where volleyballs hit the sand and surfers paddle out into the waves. Just steps from here, the salty water lapping the shore is being transformed.

This beach neighbors the largest desalination facility in the Western Hemisphere. The Carlsbad Desalination Plant uses a complex web of pipes, tanks and specialized filters to pull salt and impurities out of ocean water, turning it into part of the drinking supply for San Diego County.

Water managers are feeling the crunch of a supply-demand imbalance along the Colorado River. Fresh water reserves are shrinking as climate change squeezes the river that supplies 40 million people and fields of crops across seven states. Some have proposed desalination technology as a way to augment that supply, easing the strain on a river that supplies a growing population from Wyoming to Mexico. Experts say it could be part of the solution, but likely won’t make much of a dent in the region’s water crisis.

At the Carlsbad plant, former seawater poured into a cup from a freshwater spigot. Michelle Peters, technical and compliance manager for plant operator Poseidon Water, held it and took a drink.

“At 10 a.m, the morning surfers were swimming in it off the coast in the ocean here,” she said. “Now it’s high-quality drinking water, ready for consumption.”

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Opinion: Conservation Alone Won’t Solve California’s Water Crisis. We Need More Infrastructure.

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The question persists even though it shouldn’t: Can California conserve its way out of this drought?

The answer is clearly no. But then again, if water policy in California were as clear as water itself, Jake Gittes would never have been told to “forget it.”

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How San Diegans Can Help Fight the Drought

/in , /by /CBS 8 Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority
As the statewide drought continues, the San Diego Water Authority joins The Four with some tips to help you save water immediately.
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San Diego County Water Authority Water Resources Specialist Efren Lopez joined CBS 8’s Carlo Cechetto to discuss additional ways San Diegans can reduce their water use. Photo: CBS 8 water saving tips

Water Authority Offers Water Saving Tips on CBS 8

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As the current drought stretches into a third year, the San Diego County Water Authority is providing water saving tips as part of a drought survival kit to San Diegans.

Scientists confirm California and the Southwest U.S. is experiencing the worst megadrought in the last 1,200 years. It has prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to order new emergency water rules and cutbacks with the goal of preparing the state for a 10% decrease in the available water supply by 2040.

“The hots are getting a lot hotter, the dries are getting a lot drier and … the wets are getting wetter,” Newsom said in announcing the plan at a desalination plant under construction in Antioch, 45 miles inland from San Francisco, that will turn brackish water into drinking water.

Water saving tips

Many years ago, San Diego regional water leaders had the foresight to call for conservation efforts to help build our resilience. Now we are in a more fortunate position thanks to our diversified water supply than much of the state.

San Diegans have learned how to conserve water, but there is always more we can do. San Diego County Water Authority Water Resources Specialist Efren Lopez joined CBS 8 Anchor and Reporter Carlo Cecchetto on the news program “The Four” to discuss the Governor’s report and offer additional ways San Diegans can reduce water use.

Water conservation is a way of life

“San Diego’s great at conservation. Conservation is a way of life here, but there is always something more we can do,” said Lopez. He suggests homeowners use a shutoff nozzle when hand watering using their garden hose and test soil with a moisture sensor to determine when soil is dry enough before irrigating.

In addition to water-saving measures, San Diego County residents can take advantage of the Water Authority’s rebate programs for turf replacement, irrigation devices, and WaterSmart landscape gardens. Countywide, San Diegans have removed more than one million square feet of turf through rebate programs, resulting in annual water savings of 36.5 million gallons.

“In San Diego, we’ve been diversifying our water supply for decades,” said Lopez. “So we’re prepared for this drought. It’s great to see the governor supportive of resilient supplies and a portfolio approach to our water supply so that we don’t rely on just one source.”

Lopez encouraged San Diego County residents to get additional tips for saving water at www.watersmartSD.org.

California Unveils Water Strategy, Planning for Greater Scarcity

/in , /by /Reutersby Daniel Trotta

California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new water strategy on Thursday that plans for a future with 10% less water and shifts the emphasis from conservation to capturing more water that otherwise flows out to sea.

Climate change has contributed to more severe drought but has also set the stage for more intense flooding when rain does fall, as was demonstrated last week in California’s Death Valley, one of the hottest, driest parts of the United States.

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Urban Water Suppliers Report Water Savings Progress Statewide

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Following Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order and a State Water Board emergency regulation, members of the California Urban Water Agencies, or CUWA, including the San Diego County Water Authority continue to advance water-saving efforts, yielding measurable results. These efforts come on the back of the driest first quarter in California’s history, which prompted the Governor to call for local water conservation steps rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

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L to R: Governor Gavin Newsom; Clifford Chan, East Bay Municipal Utility District: Rick Cailender, Valley Water District; Joaquin Esquivel, State Water Resources Control Board; and Sandy Kerl, San Diego County Water Authority met on July 29 to discuss ways to maximize water supplies. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority water savings

Urban Water Suppliers Report Water Savings Progress Statewide

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Following Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order and a State Water Board emergency regulation, members of the California Urban Water Agencies, or CUWA, including the San Diego County Water Authority continue to advance water-saving efforts, yielding measurable results.

These efforts come on the back of the driest first quarter in California’s history, which prompted the Governor to call for local water conservation steps rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. As severe drought conditions persist, state and local agencies are working together to support the Governor’s call to action and lower water use across all sectors through a variety of measures.

“Water conservation a way of life”

“Governor Newsom has demonstrated strong leadership in directing water agencies to implement actions that are the best fit for the communities we serve,” said Water Authority General Manager and CUWA Board Chair Sandy Kerl. “We look forward to continued collaboration at the state and local level as we collectively prepare for a more resilient future.”

“While we have made historic investments to protect our communities, economy, and ecosystems from the worsening drought across the West, it is clear we need to do more,” said Governor Newsom in a press release. “Amid climate-driven extremes in weather, we must all continue to do our part and make water conservation a way of life.”

Water savings increase; long-term drought resilience the goal

Carlsbad Desalination Plant-Water Supply Portfolio-desalination

The Carlsbad Desalination Plant uses reverse osmosis to produce approximately 10% of the region’s water supply; it is a core supply regardless of weather conditions, and it is blended with water from other sources for regional distribution. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Over the past few months, the Governor has convened a series of meetings with local water agencies, including Kerl and other CUWA representatives, to discuss progress and call for continued action. Since the first meeting in May, Californians have made substantial progress in conservation. Preliminary numbers suggest overall water use was down 7.5% in June compared to June 2020.

Based on an analysis of provisional data, CUWA agencies anticipate even greater water savings in July — about 10% on average compared to 2020, with several agencies exceeding 15% savings. This is due to significant investments in conservation rebates, turf replacement programs, public messaging, and outreach including stringent water use restrictions where necessary.

Beyond the immediate need for water conservation, Governor Newsom supports long-term drought resilience. “We are dealing with a changed climate in California that demands we reimagine not just how we use water, but how we capture, store and distribute it throughout the state,” Newsom said in a recent meeting.

In alignment with state priorities, CUWA members continue to invest in storage and drought-resilient supplies, such as water reuse and desalination, through local and collaborative regional efforts.