Environment & Energy

nitpicker

(7,153 posts) Mon Mar 21, 2022, 10:04 AM Mar 2022

Editorial: California's drought response isn't working. It's time to order cuts in water use.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-03-21/california-drought-water-conservation

Editorial: California’s drought response isn’t working. It’s time to order cuts in water use.

BY THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD
MARCH 21, 2022 5 AM PT
California is in year three of a worsening drought and the situation is growing dire. After a wet and snowy December, California experienced its driest January and February on record. More than 93% of the state is now suffering “severe” or “extreme” drought, compared with 66% last month, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Sierra Nevada snowpack has dropped to 55% of normal for this time of year and reservoirs are depleted.

Gov. Gavin Newsom in July called for Californians to voluntarily reduce water use by 15% compared with 2020 levels, but the state has cut back by only about 6.5%. In January, urban water use increased by 2.6%, compared with the same month in 2020, heading in the wrong direction even as the drought deepens.

It should be clear by now that the governor’s voluntary pleas are not working.
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Imposing conservation mandates now, just as outdoor water use starts to ramp up for the spring and summer, would force water suppliers to enact restrictions on lawn watering or bolster incentives for efficient appliances and fixtures, and drought-friendly landscaping. It would also send a clear message to Californians who are understandably distracted by other crises and may be unaware of the severity of this drought. Though this dry spell is as bad, if not worse, than the 2012-16 drought, it has not garnered the same type of heavy media coverage (which, by the way, has been linked to reductions in residential water use).
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