Saving Water
Recently California's Governor Newsom expanded the drought emergency declaration to 50 counties in California, signing an executive order asking all Californians to save water by 15%.
Not included in the list is Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco and Ventura counties of Southern California. At this time Southern California's drought situation is considered to be not as bad as other counties because it gets it's water from Federal and state water systems and according to the LA Times, "The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which imports water from the Colorado River and the north, says it has record reserves in regional reservoirs and groundwater banks — enough to carry it through this year and next. Los Angeles, which is partly supplied by the MWD, similarly doesn’t anticipate shortages, officials said last month." Even though all counties are not under the order, it is important all of California tries to save water to help with continuing drought conditions.
Newsom is asking Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15 percent compared to 2020 levels through simple actions such as reducing landscape irrigation, running dishwashers and washing machines only when full, finding and fixing leaks, installing water-efficient showerheads and taking shorter showers. These voluntary efforts complement specific local conservation mandates already in place in some communities experiencing acute water shortage conditions this summer.
“The realities of climate change are nowhere more apparent than in the increasingly frequent and severe drought challenges we face in the West and their devastating impacts on our communities, businesses and ecosystems,” said Governor Newsom. “The entire state is in a drought today, and to meet this urgent challenge we must all pull together and do our part to reduce water use as California continues to build a more climate resilient water system to safeguard the future of our state. We’re proud of the tremendous strides made to use water more efficiently and reduce water waste, but we can all find opportunities this summer to keep more water in reserve as this drought could stretch into next year and beyond.”
State officials estimate an additional 15 percent voluntary reduction by urban water users from 2020 levels could save as much as 850,000 acre-feet of water over the next year for future use, or enough to supply more than 1.7 million households for a year.
Some of the easiest ways to save water outdoors is listed below from SaveOurWater.com:
Doing even a few of these can make a big difference in your water usage! Our professionals are experts in smart irrigation, drought tolerant trees and plants, soft and hard scapes, combined with good drainage to create landscaped areas that are totally water efficient! Contact us today and see what we can do for you!
