As a package of water bills makes its way through the California legislature, California’s municipal governments may be asking themselves what they can do to proactively work to maintain their water supply. While state-led infrastructure improvements may be years away, maintaining the quality and quantity of your water supply is something your community should address today.
California’s Drought Update from the Department of Water Resources notes that 2009 is the third consecutive dry year for the State. At the end of June, statewide precipitation stood at 75 percent of average for the year, with key reservoirs at less than 50 percent of capacity. Small steps taken by each community can help to use what we have, until a higher than average precipitation year can help to replenish California’s aquifers and reservoirs. Have you asked your residents to take shorter showers? Replace lawns with native, drought tolerant landscaping? Use graywater wherever possible?
Come January 2010, all California cities and counties will be required to have implemented a water-efficient landscape ordinance, per AB 1881. As the bill notes, “By imposing requirements on local agencies in connection with the adoption of water efficient landscape ordinances, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.” Perhaps this is something you’re doing as part of your general plan update; perhaps it will be part of the implementation of your Climate Action Plan. Or maybe you’ve had an ordinance in place for years—and it is time to revisit it and make sure it’s working to save California’s water.
For additional information, please visit the following web pages.
http://aquafornia.com/archives/category/water-legislation
