California considering change in drought rules for cities

California will consider lifting a statewide water conservation order for cities and towns as the state’s drought eases.

The State Water Resources Control Board will decide May 18 whether to lift the conservation target in place since June 2015 for urban water users. The water board had mandated a statewide 25 percent reduction but recently reduced that to 20 percent.

“We got a reprieve” from El Niño storms that brought snow and rain to Northern California this winter, water board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said. But she said California needs to use the reprieve to prepare for the years ahead as it moves into a drier future because of climate change.

The state water board will consider whether to have urban water agencies across California decide for themselves how much they each need to save so they do not run out of water if the drought continues for an additional three years. The agencies would have to report to the state the assumptions they used in setting their conservation targets and continue to report monthly on how much water they saved.

Gov. Jerry Brown ordered mandatory statewide conservation last year, at the height of the driest four-year spell in the history in California. The reductions are based on 2013 water use and apply to potable – or drinkable – water.

Though the state sought an overall 25 percent reduction, it imposed varying reductions based on past water use. Many Northern San Joaquin Valley cities were required to reduce water use by more than 25 percent. For instance, Modesto was given a 36 percent reduction, which recently was reduced to 33 percent.

Modesto has reduced its water use by roughly 30 percent since the statewide mandate took effect in June.

Modesto Utilities Director Larry Parlin said he suspects that if the State Water Resources Control Board decides to let urban water agencies set their own conservation targets, Modesto will need to continue to reduce water use by 30 percent.

“I think it’s probably a good thing,” he said about the state water board’s proposal to let cities and towns determine how much they need to save under three additional years of drought. “We have a decent water supply, so it will be a good thing for us. But it’s also a lot more work. Managing the drought and water resources takes a lot of time.”

Modesto is the only city in Stanislaus County that relies on river and well water for its drinking water. The other eight rely on wells.

The water board’s release of its draft rules Monday came on the same day that Brown issued an executive order declaring that drought conditions persist and that the state must take permanent action to mitigate the likelihood of more frequent droughts. In the short term, the order tells the State Water Resources Control Board to adjust water conservation targets through January 2017.

The order also dictates that the water board and Department of Water Resources create new, permanent water-use targets across California. Rather than the sweeping regulations in place over the past year, the order says those goals should be tailored to “the unique conditions of each water agency.”

Some water agencies have asked for more customized regulations that take into account their regional water supply, groundwater reserves and climate. They also have complained that the statewide mandate did not take into account their previous conservation efforts.

“They have gotten so much pressure from agencies that have water this year,” Parlin said about the state. But he added this could lead to dissension and other problems between water agencies with limited supplies and those that are in better shape.

Under the governor’s order, urban water districts will be required to report water use monthly to the state, extending a mandate that has been in place for more than a year. It permanently bans practices deemed wasteful, including hosing off sidewalks or driveways, washing cars with hoses that don’t have a shut-off nozzle, watering lawns in a way that causes runoff and watering lawns within 48 hours of precipitation.

“Californians stepped up during this drought and saved more water than ever before,” Brown said in a statement. “But now we know that drought is becoming a regular occurrence and water conservation must be a part of our everyday life.”

An El Niño weather pattern delivered more rain this water year than during any other year of the drought, but not as much as state officials had hoped. About three-quarters of the state remains in severe, exceptional or extreme drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Even so, the state’s two largest reservoirs – Shasta and Oroville – stand far higher than historic levels for this point in the year.

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "California considering change in drought rules for cities."