Why Southern California may see easier water conservation goals despite state missing target

Despite record-low water savings in February, winter storms in Northe Califoia filled reservoirs and retued the missing snowpack, easing the drought crisis and triggering softer water conservation targets, state water officials said Monday.

While many parts of the state may be headed into a fifth year of drought, the punch of El Niño that landed upstate will help Southe Califoia communities.

A near-100 percent snowpack on April 1 in the northe Sierra Nevada, combined with overflowing reservoirs in Northe Califoia, will send more water down the State Water Project, which has buoyed some agencies in Southe Califoia, a region that relies on imported water from Northe Califoia for about one-third of its water supply. The state has upped its allocation of State Water Project deliveries from 5 percent in 2014 to 45 percent last month, a factor that could cause state officials to lower conservation targets for local cities receiving additional water supplies, said Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board.

“I anticipate a lot of these targets will be much easier for a lot of folks,” said Marcus when asked about some cities that last June were tasked with reducing water by 36 percent. Those mandates came after the Water Resources Control Board exercised an extraordinary level of emergency power by mandating 25 percent water conservation on 411 urban water suppliers during a nine-month drought emergency plan initiated by Gov. Jerry Brown last April.

On April 20, the board will meet with hundreds of cities, water utilities and private water companies in an effort to reduce targets and adjust a new conservation plan that runs through October. On May 5, the board will consider reducing targets due to water availability and hydrology.

“We might change it considerably. I think we need to adjust it to recognize the reality we are in, while still being mindful of the challenges that lie ahead,” Marcus said.

In February, many cities did not come close to meeting targets. For example, Glendora (36 percent goal) conserved 14.6 percent; Burbank (24 percent) conserved 19 percent; Pasadena (28 percent) conserved 2.3 percent; Chino (24 percent) used 3.5 percent more; La Mirada (28 percent) conserved 5.3 percent.

Trying to balance a conservation message when reservoirs are high in the North and snow thick in the Northe Sierra is a delicate dance. Four reservoirs in Marin County are overflowing and Lake Shasta, at 109 percent of average, Lake Oroville, 114 percent and Folsom Lake, at 111 percent, are filling up quicker than normal.

While he praised the state board for saving close to 24 percent, or 1.19 million acre-feet of water from June 2015 through February 2016 (an acre-foot is 326,000 gallons), Central Basin Municipal Water District General Manager Kevin Hunt said it’s time to ease up, so trees can become healthy again and parks retu from brown to green.

“Our area has about 40 percent disadvantaged people. The parks are hard and dry. And these kids don’t get down to the beach. So I’d like to see more humane water uses,” said Hunt, whose wholesale water agency serves 27 cities in southeast Los Angeles County.

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During a press conference Monday in Sacramento, Marcus attributed 12 percent statewide water conservation and only 6.9 percent in Southe Califoia to a record-hot February.

“Folks just couldn’t bear to see everything die, so they tued their sprinklers back on,” she said.

Overall, the state’s 36 million residents did well during the emergency period, saving enough water to supply more than 5.9 million residents for one year, or about the combined population of San Diego, Riverside and Tulare counties. The result was just short of the mandated 25 percent goal set by Brown.

“We are in better shape than we were in the last few years, but we are definitely not out of the woods,” Marcus said. “Califoians rose to the occasion, reducing irrigation, fixing leaks, taking shorter showers, and saving our precious water resources in all sorts of ways.”

The percentage of water saved has declined steadily in the state, slipping from 18.4 percent in December and 17.1 percent in January, as compared to the same months in 2013. (February figures are the latest released by the state).

While El Niño promised record-breaking rainfall, that was fulfilled primarily in Northe Califoia. Southe Califoia saw about half as much rain as in a normal year last winter when measured in downtown Los Angeles.

“However, the drought is not over. Conservation is still important heading into this summer, and so is keeping trees alive,” said Max Gomberg, climate and conservation manager for the state water board.

While Southe Califoia water districts, companies and cities anticipate lower conservation targets, they know that Califoia weather cycles are unpredictable. Some meteorologists are predicting a retu to La Niña, a dry period.

“The problem I see is Southe Califoia has got to continue conserving. But how do you get their attention when you see the green lawns coming back?” asked Bob Kuhn, board member with Three Valleys Municipal Water District in easte Los Angeles County and the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority.

Three Valleys, which oversees water districts and companies from Glendora to Pomona, said water managers are conceed about more years of drought and as a reaction, will bank any extra water imported from Northe Califoia.

“We are going to put that water back into the ground, not necessarily serve it to the people. So if we do have another three or four years of drought, we have something to draw on,” Kuhn said. “Individual homeowners will not see much relief.”