by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As Appearing in the California Globe
‘The severity of this drought requires all Californians to save water in every possible way’
Did you know that the State of California has 436 water suppliers – both urban water retailers and wholesalers? These local water agencies and suppliers are now going to be pushing “more aggressive conservation.”
Tuesday, in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s March 28, 2022 Executive Order calling on local water suppliers to activate drought contingency plans, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted an emergency water conservation regulation to ensure more aggressive conservation by local water agencies across the state.
What this means is California has banned watering “non-functional” grass in some areas – commercial and industrial properties.
According to the State Water Board:
“The new regulation bans irrigating turf at commercial, industrial, and institutional properties, such as grass in front of or next to large industrial or commercial buildings. The ban does not include watering turf that is used for recreation or other community purposes, water used at residences or water to maintain trees. The regulation also requires all urban water suppliers to implement conservation actions under Level 2 of their Water Shortage Contingency Plans.”
“In March 2022, the state’s urban retail water suppliers reported average water use statewide that was nearly 19% greater than in March 2020, lowering the state’s cumulative water savings since July 2021 to 3.7%. Yesterday, Governor Newsom convened leaders from the state’s largest urban water suppliers imploring them to take more aggressive action to combat drought.”
Level 2 actions often include things such as:
- Limiting outdoor irrigation to certain days or hours
- Increasing patrolling to identify water waste
- Enforcing water-use prohibitions
- Increasing communication about the importance of water conservation
