New Water Rules May Mean Looser Restrictions Despite Drought

LOS ANGELES, CA - State regulators have approved new water conservation rules that, for some parts of the state, will loosen the strict savings requirements that Gov. Jerry Brown imposed a year ago.

The development is expected to be especially good news for Riverside County's Coachella Valley.

Following Wednesday's 4-0 vote by the State Water Resources Control Board, local water districts will soon be allowed to set their own savings targets based on water supply and demand forecasts tailored to their areas. That means that places that received a lot of rain -- and communities that purchase or are entitled to water from sources there -- are likely to see fewer restrictions, while dry areas without water from those replenished supplies are likely to suffer though another summer of continued conservation, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Many Northern California cities and towns hit by heavy rains and snow this year are likely to be able to lower their targets. But even suppliers in Southern California, who largely missed out on El Nino storms, could argue for significant relief.

California's water system was designed so that water from rain and snow in the north can be delivered to urban areas in the south, where much of the state’s population resides. So, many places in Southern California that suffered through a dry winter will benefit from the north’s wetter weather and be able to ease up on conservation, too, The Times reported.

New state regulations are also likely to benefit agencies such as the Coachella Valley Water District, according to The Times. Because the district's customers use relatively high volumes of water -- in part to keep golf courses green in the desert -- the district was assigned a 36 percent reduction target last year. State regulators subsequently fined the district $61,000 for perennially failing to meet it.

But the Coachella Valley Water District gets much of its water from an underground aquifer that is so vast, federal officials who once tried to measure its capacity gave up. Under the new rules, the district could theoretically argue that it has plenty of water in that aquifer to meet customers' demands and should no longer be required to conserve.

"We’re going to look at supply and demand and we’re going to submit the numbers that are true and accurate,” Heather Engel, the district’s director of communication and conservation, told The Times. "We’re not going to lie. ... We have a very strong supply, so I suspect we won't have a 36 percent mandate.”

City News Service