State Water - Targets Eased
Last updated 8/1/2016 at 4:56am
Despite the continued dry weather, the State Water Resources Control Board has eased targets for individual water districts.
Having recently announced changes to policy for limiting water use, that could eliminate the reduction targets, the new standards allow a water district to leave the conservation mandate as long as it can show it has enough supply for three years of consecutive Drought.
Decisions by the water board are due by the end of August but critics argue that while the Poseidon desalination and transferable supplies from the Colorado River may benefit some residents, there are environmental impacts.
"There's nothing secure about the Colorado River," said Travis Pritchard, program director with the environmental group San Diego Coastkeeper. "When you have the river not making its way to the Gulf of California, when you have Lake Mead at its lowest water level ever and the Salton Sea drying up, that's not a secure supply."
Since the governor's emergency program started in June 2015, the state has saved more than 524 billion gallons of water but county water authority officials are keen for residents to continue with water efficiency and take advantage of agency programs to promote a water conscious lifestyle.
