New water rules: a "budget" for all seasons

Just because it rained a lot last season doesn't mean we are out of the woods on water scarcity.  Apparently, Sacramento put in some rules five years ago that are just kicking in.  Per today's Merc piece

Dozens of California cities could be required to impose permanent water conservation measures starting in about a year — and keep them in place even when the state is not in a drought — under proposed new rules from state water regulators.  The landmark rules are required by two laws that former Gov. Jerry Brown signed in 2018 after a severe five-year drought.

Under the new rules, roughly 400 of the California’s largest cities and water districts are required to come up with a water-use budget every year beginning Jan. 1, 2025. They could eventually face fines of up to $1,000 a day — and $10,000 a day during drought emergencies — for failing to set and meet appropriate targets.

The targets will vary by community. They are based on a formula made up of three main factors: a standard of 47 gallons per person per day for indoor water use — dropping to 42 gallons by 2030; an amount for outdoor residential use that varies by community depending on regional climates; and a standard for water loss due to rates of leaks in water system pipes.

The Bay Area is considered to be doing an OK job of conserving now, apart from some East Bay communities. The first round of cuts in 2025 are not expected to hit nearby including the SF PUC where B'game gets its water.  The chart in the Merc piece appears to say SF PUC is fine as is through 2035.  That may be true if interest rates stay about 7 or 8% for years.  The Merc noted elsewhere

In fact, no apartment projects with market-rate units broke ground in Silicon Valley during the first half of 2023, according to data from CoStar, an international real estate analytics company. Compare that to the last six months of 2022, when developers started construction on at least 5,298 multifamily units in the region.

But

By 2030, the state water board estimated, only 97 agencies representing 28% of the state’s urban population would escape additional conservation requirements. Another 88 with 18% of the state’s urban population would see cutbacks of 10% to 20%, and 134 representing 19% of the state’s urban population would see required cutbacks of 20% or more.

There was more handwringing over how much building new storage or desalinization plants would cost.  We need to constantly keep Ben Franklin's advice in mind:  "When the well is dry, we know the value of water".

Comments

[Joe]

To the point about more storage being "expensive":

In 2014, California voters approved (67-33) Proposition 1, with the understanding that $2.7 billion would be dedicated to storage, dam, and reservoir projects. But so far, “not much has been built,” says Edward Ring, co-founder and senior fellow with the California Policy Center.

“The biggest two projects, Sites Reservoir and Temperance Flat, have gone almost nowhere.”

The Sites Reservoir, which was first proposed in the 1980s, “has been downsized to 1.5 million acre-feet,” Ring adds, “and remains mired in potential litigation and procedural delays.”

https://gvwire.com/2023/08/29/farmers-flush-with-water-now-but-state-still-hasnt-prepared-for-the-next-drought/