State regulators voted 4-0 Wednesday to let local water districts to set their own conservation targets after a wet winter eased drought conditions in Northern California.
The vote by the State Water Resources Control Board ends a statewide conservation order enacted last April that required a 25 percent reduction by all districts. Now only regions where a shortage of supply is anticipated will have to conserve.
“We don’t want to cry wolf but we also don’t want to stick our heads in the sand,” said water board chair Felicia Marcus. “This is a compromise.”
Beginning next month, the San Diego Country Water Authority and other local districts will need to estimate how much water they will have access to, and how much they will need for their customers, over a period of three years. Those facing a possible shortage will be required to conserve, but those with plentiful supplies will not.
San Diego’s investment in the Carlsbad desalination plant and San Vicente Reservoir may allow a significant easing in local water restrictions.
But San Diego Coastkeeper criticized the decision, saying it would allow “poor-performing water agencies in San Diego County to hide behind the good conservation numbers produced by our better-performing water agencies.”
The state board also voted to keep in place a rule requiring restaurants to serve water only upon request.
Going forward, the state hopes to reduce water use by 20 percent or more as a way to guard against future droughts. A plan to achieve that goal is expected to be released by the end of this year.
A report by Reuters contributed to this article.
