Everyone who lives in Southern California is aware of the continued water shortage problems as a result, in part, of the regular droughts we have and the reduced supplies of water from the Sacramento delta due to restrictions imposed to save the smelt, an endangered species.
There are repeated requests by various agencies and towns for folks to cut back on their use of water (especially big water wasters like irrigation of lawns and washing cars) and a number of websites that provide great suggestions for the ways we can reduce our water usage - some of the little things, like running the water until it warms and keeping the water on while shaving and brushing teeth, can really add up.
READ MORE: Take the 20 Gallon Challenge to learn about all the ways YOU can help save water
The City of San Diego has already declared a Stage 1 (Drought Watch) water emergency, and it looks like we are heading to Stage 2 (Drought Alert) which may be declared in May 2009, where there are MANDATORY requirements.
READ MORE: The Stage 2 Drought Alert Requirements
Because the area uses both imported water (from the north) and water from Lake Henshaw (at only 18% capacity right now), there are serious issues with the continuing drought, following 3 seasons of lower-than normal rainfall.
We can also expect increases in water prices, which have already been approved in some communities.
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Jeff, are you the one that wrote the post on paining your grass green? You needn't water it for three months.
Jeff we have been blessed here in Connecticut this past winter with lots of snow and rain, so no water problems for us. Hope things change around there and you guys get some rain.
Jeff - it's been very dry hear as well. Less snow than usual. Then again for the first time in a long time it rained yesterday. All day yesterday. Maybe the winds will blow some rain your way too. ~Rita
Jeff ... thanks for this article about water conservation at Carlsbad and surrounding SD county communities.
Water, its source and delivery, is so important to San Diego county residences and for all of Southern California. At about 13.5 inches of annual rainfall, we here at the OC also do not have enough.
IBM has recently invested significant money into R&D for developing new software and engineering for ways to get water delivered where it is needed.
Jeff
I can only imagine how difficult that can be. In Wisconsin we do not have such a high problem of water shortage due to all the snow, surrounding Great lakes, and more. I do hope it rains some more there.
Tom
Hi Jeff - Thanks for posting on this. I have some info to share from Orange County as well. We all need to make some serious adjustments. I turned off my sprinklers for two months during the winter. Guess what? My yard kept growing and didn't dry up and blow away.
So, Pat, what are you doing writing comments when you should be out enjoying wonderful Paris? Or were you sitting in some charming cafe along the Seine with a glass of wine, a baguette with cheese and enjoying the passers'by?
Yes, you are correct - what a good memory - I did write about painting the grass and it IS a good option, espeically if the grass has already died as it does as some bank owned properties.
Jeff
George - you are, indeed, fortunate. We are now past the rainy season so things are not like to get better.
Rita - send it along, although my bet is it will head east. We were supposed to get a bunch of rain in the last couple of days but got very little. Certainly not enough to do any good.
Harrison - thanks for your comments. I think over 40% of California is in drought mode right now. A scary thought.
Thanks, Tom. Me too, but I think it unlikely till last next fall.
Marlene - We have cut way back as well and water very little. It really is not needed at this time of year.
Jeff
Your post is certainly more eye catching than the one I wrote on the subject, :-). One of the concerns I have with the drought and the courts cutting off 50% of the water supply that comes from the Sacramento River Delta is the potential for what the rumors about it will do to our housing markets. As we are beginning to see our way out of some of the worst aspects, couple the new higher rates, higher taxes and the next big issue of taxes and the taxing proposal affecting the 19 power plants that use ocean water in the once-through cooling method and we have some serious challenges ahead of us.
Hi Jeff...We've had a couple of rainy, cloudy days and I'm delighted. Someone complained to me about it today and I replied that we need every drop of rain.
Living at a lake, a drought creates not only the usual problems with water shortage, it drops the water level and we end up with docks/boats way too visible. It doesn't excite potential buyers much when they see "beaches" where they weren't before.
This has only happened a couple of times since the lake was established in 1972 but you just have to live through it once to say that's enough.
Kate
Hmm. On my list of upcoming blog posts, is a reminder of our water restrictions, and which days and times are assigned to each house number. We're not in a drought though. We just have too much demand on the Floridan Aquifer.
So you get your water from lakes? For some reason I thought Cali used desalination, like south Florida.
William - agreed. There is still lots of education that needs to occur
Kate - I can see how that could be a serious issues in a community like yours, and others where the lake IS the draw. We have had another cloudy day where it looked and felt like rain but never materialized...that the tease we so often see here outsie the rainy season, adn even during.
Lisa - well it comes from reservoirs (lakes), the Sacramento delta up north and, yes, there is to be a desalination plant built in Carlsbad. There are also water treatment plants. We have some tough times ahead, I think.
Jeff