[env-trinity] Redding.com Editorial: All water users should conserve

[Tom Stokely]

Editorial: All water users should conserve

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| Editorial: All water users should conserveNo matter how much water residents save, their use can’t compare to agricultural users. |
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Editorial: All water users should conserve
At this point, four years into the drought, nobody should be surprised that Gov. Jerry Brown has issued the strictest water-waste prevention and monitoring measures in state history.The only surprise is that the actions didn’t come sooner — say last year, when Brown declared the drought was a state of emergency.But hope springs eternal and politicians like to take their time. We can only guess the rains that pelted us for much of December looked so promising the bureaucrats were temporarily distracted.In fact, those of us who don’t live in towns or districts with limited annual water allocations probably haven’t been paying much attention either. Last year Brown ordered voluntary 20 percent reductions in water use, but Californians exceeded that goal only once — hitting 22 percent in that very soggy December.Just days ago while signing a $1.1 billion emergency drought relief bill, Brown darkly promised there was more regulation to come.But his executive order Wednesday is lopsided, relying more on cuts by local water users and providers, who use 20 percent of the state’s water, and issuing lesser orders to agriculture, which soaks up 80 percent of the state’s supply. Nor does it mention oil companies and the water used for fracking.To be fair, as a state water board spokesman noted, earlier this year agriculture took “enormous cuts” to water deliveries, but that doesn’t mean that most farms have changed their reliance on thirsty crops and thirstier orchards.And though the state is implementing a groundwater regulation package, there are no restrictions on pumping from the aquifers. The spokesman pointed out there are drilling and pumping costs for wells, but do those costs mean anything to corporate farmers?Redding was among many cities that, while implementing water regulations aimed at reducing usage, did not require residents to cut use by a specific percentage. In fact, Redding had enough water to sell some to the perpetually parched Bella Vista Water District.Now statewide reductions are 25 percent of water used last year — and mandatory. Restrictions imposed by the state Water Resources Control Board will look at per capita uses in each area and those with higher usage last year will have to make it up with proportionally greater reductions this year.Across the state water agencies are being told to adjust their rate structures to discourage water waste. Surcharges, fees and penalties are suggested too. You use too much — you pay a steep price.From now on, “permanently,” according to Brown’s executive order, urban water suppliers will report water usage, conservation and enforcement actions to the state. Until now many cities had ignored the state’s request for information.No matter how much water residents save, their use can’t compare to agricultural users. Though Brown’s order requires drought management plans and steady reporting on how farmers intend to manage water demand during the drought and where they expect to get their water, there are no actual cutbacks. The idea is that through the reports the state will discover, and control or eradicate illegal water diversions.Brown promises swift action against illegal diverters and “wasteful and irresponsible” water use, but penalties are vague. They need to be spelled out so there’s no question about consequences.The report does not directly address the vast overpumping of ground water supplies. As National Public Radio reported just hours before Brown’s order Wednesday, farmers have turned to digging more and more wells, to the point where San Joaquin Valley is sinking at the rate of a half-inch a month as wells are literally sucked dry. Farmers have long objected to well-water monitoring on the basis that they own the water under their farms. But the aquifers don’t follow property lines. Wells on one property can’t help but affect surrounding lands.It’s clear throughout the order that Brown expects cooperation from local water agencies, but nowhere in his order does he directly address how the water board will enforce many of its provisions.If they are to work and be taken seriously, these new restrictions need evenhanded and steady enforcement across the state. There are always some who will do their best to conserve, with or without penalties, but those who blithely assume others will save for them need to be targeted.And the governor needs to do something more about corporate water wasters, no matter who they are.
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