Most of California is now in severe to extreme drought. While we are doing our part locally and will continue to do so, it is also time for the state of California to accelerate its investment in water storage and infrastructure to help avoid the cycle of crisis we are in – merely moving from one drought to the next. Simply put, a resilient water future requires big thinking and decisive action from the local level all the way up to the state.
Impacts of climate change have taken their toll as California must contend with another year of record low precipitation and severe stressors the Colorado River water supplies. Again, our state is experiencing one of the worst droughts on record. In May, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District responded to the state’s emergency mandates to reduce water consumption by 10% to 20%. We asked our customers to further conserve, and you continue to step up conservation to meet that request. The board and staff at EVMWD want to thank you for all you are doing to meet our water reduction goals by being water efficient during this third year of historic dryness in our state.
Our region has demonstrated a history of excelling at water efficiency even prior to the current drought. The proof is in the numbers: Since 2013, our population has grown by 8%, yet within our service area customers used 6% less water despite this population growth. We met the State’s Water Conservation Act goal to reduce water use by 20% by 2020 well before the deadline by slashing our average water use by 43% since 2013.
EVMWD continues to work with the community to keep residents and businesses informed of the worsening conditions. We created an online resource at http://EVMWD.com/Drought2022 that features guidance to help customers lower their water use. We have seen that small, everyday actions can add up to make a big difference in conserving our water supplies.
In addition to conservation, EVMWD continues to invest in technology and infrastructure to improve water efficiency. In 2015, EVMWD pioneered an advanced metering infrastructure system. By 2017, all EVMWD customers had access to the free AquaHawk AMI system, which helps customers monitor their water use online, saving water and money. EVMWD is also working behind the scenes to optimize our water systems by securing grants to help us identify any potential inefficiencies and associated infrastructure upgrades to increase efficiency and reduce system loss.
Looking to the future, EVMWD is working closely with our commercial customers to remove non-functional turf. We anticipate an additional 6.5 million gallons of water savings each year through our turf replacement program.
Despite all the water efficient efforts we take here at home, there is more that must be done at the state level to develop long-term solutions for our water crisis. While residents, businesses and local water suppliers take the brunt of water saving action, it is critical the state of California use its existing funding and resources to provide immediate leadership and action to invest in water supplies and storage to sustain our parched state.
All of us need to accept we live in a state where drought is now a way of life, but it does not need to be a reoccurring crisis. Local water suppliers are the experts, so we ask the state to partner with us to support solutions that will help create a more resilient water future for the whole state. Water recycling, improved conveyance, increased storage and common-sense policies will go a long way in ensuring our people, businesses, farms, and environment continue to thrive in California.
Greg Thomas is the general manager of Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.
