Water rationing. (Photo: Shutterstock, F Armstrong Photography)
CA’s New Mandatory Water Conservation Rules Punish Inland Cities and Agriculture
‘Conservation as a way of life:’ Demanding additional conservation from urban water users is a non-starter
By Katy Grimes, July 20, 2024 10:22 am
California’s drought conditions are actually historically normal. So are our occasional heavy wet winters – Despite Gavin Newsom’s moldy talking point that there is a climate crisis in California and the state is facing “a more extreme future.”
It’s not hard to plan for droughts and wet years – if politicians were honest. But Newsom’s goal isn’t to deliver more water to the people – it’s to thrust the state into a permanent water crisis.
Remember these figures: 50% of California’s water supply goes to environmental uses right off the top. Of the remaining 50%, urban use is only 10% and agriculture uses 40%.
State water officials and legislators are once again talking about water conservation-only priorities while water storage projects are perpetually delayed.
Two weeks ago the California State Water Resources Control Board issued statewide water restrictions. The title of their document even says this:
Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment of
Proposed Making Conservation a California Way of
Life Regulation
“The measures are substantially weaker than a previous proposal after an onslaught of criticism. But they will still save enough water through 2050 to supply the state’s entire population for a year, at a cost of $4.7 billion,” CalMatters reported.
That may be accurate but constant conservation seems to only hurt agriculture and cities and towns in inland California. Even CalMatters acknowledged the truth in the title of an article Friday:
Hot, inland California cities face the steepest water cuts with new conservation mandate
And the CalMatters summary says the quiet part aloud: “Urban water agencies serving a third of Californians won’t need to cut use, while Central Valley and desert cities face the most cuts.”
Here’s where they unfortunately abdicate reporting, spreading propaganda:
“Facing a future of shortages, California is entering a new phase of water conservation: Cities and towns must meet new mandates ramping down use over the next 15 years — and some will be hit harder than others.”
Here is one example of water use and restrictions in Northern California the Globe has reported:
Sacramento has a Mediterranean climate with dry hot summers and mild winters. The Sacramento region is covered by approximately 75 percent of grasslands, more than 20 percent crops, and about two percent forest land. Average Sacramento temperatures swing from a low of 38 degrees in January, to a high of nearly 100 degrees in July.
San Francisco occupies the tip of a peninsula halfway up the coast of Northern California, surrounded on three sides by bodies of water.
While Sacramento is arid, dry and flat, San Francisco is laid out in a grid over more than 40 hills, which causes wide variations in temperature and sky conditions in different places in the area. San Francisco’s average temperature swing is significantly less dramatic than Sacramento, from a low of approximately 55 degrees, to an average high of just 65 degrees.
Of course San Francisco residents use less water than Sacramento Valley residents.
And here is why we said to remember these figures: 50% of California’s water supply goes to environmental uses, 10% is urban use, and agriculture 40%.
Demanding additional conservation from urban water users – residential homes, small, medium and large businesses – is a non-starter because urban water use is the smallest amount of water accounted for. Restricting even more water from urban and ag users doesn’t even move the needle, but does make a lot of lives much worse off.
“Environmental uses” is water flows to the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. These are half of the state’s water.
All of the charts and graphs by the State Water Resources Control Board and comparisons to Australia and Denmark “for context” do not change the fact that California, under Gov. Gavin Newsom, is being destroyed one destructive policy at a time.
…urban water use trends in two affluent and industrialized nations – Australia and
Denmark – provide useful examples. Total urban water use in Australia averaged 100 GPCD in 2020, with residential water use accounting for a little over half of total use in most metropolitan areas (Bureau of Meteorology 2022). In Denmark, total urban water use averaged 42 GPCD in 2021, with residential water use accounting for a little over two-thirds of total use (DANVA 2022)
No one in California cares about water use in Denmark or Australia. California’s water projects were built and designed to provide a steady 5-7 year supply of water for the entire state, even in drought years.
But Newsom and the water police have created policies to deny the people water – and we are supposed to be grateful for it according to CalMatters:
“The costs of the regulations, largely expected to be passed onto customers, are estimated to reach $4.7 billion through 2050. But state analysts expect the benefits for customers and water suppliers, largely from purchasing less water, will outweigh the costs of funding conservation programs by about $1.4 billion.” (emphasis CA Globe)
Shut up and show your appreciation serfs!
Another example: the proposed outdoor residential water restriction is a 20% cut until 2035, when it would then increase to 37% percent, and then increase again to 45% water cuts in 2040. Under a more aggressive cut in water use, the outdoor residential water use standard would be cut immediately 37% by 2030, and then cuts would increase to 45% in 2040. Under another alternative, the outdoor residential water use standard would be cut by 37% percent in 2035 but would not decrease again afterwards.
Read this about the indoor proposed water cuts – language right out of George Orwell’s 1984:
Numerous options exist for suppliers to reduce water consumption to achieve compliance. Urban water conservation programs in California include incentives for increased indoor fixture efficiency and outdoor water conservation, education, targeted messaging programs for acute demand reductions such as during drought, and community-based efforts that engage local nonprofits.
The Governor’s and State Water Resources Control Board’s new water policy restrictions will likely force municipal water suppliers to reduce the amount of water they provide up to 40% over the next 15 years – or be fined up to $10,000 a day. Water districts can reduce customer water use by mandating restrictions, raising rates on high-volume water users, or encouraging low-flow appliances.
“Our climate has changed. Our uses should match the hydrology that we’re now facing,” Joaquin Esquivel, the water board chairman said in a statement.
E. Joaquin Esquivel, a former Legislative aid to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer was appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017, named chairman by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019, and reappointed to the board by Newsom in 2021.
Esquivel is no expert in water use. He’s a longtime bureaucrat, dutifully making detrimental water policy at the behest of the left.
The same goes with SWRCB Board member Dorene D’Adamo, who jumped from the California Air Resources Board to the water board.
At least board member Sean Maguire is a registered civil engineer.
Board member Laurel Firestone, activist, was appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board in 2019 and reappointed by Gov. Newsom, co-founded and co-directed the Community Water Center, a statewide non-profit environmental justice organization.
Board member Nichole Morgan was appointed as the civil engineer to the State Water Resources Control Board by Governor Gavin Newsom in June 2021.
These are the people, who at the behest of the governor and the radical left, are slashing California’s water supply, preventing the people and agriculture from getting what they need. You have to ask yourself why.
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August 9, 2022
democrats trying to force people into hi population density areas that control the rest of the states resources
True posting Patriot, as the Governor in Ca. is working for this agenda, doing HIS part in “Controlling the FOOD SOURCES-Just as they allow the Chinese to buy up land near our Military Bases. Bill Gates has bought Up a Lot of Farmlands as He is one who does believe in “DEPOPULATION”….and wants to Control the FOOD SOURCES and stop farmers from Growing our food. He proposed us eating Bugs and Plants, and HIS New Company that is Making FAKE MEAT…..
Again, these people want TOTAL CONTROL OVER WE, THE AMERICAN CITIZENS….and THEY need to GO TO HELL!
This is actually a political battle and they are using one of the oldest political resources, water. If you were to overlay the current “water conservation” map over the last election results map by political party it will closely align. The conservative areas are taking the draconian cuts while the liberal areas are spared. This is pure rank politics being waged by Newsom and his knee bending sycophants nothing more nothing less. If they can destroy the farmer and the inland communities, they believe that the state will be theirs forever. I beg to differ and believe against all current political conventional wisdom that this state will see conservative leadership shortly. Call me crazy if you want but this is going to be an undeniable sovereign move of God. Daniel Chapter 2 explains that God “changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.” Now is the time for such actions as this. We already are beginning to see this happen at the national level.
Correction – Never ending Artificial shortages as a way of life. Government created shortages are used to control the population and to enrich the connected overlords.
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2024/07/20/chinese-owned-ev-company-funded-dem-campaigns-n4930898
I used to takes the “conserve water” propaganda serious decades ago until I discovered the actual water use mix. About 10% residential, 10% industrial, 80% agriculture. With the alfalfa crops and flood irrigation rice crops each using more water than residential. This was back in the 1980’s. Also discovered that the anti-growth eco-crazies did everything they could to stop agricultural water being sold to cities. This was when the state population was 25 million. The “water shortage” was completely artificial and driven by left wing politics.
Today the water use mix is about 10% residential, 10% industrial, 50% agriculture and 30% being wasted on utterly pointless “habitat recovery” and “species protection”. With zero actual effect. Just allowing the water to flow into the sea. Very valuable water.
There is no water shortage. Never was. Its just another total lie from the eco-crazies.
Further, back several decades funding was approved for about 40 new water retention reservoirs, but none were ever built. (Where the money went is not explained.) Meanwhile, they do stupid things like tear out the Klamath dam, thus removing a major source of local groundwater recharge, and prohibit farmers from doing recharge operations with surplus rainfall. But for democrats, water comes out of a faucet like magic, and no one else needs more than that.
Good work Katy. I tried to inform my readers, too. Is there really a shortage when Our Water is sold to foreign countries? What our Smart Water Meters are really for – https://ahiddenhistory.substack.com/p/california-to-permanently-restrict
—Curious Hidden History.
And to reiterate, our local water District just issued a rate increase because conservation efforts were successful but they need to raise rates to cover the higher cost of purchased water, and to cover “administrative and pension costs” plus increases in maintenance costs…
So we’re going to (AGAIN) be squeezed by SUPPLY RESTRICTIONS but have to pay MORE for LESS….
Between the insurance situation, in combination with Newsom’s faceless bureaucrats implementing these policies that we cannot protest or vote them out about, we are basically SCREWED by these asinine Democrat policies that are taken from the UN Agenda 2030 and policies espoused by the WEF.
Remember, Newsom is a “Young Global Leader” and probably being paid by $oro$ or one of his foundations to destroy California. Or is this a CCP plan to take over our Central Valley farmland to feed their populace? We know Newsom is cutting non-compete contracts with BYD for a number of products….
Time to get serious about planning our escape to a sane, conservative state….
“Our climate has changed. Our uses should match the hydrology that we’re now facing,” The Sites Reservoir was planned back in the 50’s because Sacramento understood the need for water storage. Ground still hasn’t been broken 70+ years later. So far this year, trillions of gallons of water have been allowed to flow into the Pacific because of lack of storage capability. Well done Sacramento.
One of the hallmarks of a First World country is the abundance of resources. The people of California are sick and tired of these Third World conditions and are leaving the state. People don’t want to live those in South Sudan.
Water is a renewable resource. There is no reason for these Democrat policies. We could desalinate water from the coast and pump it to the Central Valley if we wanted.
It was a sad day when Water Warrior Tom McClintock took off for D.C.
So……..Hal…………Please tell me who this dynamic conservative leader would be that could win the election and then corral the crazies in the legislature??
Arnold said he was going to do it, but he got rolled by the legislatures and the unions.
Who Then?
Tomorrow, Thanks for your comments. If you look at the Statewide November ballot the legislature is going to take care of itself. There are 69 out of 80 Assembly seats that that either both a Republican and Democrat or with just a Republican on the ticket. The Senate has 17 races as described above. In my opinion Arnold was a liberal Republican and did not live up to his tough guy image. In regard to who the next Governor will be I do not have a clue, but I do hope that this person has a strong constitution (guts) and commonsense ideas. California is a state with boundless opportunities that has been bottled up by our current leaders awaiting the opportunity to be unleashed. With the right leader who is willing to take a principled stand the state will be great again.
First of all, we do millions of Californians allow these unelected stooges on the State Water Resources Control Board dictate water restrictions? As Katy Grimes pointed out, E. Joaquin Esquivel was appointed as Chair by Newsom even though he’s no expert on water issues. He’s a Democrat political hack who has a BA degree in English and he was legislative aid to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer. The rest of the Board are just as unqualified.
Secondly, most Central Valley cities have major rivers that run through them unlike cities in the SF Bay Area and LA area. For example, San Francisco is almost totally dependent on water being shipped miles away from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. Likewise, LA is dependent on having water shipped hundreds of miles away via the State Water Project canals and the Colorado River Aqueduct. If any cities should face severe restrictions, it’s cities in the SF Bay Area and LA Basin?
Maybe it’s time that the SF Bay Area and LA Basin were forced to depend on their own nearby water supplies?
SF and LA have plenty of water. They can desalinate ocean water. It’s literally an unlimited supply.
In my past elected leader in a local municipality, I discovered that bond payments for expansions of our local water district still had to be paid, even though conservation was successful, and thus increased rates.