DID YOU KNOW That it Appears Like Our City Council Doesn't Realize They Need to Consider Water Availability Before Approving Developments?

“At the end of the ‘wet’ season in 1976, rainfall levels were at 65 percent of the norm, reservoirs were depleted, and there was little to no Sierra snowpack to speak of (sound familiar?). Fears were confirmed as 1977 rolled in and marked one of the driest years on record. Forty-seven of California’s 58 counties declared a local drought emergency, making them eligible for relief money on both the state and federal level. ” ( http://civileats.com/2014/02/05/a-history-of-drought-in-california-learning-from-the-past-looking-to-the-future/#sthash.PUw8aWDw.dpuf)

The 1977 drought is credited with sparking a water conservation movement across the state that encouraged urban residents to decrease activities such as watering lawns, washing cars, and flushing the toilet. Locally building moratoriums were put into place. The reality today is that many urban areas now serve a larger population with the same or less water than they did two to three decades ago.

The droughts through out the years set the stage for the California State Legislature to in 2001, pass what have come to be known as the “Show me the water” laws (SB 221 and 610) which require local governments to confirm availability of water before approving new developments. As an example in the Santa Cruz County area in 2003 the Soquel Creek Water District instituted the Water Demand Offset (WDO) program. Developers in their service area requiring new water service must offset the new water demand by making improvements, either on site if they have existing service or off site by a ratio of 1.6 times the amount of water the project is projected to use so that there is a “net positive impact” on the district’s water supply. (http://www.soquelcreekwater.org/conserving-water/water-demand-offset-program )

According to a graduate paper written in 2011 by student Ryan Cahill and professor Jay Lund in the UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Californian’s use almost twice as much water per person per day then Australians. California was compared to Australia due to the fact that both places had similar climates and cultures. The paper pointed out that on average Californians were using between 105-118 gallons per day and that that rate has been stable since the mid 1990’s. Australians on the other hand were using closer to 50 gallons per days.

The California Department of Water Resources posts water use data reported by local agencies and according to their data the San Francisco Bay Area in December of 2014 was averaging 53 gallons per user per day. Unfortunately the reason water consumption dropped in December is because December was wet, residents didn’t need to water outside. One of the takeaways is that the fastest way to reduce water consumption is to ban outdoor irrigation. Welcome to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s new advertising campaign “Brown is the new Green.” Another takeaway however is that we really are starting to get to the point where conserving more on a per person basis at least in the San Francisco Bay Area will really not be easy.

However our local development approval process instead of being proactive like Santa Cruz and Soquel allows clearly outdated or in all likelihood fraudulent Environmental Impact Reports to be used to continue to approve additional developments. (http://patch.com/california/redwoodcity-woodside/did-you-know-city-thinks-it-can-approve-scope-environmental-impact-report-its-clear-what-will)

Which brings me to a thought provoking poll now being voted on in the Calaveras Enterprise:

Question: What do you think about the possible draining of Tulloch Reservoir?

Officials with the Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts say they may have to drain Tulloch Reservoir this summer to provide water to customers. In part, water district officials blame federal regulations that require both New Melones and Tulloch reservoirs to release minimum flows into the Stanislaus River. Both recreational boating and the drinking water supply for residents around Tulloch could take a hit if the lake is drained. What do you think?

The options voters have are:

1. The reservoir was made to irrigate farms, so drain it if necessary.
2. The welfare of Lake Tulloch residents should come before farmers. Keep the water in the lake!
3. A severe drought can dry up a lake. This is an act of God, not a reason for people to fight over water.
4. I blame federal regulations that release water to benefit fish. Let the fish die and keep the water for people!
5. Maybe it was unwise to allow a huge population to become dependent on water in a place that sometimes has severe droughts.

These are the type of choices that unfortunately unless the skies open up and the rains come in earnest or communities deal with the water issue in an honest and proactive manner; we are now having to make. How can it be that locally in the San Francisco Bay Area residents are being asked to conserve and yet major development approvals continue without so much as a second thought?

For votes at press time - see above graphic

To add your vote or see updates:

http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/poll/poll_6338fd32-c2c2-11e4-bacf-cfb0f8d3415e.html