California Water Restrictions

[Chuckanut]

?

I search the Web, and found this article which said rainwater in LA in driest years still amounts to 30-50% of the city water usage. The problem is how to catch and store it.

Wouldn't catching all that rain water dry up the Los Angeles River?

 

[Koolau]

It would seem Cali and its cities have a patchwork of water laws and regulations - some dating back probably 80 years or so that are now preventing most of the "easy" fixes. Cali (and the other states sharing water) need to have a comprehensive restructuring of water usage laws and regs - but it's not likely to happen until, well, until it has to. YMMV

 

[skipro33]

It would seem Cali and its cities have a patchwork of water laws and regulations - some dating back probably 80 years or so that are now preventing most of the "easy" fixes. Cali (and the other states sharing water) need to have a comprehensive restructuring of water usage laws and regs - but it's not likely to happen until, well, until it has to. YMMV

Actually, the water rights go back to the beginning of the gold rush era, 1849(ish) when water rights were first established. Those who prove their historical rights have legal precedence to the water.

 

[NW-Bound]

Just got my most recent water bill here in Northern California foothills. Bill states it is for 56 days. Consumed 6300 cubic feet of water, equal to 47,124 gallons. 841.5 gallons per day. It's just me and my wife. The bill is for $214 for an average of $3.82 per day. A $66 flat rate for just having the meter hook-up, the remaining in water charges over 3 tiers of varying rates.
It sounds excessive...

I never paid much attention to the water bills from the city. Just this morning, sat down and added up the water that we used.

They bill for the water in units of 100 cubic feet. Each unit is 748 gallons. In 2018, we used 292 units. In 2019, 268 units. In 2020, 275 units. In 2021, 257 units.

The above works out to 598 gal/day, 549 gal/day, 564 gal/day, and 527 gal/day.

Our water usage is declining, which is a good thing. Even more interesting was that last year I emptied out the pool to sandblast the waterline tiles. Averaged out the 25,000 gallons over 365 days, that's 68 gal/day, meaning our normal daily consumption was 458 gal/day.

Now, the 458 gal/day is still high compared to the average 146 gal/day reported for residents here. But then, we have an above-average pool, plus my wife has plants all around the house.

In the recent January, we used only 169 gal/day. And there was still some watering, even in the winter. The pool evaporation was way down though.

The total city bill is as high as $230, even when I was not refilling the pool. But then, the bill also includes charges for sewer and garbage collection, with taxes here and there collected for everybody. And what is this $1 for jail?

 

[NW-Bound]

It would seem Cali and its cities have a patchwork of water laws and regulations - some dating back probably 80 years or so that are now preventing most of the "easy" fixes. Cali (and the other states sharing water) need to have a comprehensive restructuring of water usage laws and regs - but it's not likely to happen until, well, until it has to. YMMV

I was shocked to learn that as of a couple of years ago, quite a few towns in CA had no water meters for each home!

They were putting in water meters, but of course that cost money and time.

 

[REWahoo]

I was shocked to learn that as of a couple of years ago, quite a few towns in CA had no water meters for each home!

We bought a house in Houston in 1980 that, unlike all my neighbors, had no water meter. The prior owner said he purchased the house new and had never paid a water bill. Same for me, and as far as I know, whoever lives there now still has free water and sewer.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

27 cents a kW for SoCal Edison.

My bill was 25.42 due to not needing AC or heat.

 

[NW-Bound]

The minimum service charge at my city home is $25/month. This is what I pay even if I use no electricity. That's why even in months when I am running mostly off-grid with my solar+battery system except for the auxiliary fridge, I still pay $33.97 for 140 kWh. The effective rate is $0.24/kWh.

The minimum service charge at my high-country boondocks home is $31/month. I have not been up there, and the only load is the fridge. It consumed 131 kWh last month. For that, I was charged $9.63. And then, there's tax on everything including the $31, bringing the total to $43.28.

That makes the effective price per kWh at my boondocks home $0.33/kWh.

 

[Sunset]

We bought a house in Houston in 1980 that, unlike all my neighbors, had no water meter. The prior owner said he purchased the house new and had never paid a water bill. Same for me, and as far as I know, whoever lives there now still has free water and sewer.

The city of Chicago does the opposite, if you have no meter, they just send you a bill they make up. Generally it's twice what others pay.
Sometimes it's incredibly ridiculous and gets in the news, where for 5 years they charged water for an empty building and the owner owes tens of thousands of dollars, even though the water line was sealed shut.

 

[Koolau]

Actually, the water rights go back to the beginning of the gold rush era, 1849(ish) when water rights were first established. Those who prove their historical rights have legal precedence to the water.

I'm sure you are correct. I was thinking more about the various massive water projects of the early 20th century which allowed the green revolution in the SW not to mention the massive settlement of the SW.

 

[Sunnymar]

If I didn't read this forum I wouldn't know about the water restrictions in my state, I live in Orange County, I don't recall getting any notice of restrictions from my water company.
I don't have a lawn, I did build a pool in 2019, and had no problem getting a city permit.

 

[NW-Bound]

If I didn't read this forum I wouldn't know about the water restrictions in my state, I live in Orange County, I don't recall getting any notice of restrictions from my water company.
I don't have a lawn, I did build a pool in 2019, and had no problem getting a city permit.

I did not know about the severity of water shortage in my state either until recently. It's always in the news, but people brush it off as "somebody else's problem", until their own faucet runs dry.

This is just crazy: Newest Arizona city already facing major water problem before it's even built

---

APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. — There's a city twice the size of Tucson out in the desert south of Apache Junction. It houses 900,000 people in thousands upon thousands of homes.

But it just hasn't been built yet.

The area is 276 square miles of empty desert called Superstition Vistas. It stretches from the southern border of Apache Junction, down the edge of San Tan Valley, all the way down to Florence, then across to the US 60 and beyond.

It follows the edge of the Tonto National Forest and wraps around Gold Canyon, and then back to Apache Junction.

And for all that area, with all those people estimated to live there upon completion, there's not enough water.

Not yet.

---

It's amazing how the developers think they can build a city for 1,000,000 people without knowing where to get water for them.

I just learned of a place much smaller called Rio Verde, with a population of 2,300 in 4 sq.mi. It's an unincorporated community north of Scottsdale. Zillow shows many multi-million dollar homes there. Yet, they have no water, except for some home owners that got a well that works. The rest needs to have water trucked in from Scottsdale. And Scottsdale is going to cut them off because of water shortage.

In the video below, a home owner describes a neighbor who spent $80K to drill a well down 1,300 ft, and hit no water!

Bleak!

 

[Ronstar]

I did not know about the severity of water shortage in my state either until recently. It's always in the news, but people brush it off as "somebody else's problem", until their own faucet runs dry.






It's amazing how the developers think they can build a city for 1,000,000 people without knowing where to get water for them.

I just learned of a place much smaller called Rio Verde, with a population of 2,300 in 4 sq.mi. It's an unincorporated community north of Scottsdale. Zillow shows many multi-million dollar homes there. Yet, they have no water, except for some home owners that got a well that works. The rest needs to have water trucked in from Scottsdale. And Scottsdale is going to cut them off because of water shortage.

In the video below, a home owner describes a neighbor who spent $80K to drill a well down 1,300 ft, and hit no water!

Bleak!

I saw the same video. We made an offer on a home in Rio Verde in 2019 - I'm glad that the offer was not accepted.

 

[Mark1]

.....

I just learned of a place much smaller called Rio Verde, with a population of 2,300 in 4 sq.mi. It's an unincorporated community north of Scottsdale. Zillow shows many multi-million dollar homes there. Yet, they have no water, except for some home owners that got a well that works. The rest needs to have water trucked in from Scottsdale. And Scottsdale is going to cut them off because of water shortage.
....

Lately, I have been using google map to view drought stricken areas in the news and I look for green patches within the satellite view. When I type in Rio Verde, I found a bunch of houses surrounding 36 holes of golf courses (??).

Also, when I reviewed the Superstition Vistas area (..The area is 276 square miles of empty desert called Superstition Vistas. It stretches from the southern border of Apache Junction, down the edge of San Tan Valley, all the way down to Florence, then across to the US 60 and beyond...), I find lots of green related to agriculture production near this area.

There is lots of water within the southwest US (and adjacent Mexico), just too many people using it IMO.

 

[Pellice]

The restrictions have commenced: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/01/southern-california-water-restrictions-start-today-amid-drought.html It sitll isn't clear to me whether all Californians have experienced cuts, or whether it's a minority, as a previous article said:

Sweeping restrictions on outdoor water use go into effect on Wednesday for more than 6 million residents in Southern California as officials work to conserve water during a severe drought.

but continued:

The impact of the cuts will be different across California, since not all agencies depend on water supplies from the State Water Project. The project collects water from rivers in Northern California and delivers it to 29 urban and agricultural water suppliers.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/18/cal...es-to-water-agencies-amid-record-drought.html

The implication is that ALL Californians will be affected to some extent, but one poster above had noted that Orange County was not affected. I wonder how easily water supplies from different suppliers can be shared in southern California?

 

[EastWest Gal]

If one lives where there is a drought, one needs to be part of the solution. In the 1970s, we used our grey water, collected in plastic garbage cans, to keep the yard mostly alive. I was a teen, age 16-17 during the 1976-77 major drought, and my family embraced that and it worked. Our trees survived and our small lawn did too.

Yellow is mellow, brown goes down. These toileting habits work. Short showers, turn the water off when you are able. I still do that.

Almond farmers have improved watering practices, cutting their water usage by a significant percentage, on the order of 30%+ overall. That is not in the news. We should prioritize food production over lawns and swimming pools anyway.

 

[explanade]

Well almonds are not a staple, more of a cash crop.

They could let golf courses go brown too. Golf popularity has been declining for years.

 

[Pellice]

I'm curious, are corporate lawns already gone, replaced with xeriscaping, including those of hotels and resort centers? I'm assuming all public buildings and schools and college campuses are mostly xeriscaping now.

 

[zinger1457]

They could let golf courses go brown too. Golf popularity has been declining for years.

Golf popularity has been booming the last couple of years, ever since covid hit. I've been visiting the Scottsdale area for the last 25 years and have never seen the golf courses so busy, and costly, as the last couple of years. Golf club manufacturers revenues are way up also.

 

[Koolau]

I quit when our local Par 3 (here in the heartland) sold to a housing developer. The course wasn't that great, but it was really cheap and never crowded. As a true duffer, I felt welcome there and rarely had more than one group needing to play through in a round. BUT those days are gone. Lots of golf opportunities locally, but I can't walk that far now and I won't ride a cart.

The courses on Oahu take enormous amounts of water and, right now, we are being asked to voluntarily conserve water. We aren't in the drought conditions of Cali, but the lack of rain seems to be semi-permanent now. I wonder if the golf courses will do their share. I guess we'll see as YMMV.

 

[Helen]

I still can't believe Disney is planning a huge development community in Rancho Mirage which will include a water park.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...alifornia-storyliving-community-rancho-mirage

 

[Scuba]

I'm curious, are corporate lawns already gone, replaced with xeriscaping, including those of hotels and resort centers? I'm assuming all public buildings and schools and college campuses are mostly xeriscaping now.

Nope, still lots of green grass on university campuses, resorts, etc.

 

[Scuba]

Well almonds are not a staple, more of a cash crop.

They could let golf courses go brown too. Golf popularity has been declining for years.

The golf courses in the desert use reclaimed water already to maintain their lush green appearance. The pandemic drove a huge resurgence in the popularity of golf.

 

[Chuckanut]

Golf popularity has been booming the last couple of years, ever since covid hit. I've been visiting the Scottsdale area for the last 25 years and have never seen the golf courses so busy, and costly, as the last couple of years. Golf club manufacturers revenues are way up also.

I know a number of younger guys who play golf on a regular basis. The game seems to have made a big comeback.

 

[Chuckanut]

This community near Phoenix has a beautiful park complete with a huge fountain that is operated totally on reclaimed water.