California Water Restrictions

[Pellice]

Was just reading some news about new California drought restrictions, and I was wondering whether these are more severe than any you Californians have previously experienced. Also, while it sounds as though the new restrictions apply only to the LA area, it also seems as though the whole state is dry, even the rainier north.

How are Californians experiencing this on an individual level? Is there still room for individual water conservation, or must savings now come from larger entities? Will taxes rise to pay for water infrastructure?

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[calmloki]

It's screwy. I read a story about how severe water restrictions are to be put in place - but am surrounded by green golf courses and proposed wave parks in the desert:
https://kesq.com/news/2022/04/26/la...t-but-tables-vote-on-site-development-permit/
The Salton sea is drying up and becoming a dust problem instead of the vacation paradise for the Hollywood elite - but our water costs/month here are, really, about 20% of what we pay in Oregon for a home water meter that is turned off.

 

[Aerides]

*Mod Note*

Please stick to the topic of water restrictions. This thread should not be treated as yet another opportunity to state-bash, media-bash, or bring in other political matters.

 

[rodi]

It varies widely by area. Several years back San Diego Municipal Water put everyone here in a tizzy - so people relandscaped with xeroscape/drought tolerant, changed habits on water intensive activities, etc. Then the municipal water authority complained that people conserved *too much* and needed to raise rates. Recently (Jan 1) they put in even higher rates.

The higher rates in San Diego go in part to the largest capital improvement project in the history of the city "Pure Water". It's a toilet to tap project. I'm in favor of the concept - but the implementation is having them pump raw sewage in 48" pipes through neighborhoods over an 11 mile run... going up mesas and down canyons. There were much better routes that would have required less pressure because the route would have been more level. And, yes, the sewage portion runs through a major intersection in my neighborhood. But the project overall is good... The other source of our water is the Colorado which is pretty darn polluted also as upstream communities add to it. With this project San Diego will be water independent.

As for personal actions to drought... We've slowly changed our landscaping to more bark, mulch, pavers (which are pervious so water soaks in rather than running off.) Our outdoor shower waters our fruit trees. When we remodeled our upstairs bathrooms we pre-plumbed to split off graywater from our showers for irrigation but haven't diverted it and hooked it in yet. (Need a storage tank and pump to finish implementing.)

 

[W2R]

I lived in California back during parts of the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Sometimes even back then we had water usage restrictions, and with everything so dry we had wildfires occasionally which to me are terrifying. Our water bills were awfully high as well, IMO. The water tasted terrible so we only drank bottled water there.

Personally I prefer living in Louisiana, where we don't have to have restrictions and high water usage bills like that. We do have problems with too much water sometimes so some people might prefer a dry state, I suppose. We were careful not to buy in a flood prone neighborhood, and our houses have never flooded since they were built in 1965. So anyway, my neighborhood has never had problems with either flooding or water restrictions and I like that. But the whole state isn't like that. Anyway, as for me, I intentionally do not plan to live in California any more (and water plays a big part in that decision, for me) but that's just *me* and my preferences.

California has some serious water problems but it also has other advantages that we don't have, like abundant sunny beaches and mountains to climb. Louisiana has Cajun food and swamp pop music. Just trying to point out that I don't mean to bash California, which is one of our most beautiful states even though its water situation is a big problem IMO - - all states have both problems and advantages, though, which is why many of us are lucky to have choices here in America.

 

[Turbo29]

The higher rates in San Diego go in part to the largest capital improvement project in the history of the city "Pure Water". It's a toilet to tap project. I'm in favor of the concept - but the implementation is having them pump raw sewage in 48" pipes through neighborhoods over an 11 mile run... going up mesas and down canyons. There were much better routes that would have required less pressure because the route would have been more level. And, yes, the sewage portion runs through a major intersection in my neighborhood. But the project overall is good... The other source of our water is the Colorado which is pretty darn polluted also as upstream communities add to it. With this project San Diego will be water independent.

How did they get rid of the opposition? I remember back in the late 1990's they wanted to do this and and it got derailed. Some claimed because the sewage used in that proposed project would come from from the higher income areas and would be added to the drinking water for the lower income areas south of I-8 that "The poor would be drinking the effluent of the affluent." And that was the end of that project.

 

[cathy63]

The drought is hitting the entire Southwest. CO, AZ, NM, UT, NV are all in trouble, even though their situations don't get as much publicity.

CA could be better off than the rest of the region because our population is mainly along the coast where there's an entire ocean to desalinate. We aren't building the plants fast enough though and there are many hurdles. They're trying to put up a new one in Huntington Beach, but just this week ran into issues where the design doesn't account for the projected sea level rise due to climate change.

I do remember severe restrictions in the 70s drought, back when my sibs and I were tasked with carrying the gray water from the washing machine rinse cycle out to the vegetable garden in buckets. Nowadays our toilets, showers, dishwashers and washing machines all use so much less water than they did back then, it's hard to see how to conserve any more than we already are on an individual basis.

 

[rodi]

How did they get rid of the opposition? I remember back in the late 1990's they wanted to do this and and it got derailed. Some claimed because the sewage used in that proposed project would come from from the higher income areas and would be added to the drinking water for the lower income areas south of I-8 that "The poor would be drinking the effluent of the affluent." And that was the end of that project.

Well - they are taking the sewage of the northern part of the city (north of I-8) - purifying it, and giving it back to the northern part of the city as their Phase 1. 2nd phase will be the mission valley corridor and some of the mesas just south of mission valley (SDSU area to Mission Hills). The last phase is the southern part of the city.

How they got away with it... a stealth campaign of getting scientists and environmentalists to back it before it became public... then rebranding it as "Pure Water" rather than the pejorative "Toilet to Tap".

It has several purification processes - spinning out the solids, hitting it with UV, reverse osmosis, chlorine and the like, super fine membrane filtration (not in that order other than the spinning is the first step.) And they sold the pumping sewage under pressure through neighborhoods by calling it "brine" rather than untreated sewage. I've been on a working group to mitigate some of the risks to the neighborhoods. City thought the uproar would be over construction impacts (significant since they are putting the pipelines under major arterial roads!) not the vents, risks of leaks of pressurized sewage near schools, etc...

 

[swakyaby]

I live in Northern/Central California and have been watching our dry water reservoirs dropping their levels and the Sierra Nevada snowpack up here (only 38% of normal as of April 1) being too low for supplying Southern California through the California aqueduct for their summer water needs. I have been mindful of our water usage—last summer, DH installed dual flush toilet valves on all 3 toilets. We also have a hot water recirculator that minimizes any water being wasted waiting for the shower water to heat up. But the largest amount of water appears to go towards keeping our landscaping green during the dry months. I suppose I can come to terms with letting our lawn die, as long as our HOA will turn a blind eye, but I won’t let our trees and mature shrubs die.

But the truth of the matter is, in California 80% of water usage goes towards farming/agriculture, so the cutbacks in urban water usage can only make a small difference. Still, I think everyone needs to do their part to conserve in every way they can. Outdoor watering is one good place to start cutbacks.

 

[ls99]

Seems California will return to the sixties slogan: If its yellow let it mellow, when its brown flush it down.

 

[ERD50]

The drought is hitting the entire Southwest. CO, AZ, NM, UT, NV are all in trouble, even though their situations don't get as much publicity.

CA could be better off than the rest of the region because our population is mainly along the coast where there's an entire ocean to desalinate. We aren't building the plants fast enough though and there are many hurdles. They're trying to put up a new one in Huntington Beach, but just this week ran into issues where the design doesn't account for the projected sea level rise due to climate change.

I do remember severe restrictions in the 70s drought, back when my sibs and I were tasked with carrying the gray water from the washing machine rinse cycle out to the vegetable garden in buckets. Nowadays our toilets, showers, dishwashers and washing machines all use so much less water than they did back then, it's hard to see how to conserve any more than we already are on an individual basis.

In addition to gray water, you'd think there'd be some way to use the ocean water for flushing toilets, etc. That's a lot of energy for desalination for water that doesn't really need it.

Having two supplies to each house would be major, the infrastructure just isn't there (could be done in new suburbs), but you could distribute salt water and have an RO unit in the house, feeding the faucets, and run the salt water to toilets (showers?).

I'm sure that's not really practical either, just thinking out loud. And that level of salt water would be awful corrosive, I suppose.

-ERD50

 

[swakyaby]

Seems California will return to the sixties slogan: If its yellow let it mellow, when its brown flush it down.

Ugh, I think a better solution is to install dual flush valves, a relatively simple and inexpensive way to save water without impacting your lifestyle. The valve can be purchased at any hardware store. A full flush takes 1.6 gallons (6 liters) for my Kohler toilet, while a light flush takes 0.7 gallons.

 

[TrvlBug]

We're in the SF Bay Area (Peninsula) and replaced our lawn 10+ years ago with drought tolerant landscaping with the exception of 4 rose bushes and a Brug, both of which are water and food hogs. Also replaced toilets, appliances and the like with low flow/energy efficient with our reno 6 years ago. Additionally, during the summer, to water my potted plants, I have buckets to capture shower water as well as waiting for faucet water to heat or cool. There's nothing more to be done at our home! As I look around the hood, at least 50% of homes have similar landscaping.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

California produces an enormous amount of food that helps to feed people in the US and other countries.
I worked with farmers who about 7 years ago said we were close to the point where it would take us 30+ years to recover what has been lost of our water reserves. This is not good for anyone.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

I'm a low user of water, electricity, natural gas and anything else I pay for. This policy only applies to Metropolitan Water District customers (15% of the state population), for me its business as usual.

 

[Pellice]

I'm a low user of water, electricity, natural gas and anything else I pay for. This policy only applies to Metropolitan Water District customers (15% of the state population), for me its business as usual.

That's kind of what interested me, whether Californians were universally being impacted in their everyday lives. Sounds as though most people are in "business as usual" mode, as you say.

 

[Pellice]

We're in the SF Bay Area (Peninsula) and replaced our lawn 10+ years ago with drought tolerant landscaping with the exception of 4 rose bushes and a Brug, both of which are water and food hogs. Also replaced toilets, appliances and the like with low flow/energy efficient with our reno 6 years ago. Additionally, during the summer, to water my potted plants, I have buckets to capture shower water as well as waiting for faucet water to heat or cool. There's nothing more to be done at our home! As I look around the hood, at least 50% of homes have similar landscaping.

Hmm, I always think of the Bay Area as the rainiest part of the state, in fact, quite rainy throughout the year. I didn't realize the drought was hitting this immediate SF area.

 

[swakyaby]

Since my landscaping shows the most seasonal variation, I have been trying to squeeze my outdoor plants to their water hardiness limits, with the exception of the truly valuable trees and mature shrubs which are on drippers. But indoors, I already practice water conservation with high efficiency washers, low flow fixtures, and near-instant hot water for short showers, so not much change indoors.

 

[NW-Bound]

California produces an enormous amount of food that helps to feed people in the US and other countries.

I worked with farmers who about 7 years ago said we were close to the point where it would take us 30+ years to recover what has been lost of our water reserves. This is not good for anyone.

Yes. Drought in California affects more than the residents of the state.

California produces two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts and more than a third of its vegetables...

 

[Boose]

Seems California will return to the sixties slogan: If its yellow let it mellow, when its brown flush it down.

I remember seeing this slogan on a parade float back in the '70s (Bicentennial? 4th of July?) and 6 y.o. me thought it was the funniest thing ever. We really don't like to implement it at home, though. Luckily, we've had dual-flush in the condo we owned (CA) and the apartment we're renting (NH).

 

[TrvlBug]

Hmm, I always think of the Bay Area as the rainiest part of the state, in fact, quite rainy throughout the year. I didn't realize the drought was hitting this immediate SF area.

You're probably thinking Santa Rosa area and north. They get much more rain than we do on the peninsula. The South Bay gets even less rain than we do.

And we get no rain whatsoever during the summer months. Basically, rain starts in November and ends in March with a few April showers.

 

[isisdave]

Household use is not the problem. Domestically, it's water for landscaping and evaporation from pools. The utility providing recycled ("purple" water because its lines and fixtures are that color) water charges MORE than for fresh water, I suppose to pay for the new infrastructure.

Several years ago, there was a call for some percentage of use reduction. Well, we'd already ripped out all the lawn and half the landscape, so there was no way we, and other early adopters, could meed the new reduction requirement. They do stuff like this without thinking it through.

A year ago, we moved from Riverside county to Indiana, where the water actually costs MORE per unit (but no one irrigates anything), and the sewer charges are about SIX TIMES as high as California, because there had been no maintenance or upgrades for about 100 (not kidding) years, until the EPA demanded some changes.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

And we get no rain whatsoever during the summer months. Basically, rain starts in November and ends in March with a few April showers.

Exactly how it is supposed to be! Rain after March and before November (other than a few sprinkles) is just not right.

 

[Scuba]

When I was in high school in the 70’s, there were dire predictions that the world would run out of fossil fuels by 2000. Instead, new technologies were deployed and 22 years later, fossil fuels are still plentiful.

If water gets scarce enough, it will become more economical to desalinate the ocean. Win/win - water comes out of the ocean, which is rising too fast, and is used to supplement fresh water.

Our water bill is about $40/month in the desert. Our HOA provides water for landscape so this is only the water we use in the house. It’s never been below $38 and change no matter what we do, and never been over $42-$43. We have all energy efficient plumbing and appliances and try not to waste water, but we don’t do anything extreme to conserve.

Just an aside - the “when it’s yellow, let it mellow” is common practice in the Virgin Islands where most homes are on cistern water that has to be filled up by a truck when it runs low. Not really that awful, but we don’t do this when in CA.

 

[Sunset]

I do the “when it’s yellow, let it mellow”, DW doesn't like it.

But it doesn't stink and saves maybe 800 gallons over a year

Next toilet is going to be a yellow one, so she can't see it