Sacramento-Area Leaders Urge Public to Conserve Water

As drought conditions in California continue to get worse, Sacramento-area leaders are urging the public to increase their conservation efforts.

According to the Regional Water Authority RWA), Sacramento is experiencing the most severe drought of the century. 2021 started with a near-normal snowpack that instead of flowing into lakes and reservoirs, soaked into the soil or evaporated. By May, the snowpack was functionally gone, two months earlier than average, and Folsom Reservoir water levels were 68 feet lower than 2020.

“This drought is different. It has been swift and severe,” said Sacramento City Councilmember Jeff Harris. “Water supplies for people are expected to be OK this year, thanks to the region’s investments in and ability to shift to groundwater and share water among communities. However, it’s critical that we as a region look ahead to 2022 and prepare for continued dry conditions.”

Local water providers are using operational means to address current drought conditions by shifting to using more groundwater and sharing water around the region, options made possible in part by investments made following the last drought. In addition, RWA in May adopted a resolution calling for 10 percent voluntary conservation. Many local water providers have since initiated voluntary conservation measures and increased rebates as an incentive for customers to reduce their water use.

“Summer presents the greatest opportunity to make a difference, so now is the time to act,” said City of Folsom Mayor Mike Kozlowski. Water use in the Sacramento region peaks in July and August, as residents increase landscape watering with the hot weather. “We are calling on everyone to do their part and conserve water, especially outdoors,” Kozlowski said. “We are confident our community will respond, just as they did during the last drought.”

RWA is sharing several actions that people can take to reduce water usage including:

• Stress Your Lawn and Save Your Trees. Try reducing lawn watering times by two minutes across the board, but remember to take steps to protect your trees. Lawn can handle less water and eventually recover while trees can be lost forever. You can find tips and videos for efficiently watering trees at BeWaterSmart.info/trees or sactree.com.
• Check soil moisture with a moisture meter before turning on sprinklers—saves 80 gallons of water per day.
• Water plants early in the morning to reduce evaporation—saves 50 gallons of water each time you water.
• Begin the transition to a beautiful low-water garden by removing half of your lawn this summer. You’ll be ready to add low-water native plants and drip irrigation this winter—saves 90 gallons of water per day per 1,000 square feet of lawn removed each time you water.
• Contact your water provider about rebates to replace older irrigation equipment, fixtures and appliances with high-efficiency models, including rebates on smart sprinkler timers, high-efficiency sprinklers, drip irrigation and more. Many have increased rebate amounts to help offset costs.