Workshop on Urban Water Conservation to be Held April 20

An April 20 public workshop to discuss potential modifications to the current Emergency Regulation for Statewide Urban Water Conservation will be hosted by the State Water Resources Control Board.  The meeting will be held at the Joe Serna, Jr. – CalEPA Headquarters Building, Coastal Hearing Room in Sacramento.

In November 2015, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an Executive Order directing the State Water Board to extend the May 2015 Emergency Regulation through October 31 of this year, if drought conditions continued through January 2016. Additionally, the Executive Order directed the State Water Board to consider modifications to the May 2015 Emergency Regulations as appropriate.

With California’s drought still a reality through January of this year, the State Water Board adopted an extended and revised emergency regulation on February 2, 2016 with some adjustments to individual conservation standards to acknowledge water-efficient growth since 2013.  The new local drought-resilient supply was also addressed.

Furthermore, the State Water Board’s February regulations directed staff to report back to the board, after complete water supply data is available in April, for possible additional modifications to the emergency regulations. The purpose of the workshop, according to the public notice for the upcoming meeting, is to “solicit input on potential adjustments to the February 2016 Emergency Regulation in response to precipitation amounts and other drought indicators across the state since February 2016, for consideration and possible action by the State Water Board in May 2016.”

Following presentations on the status of the state’s water supply, the State Water Board will seek public input on the following:

• What elements of the existing February 2016 Emergency Regulation, if any, should be modified and how so?
• How should the State Water Board account for regional differences in precipitation and lingering drought impacts, and what would be the methods of doing so?
• To what extent should the State Water Board consider the reliability of urban water supplier supply portfolios in this emergency regulation?

Individuals interested in submitting written comments should direct them to Jeanine Townsend, clerk to the board at: [email protected]. Emails should include a subject line of “Comment Letter – Urban Water Conservation Workshop.”  Written comments can also be faxed to 916-341-5620 or can be hand-delivered to the lobby of the first floor of the CalEPA Building in Sacramento. All written comments, regardless of format, must be submitted by 12 noon, Thursday, April 14, 2016.

Additional information on the state’s emergency water regulations can be found at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/conservation_portal/emergency_regulation.shtml