California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday asked residents to voluntarily reduce household water usage to help with worsening drought conditions.
The State last week estimated that if residents reduced their 2020 water levels by 15 percent it would save as much as 850,000 acre-feet of water over the next year for future use or enough to supply more than 1.7 million households with water for a year.
Governor Newsom discussed the drought emergency at the Lopez Reservoir in San Luis Obispo County, where he signed a proclamation adding nine more counties to the declaration of drought emergency, and calling on everyone to conserve water as they did during the 2012-2016 drought.
” The entire state is in a drought today, and to meet this urgent challenge we must all pull together and do our part to reduce water use as California continues to build a more climate resilient water system to safeguard the future of our state,” Newsom said in a statement. ” Were proud of the tremendous strides made to use water more efficiently and reduce water waste, but we can all find opportunities this summer to keep more water in reserve as this drought could stretch into next year and beyond.
Although the reduction is not mandatory, the State Water Resources Control Board and the Department of Water Resources plan to monitor progress on voluntary conservation, reservoir storage, soil moisture, and other metrics in the coming months to determine whether additional drought response actions are needed, officials said.
Newsom is also asking municipalities and local water suppliers to promote conservation tips through the Save Our Water campaign.
The campaign and website were critical resources for Californians during the last drought and provides information on using water wisely, Newsom said.
Current conditions and informational resources are available to the public at the States new drought preparedness website at drought.ca.gov. –