With Mandates Revoked, Is Conservation Dead In California?

California lifted its blanket water conservation mandates last month, putting more power in the hands of local water regulators to decide on conservation goals.

Does that mean conservation will die in California?

“Starting this month, California will switch to a system that will let local water agencies lift conservation requirements if they can prove they have enough water to get through three more years of possible drought,” the Associated Press reported. “Under the new system, water districts unable to show they have enough water for three more years' of drought must conserve by a corresponding amount.”

In other words, agencies that are 20 percent short of what they need will now have to conserve water to 20 percent below pre-drought levels. The new approach amounts to a "show-me-the-water model," according to state water board chairwoman Felicia Marcus.

The decision to shelve water mandates was a controversial one, since the rules were effective in compelling residents to conserve. In April, Californians managed to outdo the state’s conservation goals, according to the Associated Press.

“Water policy experts fear a let-up in conservation, even though nearly 70 percent of the state remains in extreme drought. That concern isn’t unwarranted. Although some districts want to keep enforcing strict mandates, others have been fighting for months to put a cap on them,” High Country News reported.

Sara Aminzadeh, director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, questioned the decision to end conservation mandates.

“A number of water suppliers don’t necessarily deserve (this) trust,” she said, per High Country News. “It’s really dicey to return to local control, especially as we enter the hot, dry summer months.”

Some water agencies are already winding back the strictest conservation measures.

“The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, which got so much rain the local reservoir was spilling over this winter, is cancelling emergency conservation programs and public education programs for conservation,” the report said.

Revenue is a key pressure that could push some water agencies to rein in cuts.

“Most water agencies don’t have specific plans in place yet, but water managers say eventually every water district in California will have to raise rates to make up for revenue loss in times of drought, and it’s likely that in the future, there will be policy changes for how both commercial and residential water supplies work,” the report said.

Still, all hope for conservation is not lost.

“Several water district managers say that even though following state standards and reporting numbers every month was a hassle, they saw huge gains that they hate to lose,” the report said.

Harry Starkey, manager of West Kern Water District weighed in.

“Once you start changing behaviors, you don’t want to unwind that,” he said, noting that the district will continue to monitor water use closely and restrict water use for landscaping.

Max Gomberg, the Water Resources Control Board’s climate and conservation manager, described the aim of the policy changes.

“The goal here is to back off a little and say, ‘OK, it’s not the... emergency it was, and so we’re going to move to the Ronald Reagan model of trust but verify,” he said, per the Los Angeles Times.

He acknowledged that some agencies may set their conservation goal at zero savings.

“No one wants to publicly report that their water supplies aren’t able to withstand drought,” he said, per the report. “They have their own pressure for painting a rosier picture than is actually warranted.”

Regulators say they are prepared to step in if water savings dry up.

"I do want to be clear if this [new] approach doesn't work we are prepared to call folks on it," said Marcus, the water board chairwoman, per the AP.

To read more about the Western drought visit Water Online’s Water Scarcity Solutions Center.