After the heavy flooding and storms in 2017, Governor Jerry Brown declared California’s five-year drought officially over last April. As a result, coverage of water conservation in the media waned, water districts cut back on rules and restrictions, and some residents (particularly on the southern coast) amped up their water use again (see graph at bottom). This year, the Bay Area had a very dry winter and people pined for another “March Miracle,” just like when storms in 1992 launched the end of California’s previous drought, between 1987-1992.
It’s hard to believe April is already here, but spring has officially sprung and yard preparations are underway, along with considerations for watering those new drought-tolerant plants. There are various methods for water conservation, and homeowners may want to learn about the advantages of drip irrigation. While water sprinklers can over-spray onto sidewalks, run off clay soil more readily, or result in water evaporation, drip irrigation systems can target specific plants and their root zones through emitters, slowly and directly, without washing away mulch and wasting water. To learn more about drip irrigation systems for your yard, sign up for our “Get A Grip on Drip Irrigation: Hands-on Workshop” with landscape expert Seth Wright. It’s on April 28, 10am – 2pm, at the Pittsburg Environmental Center, costs $25, and lunch is included. To register, go HERE.
March is typically the last hurrah for getting rain and snow in California, so our rainy season may be truly over. Although we got a healthy dose last month, UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain says it “may not actually increase the snowpack at all.” Run-off from the Sierra Nevada snow pack, which is responsible for almost one-third of California’s water supply, only got up to 40% of normal a couple weeks ago -- from about 4 ½ inches of water content to about 11 inches. The historic average on April Fool’s Day (April 1) is 30 inches, so it’s not time to run water taps with abandon yet – if ever. And while the reservoirs may be in good shape due to last year’s heavy rains, the groundwater aquifers are still perilously diminished. The reality is water conservation needs to become an ongoing way of life for Californians. Between 2013 and 2017, California’s nine Bay Area counties worked hard to reduce their overall water usage by 6.9%, so keep up the good work and stay vigilant!
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