LA residents told to cut showers as drought deepens
LA residents told to cut showers as drought deepens
Please note the article says to take short showers, and didn't say to skip showers. I'm just sayin'.
I'm afraid it's going to be a rough summer, water-wise. We've only had about three inches of rain this past year.
Defining when we're experiencing a drought in California is up to the local water authorities. There is no one size fits all formula. According to the San Diego County Water Authority's Drought Management Plan:
So theoretically, LA could be under drought conditions while San Diego might not be, despite getting less rainfall for the year.
Where are we now?
The report states that one of the actions that determines drought in San Diego is if they have to take water from storage to meet demand. (There is a drought action matrix on page 23 of the SDCWA Drought Management Plan.) According to a May 17 article at the North County Times, they're doing that now, and the San Diego County Water Authority has implemented stage one of the Drought Management Plan.
What does that mean?
Take shorter showers. Don't skip them though. My adventures in public transportation already give me enough sensory overload, thankyouverymuch.
As the NC Times article says, consider this your first warning on potential cutbacks, and now's as good a time to start as any. There's a ton of things you can do to voluntarily cut back. Personally, I take action everyday when I tell my son to TURN OFF THE WATER WHILE YOU'RE BRUSHING YOUR TEETH!!
ahem.
Anyway, here's something extremely cool right here close to home. The Ornamental Horticulture program at Cuyamaca Community College in Rancho San Diego, and all the local water agencies joined together and built a fantastic xeriscape garden in El Cajon where it's too damn hot for any sane person to live, says the voice of experience.
The Garden is open from 9-4 everyday (except some holidays, of course) and they have evening hours some days in the summer. You can rent facilities there for parties, receptions and wedding. Or just go browse the garden to get some water saving ideas for your yard. They have classes too. So go check out The Garden and get inspired to replace your water guzzling landscaping with plants that are meant to grow in our dry, sunny Mediterranean climate.
Tip: Planting a few drought resistant plants is a good idea anytime, but for a full blown relandscaping project it's better in a year where there's more rain. Drought resistant plants need more water the first year while they establish themselves. Just fyi.
Please note the article says to take short showers, and didn't say to skip showers. I'm just sayin'.
I'm afraid it's going to be a rough summer, water-wise. We've only had about three inches of rain this past year.
Defining when we're experiencing a drought in California is up to the local water authorities. There is no one size fits all formula. According to the San Diego County Water Authority's Drought Management Plan:
“Defining when a drought begins is a function of drought impacts to water users. Hydrologic conditions constituting a drought for water users in one location may not constitute a drought for water users elsewhere, or for water users having a different water supply. Individual water suppliers may use criteria such as rainfall/runoff, amount of water in storage, or expected supply from a water wholesaler to define their water supply conditions.”
So theoretically, LA could be under drought conditions while San Diego might not be, despite getting less rainfall for the year.
Where are we now?
The report states that one of the actions that determines drought in San Diego is if they have to take water from storage to meet demand. (There is a drought action matrix on page 23 of the SDCWA Drought Management Plan.) According to a May 17 article at the North County Times, they're doing that now, and the San Diego County Water Authority has implemented stage one of the Drought Management Plan.
What does that mean?
Take shorter showers. Don't skip them though. My adventures in public transportation already give me enough sensory overload, thankyouverymuch.
As the NC Times article says, consider this your first warning on potential cutbacks, and now's as good a time to start as any. There's a ton of things you can do to voluntarily cut back. Personally, I take action everyday when I tell my son to TURN OFF THE WATER WHILE YOU'RE BRUSHING YOUR TEETH!!
ahem.
Anyway, here's something extremely cool right here close to home. The Ornamental Horticulture program at Cuyamaca Community College in Rancho San Diego, and all the local water agencies joined together and built a fantastic xeriscape garden in El Cajon where it's too damn hot for any sane person to live, says the voice of experience.
The Garden is open from 9-4 everyday (except some holidays, of course) and they have evening hours some days in the summer. You can rent facilities there for parties, receptions and wedding. Or just go browse the garden to get some water saving ideas for your yard. They have classes too. So go check out The Garden and get inspired to replace your water guzzling landscaping with plants that are meant to grow in our dry, sunny Mediterranean climate.
Tip: Planting a few drought resistant plants is a good idea anytime, but for a full blown relandscaping project it's better in a year where there's more rain. Drought resistant plants need more water the first year while they establish themselves. Just fyi.
posted by Terry at 5:40 PM
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