Editorial: Conservation is a group effort
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the the June 21, 2014, Sacramento Bee.
It’s looking like a long, hot summer – and it’s going to be even more parched if Californians don’t get with the program.
State officials reported last week that residents and businesses are falling woefully short of the 20 percent water conservation goal in Gov. Jerry Brown’s emergency drought declaration in January that he reinforced in April. The statewide reduction was a pitiful 5 percent between January and May, compared with the same period the preceding three years.
Among the state’s 10 water regions, the Sacramento Valley leads the way with 10 percent savings, but then again it has further to go than many areas to be water-efficient. Residents in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties are stepping up, reducing their combined water use by 18 percent from February through May, compared with the average for 2012 and 2013.