No denying drought — barren ground at 7,000 feet
By Susan Wood
PHILLIPS STATION –The state isn’t fooling around anymore.
In an apparent precursor to Mark Twain’s theory, Gov. Jerry Brown issued a mandate April 1 for South Lake Tahoe residents along with the 38 million other Californians to reduce water use by 25 percent. He did so while attending the water year’s last and only recorded bare snow survey. There was nothing to register at the foot of Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort. This has never happened before at this time of year.
If people don’t comply with the state Department of Water Resources’ order, it could ultimately lead to fines. The executive order will be monitored closely through metering by water districts.
Beyond incentives and other restrictions, this means significant cuts to large users such as golf courses, campuses and the mass collective of state residents — signaling “a new era” commanding shared responsibility, Brown indicated.
When asked by Lake Tahoe News how Tahoe residents should handle the dilemma of watering their yards versus choosing responsible water conservation in what may turn out to be a historic fire season, Brown was sympathetic. He was standing less than 10 miles from the hallowed ground of this region’s worst wildland fire – Angora 2007. Many wildland fires start close to concentrated residential areas. Flames can ignite from hot power tools left in brittle brush or from a vehicle or careless smokers tossing a cigarette onto dry terrain.
“What I would tell the residents is now we are embarking on an experiment no one has tried. This will require adjustment. It will require learning. But this is our new normal. It will take heart. It will take instruction. We have the technology. All we need is the political will. It’s somewhat of a burden. And agriculture is already undergoing major cutbacks. But we can do a lot better,” Brown told Lake Tahoe News, while joined by the state’s Water Resources chief Mark Cowin, snow survey monitor Frank Gehrke and a flood of media.
Frank Gehrke with the state Department of Water Resources, left, tells Gov. Jerry Brown, on April 1 how his measuring tool would be used in a normal snow year. Photo/Susan Wood
Is it time for cisterns to be installed in yards? — Lake Tahoe News asked Cowin.
Cowin replied there’s financial assistance and incentives for programs that encourage more stormwater management and those that replace grass lawns with more natural habitat. The state also suggested funding of rebates for low water-use appliances.
Water districts’ role in monitoring resident and commercial water use is critical.
“If they don’t perform, there will be repercussions – maybe fines,” Cowin pointed out. “It’s as bad as it’s ever been.”
To South Lake Tahoe Public Utility District General Manager Richard Solbrig, a head start was definitely in order. Since 2007, the district has implemented odd-even restrictions on when residents can water, he reminded Lake Tahoe News on a phone call. The turf buy-back program has much demand. And the district stands at about halfway complete on installing its water meters for 14,000 customers. At least 2,000 more are scheduled to go in this summer.
If the state wants to truly do some good – more money for the incentives already put into place would represent a welcome mat to Solbrig.
“(The state executive order) really came with no surprises. If the state wants to make a real dent, they’ll put a few more thousand dollars into our turf buyback program,” he said. There’s a waiting list to get on it because the demand is so high.
And agencies such as STPUD, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the city of South Lake Tahoe have hired a Sacramento lobbyist to closely monitor the situation to maximize the benefit for our region.
The one additional requirement Solbrig noticed is the restriction on watering during a rainfall event and within 48 hours afterward.
“That could be a challenge to enforce, obviously,” he said.
The specifics will be discussed at the district’s board meeting on May 7.
Restaurants will also be asked to only deliver water to tables when requested. Hotels will need to implement new laundry frequency programs to guests.
Change. Change. Change. Indeed, the state is entering year four of the drought.
Gehrke illustrated the seriousness of the lack of snowfall by showing the marks on the survey measuring stick that records the water content of the Sierra snowpack. The maximum measurement recorded in 1983 – an El Nino year — sat at the top of the pole with 150 inches. The average is 63 inches. The lowest recorded before this year was 27 inches set in 1977. Last year’s measured 33 inches at the meadow located where Highway 50 and Sierra-at-Tahoe Road meet.
The ski resort up the hill closed March 17; its second earliest shutdown. Resort general manager, John Rice, stood in attendance in tennis shoes – not normal attire for the ski season.
Gehrke characterized the latest condition of the drought as “distressing” – especially since in all his years of measuring the state snowpack’s water content, Wednesday went down as a first to have bare ground on April 1. At least 5 feet of snow should be covering the ground.
“I think the governor here expresses the seriousness of it,” he said.
Are the state’s residents in denial? Have we done enough?
The impression from California’s leaders is yes and no.
“We’re always in denial. But we want to think about the good, and that’s good. But we’re making the climate worse at a rapid pace. Steps take more steps,” the governor added.
In other words, there’s “rationing” now through the various water districts. And now there’s a definitive strategy across a vast state. Brown outlined this order as a proposal in the overall strategy the state has to combat climate change symptoms facilitated by “billions of tons of chemicals released into the atmosphere” where greenhouse gases are trapped.
“That’s why we have cap and trade and electric cars. This is all not easy,” Brown said. And perhaps not smooth-sailing in the words of Tahoe’s most famous writer Twain: “Whiskey’s for drinking, water’s for fightin’ over.”
What about those of us who have already torn up lawns and installed low usage appliances, shower heads, toilets, etc? It would sure be easy to reduce by 25% had I not already made these changes, but there’s not much less for me to give up at this point. If it’s brown, let it float around?
Susan Wood, Good article about our drought status. Good job on your reporting.
I hope more people wake up to the severity of the problem we are facing. Little snow , low rivers, low lake level and reservoirs drying up.
Give me a call, Kae has my number, Old Long Skiis
How do the bureaucrats intend to enforce non-metered water customers use? I have several neighbors whose automatic lawn sprinklers come on twice a day, 7 days a week, one left them on for 5 hours one day last weekend.
“There could be repercussions — maybe fines…” is an entirely empty admonishment.
Droughts come and go. I remember the one in the 70s and in early 90s. Look at the tree stumps in Fallen Leaf. Yes conservation is good but it seems everyone is in fear of the sky falling.
I’m afraid the sky might fall on me. I was unlucky enough to have a meter and when STPUD started reading it I cut way back. Now I will be expected to cut another 25% while my neighbors with no meters pay no attention to the reduction.
The sad thing is that the savings at Tahoe will not help California with its problems. Does anyone know if the wells at STPUD have experienced substantial lowering of water level? I suspect not. I had a friend on a well and during drought in 1976 his well did not drop more that the lake did.
We should conserve to help STPUD minimize its cost to deliver water but that will not help the people west of us.
The sky isn’t falling, but it’s fun for the media to create “shocking” news around the last four years of data. We get it. We have wet periods and dry periods. Look at the long term information and ignore the hype.
News room weathermen can’t predict what will happen next weekend, but alarmists will continue to push that we are headed for a 20 year drought with no scientific basis.
Save where you should, don’t be wasteful, but ignore the freaks who want more laws, fines and penalties in an already dying state.
Rob5 (above) wrote: “I was unlucky enough to have a meter and when STPUD started reading it….while my neighbors with no meters pay no attention to the reduction.”
It is unfair and discriminatory of STPUD to start billing on ANY meters until ALL their meters are installed.
Steve,
If your neighbors are watering 7 days a week, that’s illegal and has been for several years. You can call STPUD and turn them in, anonymously. STPUD will come out and check on them. STPUD has water police, I know, I was cited once 2 years ago for watering on the wrong day.
I don’t live there, but have a vacation place. Hope they don’t really expect me to cut my nearly nothing usage to less. As a mostly outsider though, I’m curious about the restrictions in the basin. Sure the snow and runoff are down, but how much water, for all kinds of use, gets drawn from the lake itself? I can feel for farmers in desert areas that rely upon elaborate canal systems to bring water from hundreds of miles away. But when the lake community is sitting literally right upon arguably the biggest awesome-water reservoir in the country, I’m not sure how worried you should be, or how draconian the crackdown ought to be upon you. You sacrifice so much to take such care of the lake, and do so well at it, aren’t you entitled to benefit from it, when times are tough? Hard to convince me that the entire lake population will drain it anytime soon, no matter how much they water their yards.
I am sure there is someone who can has details about aquifers and recharge rates in the basin, the depth of the water table, and the ratio of aquifer/lake sources for water.
Meters provide data that can identify the heaviest users. A small number of users account for the majority of the use. Smart people with data can solve this problem using related rates: a 10% reduction on the 10% that use 90%. With meters we can know how much water goes in to distribution, and how much is used… a water utility that can account for 90% of the water is considered exceptional. Doug, you have nothing to worry about.
And agencies such as STPUD, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the city of South Lake Tahoe have hired a Sacramento lobbyist to closely monitor the situation to maximize the benefit for our region.
WOW! I feel so much better now, knowing some sacto lobbyist is on the job. I guess it shows our local idiots can’t do it.
What a cluster We had to purchase our water meter from STPUD after the Angora fire in order to get a (re)building permit-including paying for the installation. One year later, surprise! a grant was in place for free water meters w/ installation included. oops- the grant funding ran dry.(pun intended)2/3 of the city/county are still exempt. “love your country, fear the government”
Solbrig speaks as if STPUD started installing meters as a water saving measure on their own. Not true. Meters are mandated by the state.
Who is surprised at the size of the cajones of the City, TRPA and STPUD heads, who have hired another Sacramento consultant? It’s a steamimg pile….
I watch every City Council meeting on-line and have never heard the City Council discuss or approve of hiring a “Sacramento lobbyist to closely monitor the situation to maximize the benefit for our region” with regard to water issues, which is what this article is about. For the City staff to hire a lobbyist would require their placing that matter on an agenda and then for the City Council to conduct discussion at a public meeting and provide their approval. None of that has happened at the City level related to water issues. I don’t know about the TRPA or STPUD hiring a “Sacramento lobbyist” for water issues.
Also, I personally think Jerry Brown is an idiot who seized this no-snow measurement at Phillips as a photo-op. It’s a little late for him to all of a sudden jump on the drought bandwagon. Where’s he been for at least the past two years while people in SLT have been ripping out their lawns and conserving water? California needs a new Governor.
Once STPUD customers attain the 25% water use reduction, you can bet the STPUD staff will recomend a 25% rate increase to cover the lost revenue. Also why is no one at the STPUD Board meetings to bring their attention to the lack of District staff not requiring Ski Resort Snow Making, CalTrans landscaping, City and County Landscaping, Golf Courses, ETC to follow the state mandated water resctictions. It appears the District takes the easy road and hits it’s hard working rate payers.
Once STPUD customers attain the 25% water use reduction, you can bet the STPUD staff will recommend a 25% rate increase to cover the lost revenue. Also why is no one at the STPUD Board meetings to bring their attention to the lack of District staff not requiring Ski Resort Snow Making, CalTrans landscaping, City and County Landscaping, Golf Courses, ETC to follow the state mandated water restrictions. It appears the District takes the easy road and hits its hard working rate payers.
It is so easy to point fingers…
This is the worst drought in California History.
Yes, the Western United States may be in the worst drought since the Medieval Warming Period, 950 to 1250 ad, that caused trees to grow in Fallen Leaf Lake. The past 15 years have been the worst since the MWP.
Global Temperatures increased by .75 degrees Celsius during the MWP and was caused by increased Solar activity and decreased land based Volcanic activity.
4mer. Governor Brown was just elected with 60% of the vote. He supported the Water Bond Measure and campaigned on it, it got 67% of the vote.
‘Our governors a moron.’
Oh the ironing….
Rappidog, the rate increase should be 5% because 25% of 20% of the bill for water is 5%. The other 80% of you bill is STPUD’s cost to maintain the infrastructure.
4-mer: This governor is an idiot getting in his photo op for the drought. Those photos show he is a fish out of water up here. He’s been too busy welcoming ALL ILLEGALS to this state all the while knowing we have no water to feed them. He is the poster child of idiocy!! This senile old goat needs to be put out to a dry pasture and forgotten about. He’s almost as painful to watch as his president.
Ah, the rant club is out of their bunkers. Gas… want some cheese with that whine?
In my opinion. What was painful to watch was the Photo Op Arnold gave during the Angora Fire at the Heavenly parking lot saying there is no reason to fear, situation normal… just before the fire blew up and everybody quickly left to go fight the fire.
rock4tahoe:
I missed Arnold’s Photo Op during the Angora Fire. About an hour after the fire started we had to evacuate our house and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening either trying to find a place where we could see where the fire was heading, standing around at the corner of Lake Tahoe Boulevard and the High School trying to find out any information and talking to other evacuees, or trying to locate our neighbors to make sure they and their pets were OK.
I’m sure Arnold’s Photo Ops were quite the spectacle, and I’m so glad I missed them.
Politicians can be a disappointing lot.
rock: What does that have to do with this?
Gaspen, glad to see nothing changes and you remain clueless in your rants.
Ag use is about 80% of the water used in this state and on average, the middle-class to rich greatly use way more water then they should. Go look at the nice green lawns in middle class neighborhoods in Sacramento, Bakersfield, and SoCal (disproportionately white neighborhoods).
for ag use see this official site. http://www.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/agricultural/
Sorry, the “illegals” do not own vast expanses of lawns and are not the culprit. Growing rice and cotton (water hungry crops) in California is brainless however.
Rick
The real issues that no onee wants to talk about is our water storage system. It is old and set up for 10 million people. We need to add water storage so when it does rain and snow we can capture the run off and keep it for the citizens of this state. California has not built a reservoir in 40 years and we need more of them. They provide water storage, clean power and recreation. A total win win but we are always putting some endangered animals needs before ours and now we are paying the price.
Building more reservoirs is not the answer as all the 100’s of them out there sitting empty, or nearly so, should be used first. This is a situation that if you build it, the water will come is not necessarily the case. Put water back into the ground to lessen evaporation, build desalination plants for coastal regions, conservation. We will probably survive the water crisis, climate change is another thing…
Brown’s 25% will not accomplish much. Start with the fact that non agricultural users only consume 20% of the water in California. Then the 25% is based on usage from 2013 and some part of it has already been reduced.
So, if actual current reduction is perhaps 15% of 2013 use then we will save 3% of the total water used in California.
Not a bad thing, but not going to save California.
There is no way to solve this without involving agriculture. We are exporting our water to China in the form of almonds and alfalfa. That should stop.
‘So, if actual current reduction is perhaps 15% of 2013 use then we will save 3% of the total water used in California. ‘
Equations please.
Just for an example, let’s say all of California uses 100 gallons of water. Non agricultural use would be 20 gallons. 15% of 20 gallons is 3 gallons. Three gallons is 3% of 100 gallons.
Of course California uses much more than 100 gallons but the math would be the same if we started with the actual usage.
The equation is: 20% * 0.15 = 3%
Brown would do much better to pay(in combination with the water districts) the alphalfa farmers to let their land go fallow for a couple of seasons. They use 15% of the states water.
Ohhh, OK I misread that, thought the years were taken in to account.
4mer. Actually, I was in the parking lot that day, it was when the wind picked up speed again. Arnold thought it was all over… classic.
Gas. The topic shifted to photo ops… pay attention. As for your blaming “Illegals” for all the water used. Yeah, they are filling their swimming pools and watering their lawns… right after they pick grapes, almonds, tomatoes and cotton. ;)
Walter. California has built almost 20 Reservoirs since 1975. The two biggest being the New Malones @ 2.4 Million acre feet and Diamond Valley Lake @ 800,000 acre feet. Aquifers are our best storage option for water since there is almost no evaporation. We need fresh water to fill the reservoirs and aquifers.
Back on topic. California used about 70 Million Gallons of water to frack for oil last year.