For the first time in its history, California has introduced permanent water restrictions for its cities and towns in an effort to address the issues of water conservation and resilience in the drought-stricken state.
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The new regulation, which was approved by the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) on Wednesday, will require the state's largest water utilities—which serve 95 percent of California residents—to reduce the amount of water they provide over the next 15 years. It doesn't apply directly to households or individuals in the state.
The board has previously introduced temporary water conservation measures during drought emergencies, but this is the first time that the Golden State has adopted permanent measures to save water. The idea is to now ask suppliers to save the precious resource at all times in order to prevent the need for the state to scramble to save water during droughts. This, according to SWRCB, will help "make conservation a California way of life."
A solution to save water is desperately needed in the state, which has suffered two major droughts in the last decade and is expected to face a 10 percent water supply shortfall by 2040 due to hotter and drier weather conditions.
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Under the new regulation, which is expected to come into effect by January 1, 2025, suppliers must calculate water budgets based on the needs of each community, considering the following factors: residential indoor water use; residential outdoor water use; commercial, industrial and institutional landscapes with dedicated irrigation meters; and a supplier's maximum allowable volume of water loss from leakage.
The sum of these water budgets, called the "water use objective," is what urban retail water suppliers will have to comply with eventually, according to SWRCB. Suppliers are expected to deliver up to nearly 40 percent less water to residents; if they don't cut back on delivery, they will be hit by fines of up to $10,000 a day.
Suppliers can cut back on water delivery by either mandating restrictions on consumers, incentivizing savings by raising rates or encouraging low-flow appliances.
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The regulation, combined with efforts already underway to save water in the state, is expected to produce about 500,000 acre-feet of water savings annually by 2040. "Enough to supply more than 1.4 million households for a year," the SWRCB wrote in a press release.
The regulation now heads to the state Office of Administrative Law for official adoption.
Newsweek contacted SWRCB for comment by email early on Friday.
"Today is an exciting and historic moment for California because we have now formalized water conservation as a way of life," said Joaquin Esquivel, SWRCB board chair, in a press release. "We've done this by building on lessons learned from drought and extensive input from water systems, customers and the public. The result balances saving water with making sure that suppliers have the flexibility they need to tailor their conservation strategies to local needs and climate."
Not all cities and towns in California will see the same cuts. The Bay Area, which has historically required less water than others, will face a limited reduction; Salinas' California Water Service Company will have to cut supplies by only 1 percent by 2040, as reported by Desert Sun. On the other hand, Desert Water Agency, a supplier based in Palm Springs, will face a cut of 32 percent by the same year.
The highest cut is foreseen for the City of Redding, at 21 percent by 2025 and 39 percent by 2040.
Richard M. Frank, professor of Environmental Practice at the University of California, told Newsweek that "it's unfortunate that the Board is implementing its new water conservation regulations on such a slow basis."
"Many of the necessary conservation measures could and should be implemented more rapidly," he added.
Update 7/8/24, 5:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a comment from Richard M. Frank.
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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
