FEATURE ARTICLE

July 2009

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Conservation and the ‘20x2020 Plan’: A Partial Approach to California’s Water Crisis?

California is currently experiencing its third consecutive drought year. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, which provides one-third of the water to California users, as well as annual rainfall levels and the supply of reservoirs are all below drought levels. Groundwater, which can comprise up to 30 percent of water supply, is also below drought levels throughout much of the Central Valley. The continued effect of these drought conditions requires immediate action in order to preserve both the quality and the quantity of water available to agricultural, industrial and municipal water users. In a new comprehensive statewide plan, California proposes urban supply conservation as a critical step to address diminishing water supplies and increasing water demand from population growth. Conservation as used herein is broadly defined as consumer rationing as a result of economic incentives, such as water districts levying conservation water rates, decreased water deliveries from the state and the federal level, and increased allotment of water resources to stressed or endangered species. This article will address the practical meaning and effect of conservation, primarily on municipal users and the water districts which provide water to residential users.