Water Committee Issues Caution On Water Usage After Storms

Posted by: Perry Smith in Santa Clarita News March 6, 2014 - 9:33 am 0 148 Views

The Santa Clarita Valley Water Committee issued a caution on water usage, in light of a recent rainfall following a prolonged drought period.

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Likening the situation to a person who owes $10,000 but only receives $1,000, the recent storm was nowhere near enough rain to raise the local water supply levels to healthy levels, officials said.

“The Santa Clarita Valley Water Committee is asking all residents to remember that, even though the valley is still wringing out from last week’s rains, the drought is severe, it’s far from over and it remains as important as ever to conserve water,” according to a news release from the committee.

The committee, which includes the Castaic Lake Water Agency, the four local water retailers, Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County, reiterated Tuesday its request that all local water users comply with water use restrictions designed to cut water use by 20 percent.

“We’re very happy to see the rain, but that doesn’t mean the drought is over,” said Mauricio Guardado, retail manager of the Santa Clarita Water Division. “While the recent precipitation is a welcome development that will help mitigate the impact of our ongoing drought, it would be a mistake to assume that any one storm or series of storms means we’re out of the woods.”

To the contrary, even with the recent storms, snowpack in the Sierras — considered the state’s most important water source — is only at about a quarter of normal.

“We don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, so to speak, but it would take a lot more than one rainy week to dig us out of the long-term impacts of this multi-year drought,” said Keith Abercrombie, general manager of Valencia Water Company. “We do hope the recent storms are the beginning of a long-term recovery, but that remains to be seen.”

In the meantime, residents, businesses and other water users are asked to continue complying with the action plan announced last month by the SCV Water Committee.

The measures include actions like adjusting irrigation schedules, running only full loads in washing machines and installing high-efficiency appliances and low flow fixtures wherever possible.

A full copy of the action plan and other water-saving tips can be found at www.clwa.org.

“With everyone’s cooperation we hope to get through the remainder of this drought without having to impose mandatory restrictions,” said Adam Ariki, assistant deputy director of the Los Angeles County Waterworks Districts.

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