Guides, Stories & Resources

After a long dry winter rains finally came! For three days the rains just came down heavily. This garden was completed right before the rains. During the rain, raindrops can be seen coming down from the two down spouts, going right into the the soil of the garden. The plants waved gently in the rain, as if saying: “Thank you!”

We all know how important water is to us – drinking, washing, cooking, showering, watering – all part of the things we do with it every day. Water, and clean drinking water, is essential to all of us. For most of us, when we turn on the tap, water will flow – it comes so natural that we rarely think about where the water comes from, and how they came here. To have access to clean drinking water is central part of human activities since the ancient time.

On April 7th, after one of the wettest winter seasons the state has ever seen, Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order, formally announcing the California drought over except in 4 counties: Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Tuolumne. This was a historic drought. On this day when the drought was announced over, Californians can feel proud that they put in the effort, and met the challenge successfully. A reservoir in Northern California, at the time of the announcement:

The climate change is happening. In California, having just experienced a historical drought, we see what a hotter, dryer place is like first hand. As water is bound to become more and more scarce, how can we best preserve and conserve this valuable resource? Tony Green is an environment speaker who has given speeches at major green conventions and events around the country. We spoke with him about the environment, water, what we can do and more.

How is California’s water conservation after last report? The October number just arrived, so here they are: In September, Californians reduced water usage by 18.3% vs. 2013, in October, 19.5%. They are quite consistent with the numbers since June, when the water conservation mandate was lifted, in the 17%-22% range. These numbers indicate Californians continue to put in the effort to conserve water after the mandate, and the result is about 20% reduction for total potable urban water use since June.

The latest water conservation number just came in. In August, Californians reduced water usage by 17.7% vs. 2013, 35% less than what was achieved last August (27%).

(Published on Sept 1, 2016) “Severe drought” This is what we kept seeing when we were on our way to Tahoe for a weekend camping trip 2 weeks ago. Throughout the 4 hour drive, we could see the same sign, from east Bay all the way to Tahoe:

Last April, facing California’s historical 4 year drought, Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order making it mandatory that statewide urban water use be reduced by 25% compared with 2013 levels starting June 2015. In May 2015, the State Water Board adopted an emergency regulation requiring an immediate 25 percent reduction in overall potable urban water use. Now one year has passed, how well have Californians been doing?

Do all the rains brought about by El Nino end California’s historical drought? The answer is No. While the rains definitely helped ease the drought, they did not end it. As you can see from the graph below, statewide snowpack stood at way lower than average from 2012-2015; in 2015, that level went down to a really low 5%. In Spring 2016, while the rains brought by El Nino helped put the level back to 85%, one season of rain fall simply is not enough to offset the deficits accumulated from 4 years of drought. During the past 4 years, groundwater levels dropped to historical lows; in parts of the state it was as low as 100 feet below previous historical lows. It will take much more than what we receive so far to recover the storage.

Oct 1 marks the the first day of new water year in California. After the previous 5 years of drought, it is becoming clear the new year will be another dry one, continuing the drought that started from 2012. 6th year of drought – that is what we are facing. The photo above was shot during a hike at the Steven Creek area in Santa Clara county, South Bay. It was alarming to see, the creek, once so wide, as evidenced by the river bed area, has shrunk down to just a very narrow line. In the creek, there is hardly enough water to sustain the flow. Some parts of the creek has completely run dry.