May 2016 Drought News Release Archive
Strong Statewide Conservation Effort in March; Water-Saving Habits Aid in 24.3 Percent Reduction
May 3, 2016 -- Californians sharpened their water saving efforts in March, conserving 24.3 percent compared to the amount used in March 2013 – double February’s savings and evidence that residents and businesses remain concerned about the persistent drought now in its fifth year. Statewide cumulative savings from June 2015 to March 2016 totaled 23.9 percent compared with the same months in 2013.
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Governor Brown Issues Order to Continue Water Savings as Drought Persists
May 9, 2016 -- Moving to bolster California’s climate and drought resilience, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued an executive order that builds on temporary statewide emergency water restrictions to establish longer-term water conservation measures, including permanent monthly water use reporting, new permanent water use standards in California communities and bans on clearly wasteful practices such as hosing off sidewalks, driveways and other hardscapes.
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DWR Regulations to Guide Local Sustainable Groundwater Management Plans Approved
May 18, 2016 -- The Department of Water Resources (DWR) regulations that will guide local groundwater sustainability agency management and regulation of California’s groundwater basins as outlined in the historic Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) enacted by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in 2014 were approved by the California Water Commission today. The approved emergency regulations now will be filed with the Office of Administrative Law and go into effect June 2016.
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State Water Board Approves Guidelines for Proposition 1 Groundwater Grant Program
May 18, 2016 -- Today the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) approved funding guidelines for issuing $800 million through its Groundwater Grant Program, part of the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1) passed by voters in November 2014.
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State Water Board Adopts ‘Stress Test’ Approach to Water Conservation Regulation
May 18, 2016 -- The State Water Resources Control Board today adopted a statewide water conservation approach that replaces the prior percentage reduction-based water conservation standard with a localized “stress test” approach that mandates urban water suppliers act now to ensure at least a three year supply of water to their customers under drought conditions.
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