California's Water Districts Opting Out of Voluntary Conservation

Paul Rogers reports that given the opportunity to volunteer for conservation measures, California water districts have mostly chosen to return to the status quo in the wake of the historic drought that eased after this year's winter and spring rainy season.

Rogers first provides the background: "Under fire from water agencies who were losing millions of dollars in lost water sales, Gov. Jerry Brown's administration two months ago dropped all mandatory water conservation targets and allowed cities, water districts and private water companies across the state to set their own targets."

The results of the exercise revealed very few districts willing to participate in a conservation program. "343 urban water agencies -- or 84 percent of the 411 largest in the state -- gave themselves a conservation target of zero for the rest of this year," reports Paul Rogers.

Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board, is quoted in the article claiming that the actions by the state's water districts demonstrates their preparation for an ongoing drought. The Water Resources Control Board recently "required each water provider to pass a "stress test" that demonstrated it had enough water either in reservoirs, groundwater storage or contracts with other agencies to get by in case the drought continues for another three years."