State Water Board Adopts New Restrictions

The State Water Resources Control Board voted Tuesday to adopt new emergency conservation regulations, beginning next month. The regulations require urban water suppliers to implement “Level 2” conservation measures under their Water Storage Contingency Plans. They also prohibit turf irrigation at most commercial, industrial, and institutional properties.

The decision came one day after Gov. Gavin Newsom warned that statewide water restrictions could be coming if Californians don’t start conserving more water. Newsom urged residents to voluntarily cut water use in the spring. Instead, water use increased 19% in March compared to the same month in 2020. 

For six million people in Southern California, household water restrictions are already a coming reality. Those rules, which you can read about at the Los Angeles Business Journal, will kick in on June 1.

The Southern California region was already reeling from the water shortage when state regulators rejected a large desalination project in Huntington Beach May 12. According to the company, the plant could have processed up to 100 million gallons of ocean water per day.