Common sense would tell us that we had more rain than normal in the Conejo Valley, for the past twelve months, and cooler weather as well. So, we should be able to go back to turning on our faucets with abandon, like we used to do, right?
That might be the case if we had a large Conejo Valley water supply and local agencies got most or all of their water from it. As we have had to learn, that is not the situation, with most or all the water we drink and use coming from the Sacramento Delta, via the California Aqueduct.
Well, the snowpacks were good this year and it rained in northern California too, so why isn’t a lot more water available to us from the Delta? Again, as we have had to learn, the other challenge for water conveyance to us from the north, is that there are restrictions on when the pumps can operate, that move the water to us. Unfortunately, the pumps have to stop at critical periods for filling SoCal reservoirs, to protect northern fish species like the Delta Smelt and Salmon.
With all this happening, it looks like the coming year, from July 2010 to June 2011 will be more of the same for water supply in the Conejo Valley. The Metropolitan Water District (MET), which brings the water to most of SoCal from the Sacramento Delta, says that it will again be allocating for this next period. Unfortunately, on a local level, I don’t know the specifics yet, having found that out at a Triunfo Sanitation Board (which owns and operates Oak Park Water Service) meeting last night. We heard that there was to be a water purveyors’ meeting held by Calleguas Municipal Water District in July, and hopefully we will get details then, so that the agencies can pass on the information pronto. Stay tuned…
For more info, go to MET’s page on SoCal water reserves, and supply allocation: http://www.mwdh2o.com/mwdh2o/pages/yourwater/WaterAlert/
Post and photo by Janna Orkney
Ted // Jun 29, 2010 at 9:26 PM
The “water shortage” is man made.
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/scimedemail/la-me-water-drought-20100620,0,4400238.story
eco-nerd // Jun 30, 2010 at 12:56 PM
Way to go water consumers. I’m proud of the changes that I’ve seen around town.
Drought or not, it is up to us to preserve our natural resources. Southern California is a desert, get use to it. We have been relying on NorCal and the Colorado river for our shameful use and misuse of water for too long. Please check the UC Davis All Star site that has been testing plants that will do just fine on an irrigation schedule of twice a month. You will soon learn that drought tolerant doesn’t have to be cactus and rocks. There are even plants for an English garden if that’s the look that you’re going for. http://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/arboretum_all_stars.aspx