GILROY— Gilroy will find out on May 5 just how much more it must cut water use in the wake of Governor Jerry Brown’s executive order last week that Californians reduce consumption by 25 percent.
But the upcoming decision by the California State Water Resources Control Board will “absolutely consider” conservation efforts such as those in Gilroy, said spokesman George Kostyrko this week.
The city council enacted mandatory 20 percent cuts last August and water use continues to drop towards that goal.
“We want to make sure jurisdictions that have been thinking about conservation get credit for the work they’ve already done,” Kostyrko told the Dispatch.
“You guys (in Gilroy) have been really good at conserving water.”
Standing on dry grass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains that in years past was covered in snow, Gov. Brown said his executive order slashing water use by 25 percent in under a year was necessary in light of a record-low snowpack report and a looming fourth consecutive year of drought.
He ordered the state water board to determine how much each city must cut back as California grapples with the prolonged lack of rain and sinking reservoirs and groundwater levels.
Cities with higher per-capita water use—residents’ average daily water use—and few or no conservation programs will see higher reduction goals, while those with lower use and conservation efforts in place will be required to cut less, a spokesperson for the board said.
Gilroy’s 2014 water use dropped 12 percent from 2013, according to Public Works Director Rick Smelser.
The average Gilroy resident in January 2015 used nearly 25 percent less water than in January 2013—from 76 gallons per day to 58—state water board data show.
Among restrictions ordered by the city on Aug. 4 were cuts in lawn watering and bans on sidewalk hosing and water served in restaurants.
Even before those cutbacks, the city saw an eight percent drop in water use from voluntary restrictions enacted by the council between January and July 2014, compared to the previous year, Smelser said.
While Gilroy residents have lead the way to double-digit reductions, Santa Clara County’s reservoirs are at 49 percent capacity, according to the Santa Clara Valley Water District. That’s cause for concern for District 1 Director Dennis Kennedy, who represents South County.
“The alarm is sounding and it’s time for urgent action,” he said.
A majority of the county’s water, normally 55 percent, comes from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, according to Kennedy, but the snowpack is only five percent of normal and valley groundwater levels are 35-feet below average.
Here are highlights of Gov. Brown’s April 1 executive order:
• Watering of ornamental grass on public street medians is prohibited
• Campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and other large landscapes must make ‘significant cuts’ to water use, yet to be determined
• California Department of Water Resources will lead statewide effort to replace 50 million square-feet of lawns and ornamental turf with drought tolerant landscaping.
• New homes and developments cannot be irrigated with potable water unless drip irrigation is used.
• Watering ornamental turf on public street medians with potable water is prohibited.
• Irrigation of land outside of newly constructed homes or buildings with potable water, not delivered by drip or microspray, is prohibited.
• The Water Board will require “frequent reporting” of water use by those who hold water rights and inspections “to determine whether illegal diversions or wasteful and unreasonable use of water.” The Water Board is “granted authority” to inspect property to “ascertain compliance with water rights laws and regulations where there is cause to believe such laws and regulations have been violated.”
• Agricultural water users with more than 25,000 acres of irrigated land must include a detailed drought management plan in an annual water management plan that “describes the actions and measures the supplier will take to manage water during drought.”
• Agricultural water users with 10,000 to 25,000 acres of irrigated lands must develop a water management plan by July 1, 2016, which should include a drought management plan and exactly how much water is available.
