SWRCB ends mandatory statewide conservation requirements

FALLBROOK – In response to a revised Executive Order from Governor Brown, the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) acted to end the statewide mandatory conservation requirements that were imposed in May 2015.

Over the last year Rainbow Municipal Water District has worked diligently to educate the SWRCB on the extraordinary efforts by the residents of San Diego County not only to conserve, but also to invest in diverse, drought resilient supplies of water. The action by the board replaced the arbitrary statewide standards with conservation goals that are based on the actual water supply conditions present at each agency.

“A big part of our ability to continue to have water supply even after several dry years is the investments made in the water transfers from the Imperial Irrigation District, canal lining in Imperial Valley, and the Bud Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant,” said Tom Kennedy, general manager of RMWD. “While we are still working to process the new rules to see if there will be any sort of conservation required for our region, these new regulations will reduce our conservation level dramatically.”

The SWRCB sustained several common sense water use orders such as not hosing down sidewalks, or washing your car without a valve on the end of the hose. So while our customers are no longer required to hit a certain conservation target, they must continue to be vigilant on irrigation system overspray, leaks, and poor operations.

“On behalf of the Board I want to thank all of our customers who over the past year have made a remarkable effort to meet the standards set by the SWRCB,” said RMWD board president Dennis Sanford. “Even though these efforts have allowed our region to meet demands we still encourage customers to keep water-use efficiency in the forefront of their everyday life.”

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