Local water agencies gear up to meet new state water conservation goals

Water conservation remains a top priority in California, where drought is a recurring problem. A new state regulation adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board in July aims to make more cuts in the next several years.

The 'Making Conservation a California Way of Life' regulation will take effect beginning in January, with every water agency in state demonstrating compliance by January 1, 2027. The goal is to save 500,000 acre-feet of water annually by 2040.

Water suppliers will be required to meet annual reporting requirements to the State Water Board and the Department of Water Resources that includes "their urban water use objective, actual urban water use, documentation of the implementation of CII performance measures and a description of progress made towards meeting their urban water use objective," according to to Association of California Water Agencies.

Under the new regulations, more than 400 urban water suppliers statewide will need to hit individualized water-use targets and conservation goals within roughly the next 16 years.

Coachella Valley Water District has 115,000 customers, from just outside Desert Hot Springs to the Salton Sea. That includes several unincorporated areas, such as Thousand Palms. Its the largest service area out of the four main local water agencies.

Lorraine Garcia with CVWD said most of their customers won’t be hit by water cuts. "We are working with HOA customers and commercial customers to find that nonfunctional decorative turf that’s not being used for any type of recreation that can be removed.”

Coachella Valley Water District is looking at an estimated 8% reduction by 2035 and 12% by 2040.

The numbers look different for Desert Water Agency, which serves 24,000 customers in Palm Springs and a small portion in Cathedral City. DWA will need to reach 24% in water savings by 2025 and 32% by 2040.

Public Affairs Manager, Xochitl Peña, said there won’t be drastic changes. "Through our incentive program we provide rebates on smart controllers, water efficient toilets, washing machines," according to Peña.

Since DWA serves pockets that are disadvantaged communities, the agency is exploring alternatives to decrease its water reduction goal. "We would need to show a savings of 1% each year based on the average of the 3 previous years rather than having to meet this large goal all at once," according to Peña.

Mission Springs Water District serves 44,000 customers in Desert Hot Springs, north Palm Springs, and surrounding unincorporated communities. Assistant General Manager, Marion Champion, said since water use has decreased among their customers by more than 8% since 2021.

The statement added that MSWD plans “to take advantage of the alternative compliance pathway and apply for variances for appliances like evaporative coolers, which are major water users and common in our service area.”

Indio Water Authority is also focusing on what more can be done with HOAs. "We can inform them of our tools that we have online. The rebates we have available to them and we want to encourage them to take advantage of those opportunities," stated General Manager, Reymundo Trejo.

IWA serves 25,000 customers in Indio and will have to cut 6% of its water use by 2025 and 20% by 2040.

Some incentives are funded by grants based on Indio’s disadvantaged communities status. "What that means is having approximately $4.6 million in this current fiscal year’s budget. we are confident we can achieve the immediate 6% goal," according to Trejo.

Oftentimes, your bill is a good indicator of whether or not you’re conserving. A typical CVWD bill, for example, is between $38 to $40. "If you’re not and you notice that you have a high bill you could have a leak, broken sprinkler, a running pool valve," according to CVWD Public Information Officer, Lorraine Garcia.

The following are links to water conservation tips from the four main water suppliers in the Coachella Valley:

1. Coachella Valley Water District
2. Desert Water Agency
3. Mission Springs Water District
4. Indio Water Authority

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