Newsom Urges Conservation As Mandatory Water Restrictions Loom Large
Sacramento, CA– Increased drought conditions over the course of this year remains an issue, and Governor Gavin Newsom is warning local officials that more needs to be done to save water. Newsom is warning that a lack of conservation will lead to mandatory statewide water restrictions that would take place this summer.
Newsom met with various leaders of urban water suppliers on Monday and stressed that they need to “take more aggressive actions to combat drought and better engage their customers to ensure all Californians are doing their part to save water.”
Previous calls for water conservation have not produced the desired results, with water usage in March of this year, rising 19%. Water supplies have requested flexibility in responding to droughts based on the needs of individual regions but Newsom countered that argument by saying it might not be enough. He stated, “Every water agency across the state needs to take more aggressive actions to communicate about the drought emergency and implement conservation measures, Californians made significant changes since the last drought but we have seen an uptick in water use, especially as we enter the summer months. We all have to be more thoughtful about how to make every drop count.”
Newsom is planning on meeting with agency leaders over the next two months for updates and has requested that agencies submit water use data more often as a way to see if conservation goals are being met
