Water Efficiency is Important No Matter the Weather
Sacramento, Calif. – Regional Water Authority (RWA) Executive Director Jim Peifer released the following statement in response to today’s manual snow survey, which shows the snowpack at Phillips Station near South Lake Tahoe to be at 93 percent of the January 1 average for this location. Additional DWR electronic readings from 130 stations throughout the state indicate the statewide snowpack average at 52 percent of the December 30 average.
“While the statewide snowpack demonstrates an unseasonably dry start to the rainy season, it’s important to remember that our wettest months of the year are still to come.
“Overall, the Sacramento region’s water supplies are in excellent shape. This is due in large part to the investments made over the past decade in our ability to switch between groundwater and surface water according to availability, and to move water between communities.
“But, we also know that California’s rainfall is often feast or famine—with flood one year and drought the next. Climate change is projected to make this swing happen more often and with more intensity: The wet days will get wetter, and the dry days will get drier.
“Water managers are actively preparing for this future reality with a comprehensive water resilience portfolio—the WaterFuture Initiative—encompassing our entire “supershed” from the mountain tops of the American River watershed to the groundwater basin below the valley floor.
“Regardless of the weather, it’s also important for residents to continue using water efficiently. Two easy actions to take now:
- “Give your sprinklers a winter break. Winter’s shorter and cooler days, mean that yards won’t need as much water as they did during fall and summer.
- “Take some time to fix household leaks, especially toilet leaks. A leaking toilet is the most common type of leak found inside the home and can waste 200 gallons of water per day. That’s enough to wash seven loads of laundry every day for a month.
“Information about finding and fixing toilet leaks and a free Toilet Leak Detection Kit are available at BeWaterSmart.info.”
The Regional Water Authority (RWA) is a joint powers authority representing 20 water providers serving 2 million people in the greater Sacramento region. Formed in 2001, its primary mission is to help its members protect and enhance the reliability, availability, affordability and quality of water resources. Learn more at rwah2o.org.
