When it comes to water conservation, Long Beach is ahead of the curve. But the rest of the state is apparently not taking notice, as the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners announced today that northern California resevoir storage water storage levels will reach their lowest levels since 1977 by the end of the week. This announcement comes on the heels of last week’s finding that Long Beach used the lowest amount of water in 10 years for the month of July.
Now, local officials are trying to convince the rest of the Southland to do the same.
“We were pleased to see the recent steps taken by Los Angeles to ratchet up their water conservation, including their implementation of prohibiting certain types of outdoor water use,” said President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners, Bill Townsend, in a release.
“Quite frankly, the rest of southern California needs to do the same, and it needs to be done today. Absent historic rainfall this winter, California’s lifestyle and economy are likely to be severely impacted. We need to act responsibly today to minimize the likely impact next year. It is irresponsible to leave it to chance.”
July 2008 was the city’s seventh record-setting low water use month since declaring a water supply emergency in September of 2007. July’s water use was 16.1% below the 10-year average water demand and 13% below use in July 2007.
“While some have questioned the approach we’ve taken on conservation, nearly one year ago now, we felt then, just as we continue to believe today, long-term, mandatory prohibitions on certain outdoor uses of water need to be a way of life here in southern California,” said Kevin L. Wattier, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department, in the release.
“The fact of the matter is that our state would be in a much better position to forestall and lessen the impact of an approaching crisis if more of our water was being saved.”
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor
Disclosure: The Long Beach Water Department is an advertiser of the lbpost.com