California water use continues to climb despite severe drought outlook

Marin's main water utilities have been meeting the state's conservation targets, but excess use elsewhere could trigger sweeping restrictions.

Despite worsening drought conditions, urban areas of California have continued to ignore calls for conservation and increased water use in April by nearly 20%.

Conservation data released this week by the State Water Resources Control Board showed the state’s 420 largest water suppliers increased water use in April by 17.6% compared to the same month in the baseline year of 2020. Southern California increased water use by 25% to 40% that month.

By contrast, Marin’s two main water suppliers — the Marin Municipal Water District and North Marin Water District — both exceeded the statewide target of 15% conservation compared to 2020 water use and conserved by 16% and 29%, respectively, in April.

“Getting in compliance with the governor’s request without having to harangue to get there is just a really nice thing,” Larry Russell, president of the Marin Municipal Water District board, said during a meeting this week.

While Marin is meeting the target, the continued lack of conservation at a statewide level could result in the state adopting sweeping conservation mandates. Frustrated by months of increased water use, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned last month that he would consider reinstating mandatory water use targets for suppliers similar to those during the drought in 2012-2017. In that drought, the Marin Municipal Water District and the North Marin Water District were mandated to cut water use by 20% and 25%, respectively, compared to 2013 water use, or face penalties.

“I think that is something the administration has been very reluctant to consider because of all the concerns that it raised during the last drought,” said Charlotte Ely, a conservation supervisor with the State Water Resources Control Board. “But certainly, if there is no more improvement I think that that would be one of the options that the state of California does consider moving toward.”

The Marin Municipal Water District, which serves 191,000 residents in the central and southern parts of the county, has continued to meet Newsom’s target even though its reservoirs were nearly refilled by the heavy rains late last year.

Last year, the district faced the possibility of depleting its reservoirs by mid-2022 if it experienced a third consecutive dry winter.

The district’s seven reservoirs hold about a two-year supply of water and make up about three-fourths of the district’s supply. The remaining 25% comes from Russian River imports from Sonoma Water, which also provides about 75% of the North Marin Water District’s supply.

Facing its own water supply concerns, Sonoma Water has petitioned the state to allow it to temporarily reduce the amount of water it releases from its reservoirs at Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino to maintain flows for wildlife. As part of the request, the agency would also cut water imports by 20% to customers such as the Marin utilities.

If approved, the reduction would take effect July 1 through Oct. 31. Sonoma Water previously cut diversions by 20% last summer through the end of October.

The state could decide on the request as soon as next week, according to Sonoma Water engineer Don Seymour.

The North Marin Water District relies on Sonoma Water for the bulk of its supply. To prepare for potential reductions, the district had been feeding Sonoma Water into its Stafford Lake reservoir this winter just as it did in 2020-2021, said Tony Williams, the district general manager.

Stafford Lake makes up about a quarter of the district’s supply and is typically tapped during the summer months when water demand is higher. The lake is about 75% full. Williams said district plans to use about 15% of the lake’s supply, or 162 million gallons, to cover the reduction of its Sonoma supplies.

The unknown is whether the Sonoma import reductions will be extended, as they were last year through early December, Williams said.

“Fortunately, we feel we have enough storage in Stafford to stretch production to early December if needed,” Williams said.

The district has been mandating 20% conservation since April 2021 because of the low Sonoma Water supplies. Williams does not expect the mandate to change with the reduced imports.

The Marin Municipal Water District has also drawn more Sonoma Water in recent months as a strategy to reduce demand on its reservoirs for the summer. The district’s reservoirs are about 87% full, which is just above average for this time of year.

Paul Sellier, a district official, said the 20% reduction does not apply equally to all of Sonoma Water’s import customers but is based on their water needs and the availability of supplies.

“This year our local supplies are doing really well so our reductions will be maybe a little bit more than say Santa Rosa, because Santa Rosa has no local supply and are 100% dependent on the Russian River,” Sellier said.

However, the district has been able to draw more Russian River water since January than it could before because of upgrades to its Kastania Pump Station outside Petaluma. The $2 million project will allow the district to draw its full allotment of 14,300 acre-feet of Russian River water per year — a volume similar to a full Nicasio Reservoir — compared to 9,000 acre-feet before.