California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot ruffled some feathers with local water districts Wednesday when he said the state needs to conserve water like it has with energy. Crowfoot was in a panel discussion at the Water Education Foundation’s annual summit in Sacramento. He noted that the average Californian now uses about half the energy of the average American.
“From my perspective, we essentially need to be on that same journey with water,” he said.
Crowfoot was describing an urban conservation regulation under consideration at the State Water Resources Control Board, which is under CalEPA. Known as Making Conservation a California Way of Life, the rules would mandate new targets for cutting back water user from cities and suppliers across the state.
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Crowfoot called the proposal “a no-brainer.” But dozens of local water agencies came out in force against it in a recent board hearing. The Association of California Water Agencies called the timeline unrealistic and argued the regulation would impose a heavy cost burden on suppliers and their customers.
Yet ACWA did support the conservation recommendations from Crowfoot’s Department of Water Resources, reasoning the board had deviated from those suggestions as well as the initial 2018 legislation.
