Partial drought relief warrants careful conservation measures

As of 2023, San Jose has gone down from “moderate drought” conditions to just “abnormally dry,” a particularly impressive feat post-2010s. The California Globe’s Evan Symon reports that while effusive downpours have been helpful against CA’n dryness, continued diligent conservation efforts (e.g., using desalination plants) are required to retain water in the long run.

According to new data released by the U.S, Drought Monitor on Thursday, only half the state is currently under drought conditions following the recent storms earlier this week, with no part of the state now at ‘extreme drought’ levels for the first time in over a year….

“We just keep getting water,” explained Jack Wesley, a water systems consultant for farms and multi-family homes, to the Globe on Friday. “No one predicted last year that we would see floods or snow in LA or anything like this. Everyone thought it was just going to be another dry year with bat-tub ringed reservoirs being the norm. But now look where we are.”

“I still think restrictions will be in place to some degree, especially since we know now to better manage water in case of another long stretch of drought, but honestly, that’s a good thing. We’re being more careful and being more strategic on what to use. We have more people questioning the need for environmental water use, such as letting water out solely to help fish populations. We have farmers working on how to best stretch their allotments and use what they have to the best of their ability. We have people in cities not watering every day and being more careful on when they water. We have new sources, such as desalinization plants, being heavily considered as future sources.”

This article originally appeared in the California Globe. Read the whole thing here.

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