On March 28, Governor Newsom released an Executive Order to address the worsening California drought. It called for a number of actions from the State Water Board and the Department of Water Resources. This included submitting funding proposals to the Department of Finance for his consideration for short- and long-term drought response – including for recycled water. This aligns with WateReuse California’s actions in seeking $750 million in this year’s budget for recycled water. Read the letter. The Executive Order states, “By April 15, 2022, state agencies shall submit to the Department of Finance for my consideration proposals to mitigate the worsening effects of severe drought, including emergency assistance to communities and households and others facing water shortages as a result of the drought, facilitation of groundwater recharge and wastewater recycling, improvements in water use efficiency, protection of fish and wildlife, mitigation of drought-related economic or water-supply disruption, and other potential investments to support short- and long-term drought response.” The Executive Order also calls for urban water agencies to implement their water shortage contingency plan and contains restrictions on water turf grass – it is not clear if the turf irrigation restrictions are only for potable water. “By May 25, 2022, the Water Board shall consider adopting emergency regulations defining "non-functional turf" (that is, a definition of turf that is ornamental and not otherwise used for human recreation purposes such as school fields, sports fields, and parks) and banning irrigation of non-functional turf in the commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors except as it may be required to ensure the health of trees and other perennial non-turf plantings.” |
