SAN DIEGO (CN) — Coastal and desert communities across California can breathe a sigh of relief. After a few wet winters, Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday ended a years-long drought emergency declaration for 19 counties across the state.
“As this week’s weather makes clear, California and the West experience extreme weather swings that exacerbate our water challenges and make it more important than ever that we build a climate-resilient water system. This targeted action is responsive to current conditions while continuing the tools and support for work underway to help future-proof water supplies in the most impacted communities,” Newsom wrote in a press release.
The new proclamation will roll back a number of water restrictions in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Inyo, Sonoma, and other counties where about 70% of the state’s population lives.
"With the Governor’s proclamation ending the drought, the Orange County Water District reaffirms its leadership in sustainable water management. By investing in water recycling and stormwater capture, and diligently replenishing our groundwater basin, we are prepared for future challenges. Our proactive approach not only secures Orange County’s water resilience but also serves as a blueprint for other California water districts," Cathy Green, president of the Orange County Water District Board of Directors, said in an email.
But in the state’s 39 other counties the drought's lingering effects on groundwater, well failures, and harm to native fish, especially on the Sacramento, Scott, Shasta, Klamath and San Joaquin Rivers, mean the state of emergency will be left in place.
The rollbacks, like the state of emergency, are going to be implemented in phases, a press release accompanying the proclamation states.
The governor's action Wednesday also ends certain provisions of prior executive orders addressing water use, which allowed state agencies to pursue more aggressive water conservation policies. One suck stricken provision directed the State Water Resources Control Board to expand inspections into illegal diversions of and unreasonable use of water and bring enforcement actions against wasteful water users.
Those provisions are referred to in a press release as no longer necessary, disruptive of state agencies' legal authority, and as interfering with funding aimed at continuing the work of drought resilience planning and providing clean drinking water.
In declaring a state of emergency in 2021, the governor called for municipalities and citizens across California to conserve water.
Coming out of one of California's wettest winters on record last year, Newsom rolled back some water restrictions, including a voluntary initiative that called for counties across the state to decrease their water use by 15%. Another provision from 2022 ordered urban water suppliers to level up what are known as "Water Shortage Contingency Plans."
“The coming winter's hydrology is uncertain and the most efficient way to preserve the State's improved surface water supplies is for Californians to continue their ongoing efforts to make conservation a way of life,” Newsom’s new executive order states.
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