Bay Area Water District Officials Discuss Weathering the Drought

SOME OF THE STUDENTS INVOLVED AND THEY WILL BE DISCIPLINED. >>> WATER RESTRICTIONS GETTING RID OF YOUR LAWNS, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN THIS SUMMER AS OUR DROUGHT WORSENS AND WATER SUPPLY RUNS LOW. WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE SURE COMMUNITIES DON'T RUN DRY? TODAY SEVERAL BAY AREA WATER AGENCIES TALKED ABOUT THE PLANS. CHRISTIE SMITH EXPLAINS. >> Reporter: THE BAY AREA HILLS OFFER A CLUE ABOUT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA'S WATER SUPPLY. TODAY REPRESENTATIVES FROM SEVERAL BAY AREA WATER AGENCIES TRIED TO EXPLAIN WHERE WE STAND. >> WE HAVE SEEN VERY DRY CONDITIONS THIS PAST YEAR. FORTUNATELY, WE DID HAVE DECENT STORAGE COMING INTO THE YEAR. >> Reporter: WEIGHING ON EVERYONE'S MIND, HOW DEEP THE DROUGHT WILL GET BEFORE RAIN RETURNS. >> OUR DROUGHT GOES FROM ZERO BEING NO DROUGHT TO FOUR BEING THE MOST EXTREME DROUGHT AND WE'RE AT STAGE ONE. WE'RE AT A LEVEL NOW WHERE OUR STORAGE IS DOWN. WE ARE ACTIVATING OUR SUPPLEMENTAL WATER SUPPLIES AND ASKING FOR 10% VOLUNTARY CONSERVATION FROM OUR CUSTOMERS. WHERE WE EXPECT TO BE IN THE FIRST YEAR OF A DROUGHT. >> Reporter: TODAY'S TALK WAS MODERATED BY THE BAY AREA COUNCIL. AMONG THE TOPICS DISCUSSED, WHAT A SERIES OF DRY YEARS COULD MEAN. LUCINDA SHI IS WITH CONTRA COSTA WATER DISTRICT. >> THIS IS WHAT WE PLAN FOR. PLAN FOR THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST. SO WE WILL HAVE TO TIGHTEN OUR BELTS BUT WE SHOULD BE OKAY. THIS IS WHAT WE DESIGNED THE RESERVOIR FOR AND ALSO OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN VERY RESPONSIVE TO CALLS FOR WATER CONSERVATION. >> WE HAVE MORE VERY DRY YEARS LIKE WE HAD IN 2021, WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT THROUGH. WE'LL BE LOOKING AT VERY HEAVY CONSERVATION LEVELS. WE'LL BE LOOKING AT BRINGING IN SUPPLEMENTAL WATER SUPPLIES. >> Reporter: NOT ALL WATER AGENCIES ARE IN THE SAME POSITION, BUT THEY SAY THERE ARE SHORT AND LONG-RANGE EFFORTS UNDER WAY, AND THEY HAD THIS TO SAY ABOUT CONSERVATION. >> I THINK TOP OF MY MIND IS FIND AND FIX LEAKS IN RESIDENTIAL AS WELL AS COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES. FIND AND FIX LEAKS. SECONDLY, EFFICIENT OUTDOOR

Channel: NBC Bay Area

Views: 4,026

Rating: 4.7288136 out of 5

Keywords: Climate in Crisis, Climate Change, California drought, Bay Area drought, California, Bay Area news, drought

Id: P_AxMdqyk9k

Length: 2min 20sec (140 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 16 2021