Guest column by John Varela: As the county enters a third year of drought, it’s vital we save water

The easiest way to reduce water use is by cutting back on outdoor watering.

Photo by Marty Cheek
Bob and Nancy Wells in the front yard of their home. They took advantage of Valley Water’s program to remove their lawn and plant drought-tolerant landscaping.

By John Varela

John Varela

As Santa Clara County endures a third consecutive year of drought, we must consider every action possible to reduce water use, especially outdoors.

My fellow Valley Water board members and I on May 24 took the unprecedented step of adopting a program to enforce restrictions on outdoor water use by residents and businesses — the first time we have done so in our agency’s history. This new program includes fines for those who ignore repeated notices to correct the violation and complements the existing enforcement programs of our water retailers.

We did not take this action lightly. While our focus remains on education to ensure water waste is corrected, we need to take every action available to us to protect what little water we have.

The easiest way to reduce water use is by cutting back on outdoor watering. We need everyone to follow the restrictions in place and limit the watering of ornamental lawns to no more than two days a week. Also, watering any landscape between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. or watering in a way that causes runoff is not allowed.

Please consider letting your lawn go brown this summer — or even better, replacing it with a drought-resistant landscape. Valley Water offers substantial rebates through our landscape rebate program. Residents and businesses can take advantage of our robust conservation programs by visiting watersavings.org.

Despite some much-welcomed rain in April, Santa Clara County remains in a drought emergency. These recent storms were nowhere near enough to make up for the record dry conditions that impacted California during the first three months of 2022. During that time, San Jose recorded .36 inches of rain combined, far below what we normally get (about 7.7 inches). The Sierra Nevada snowpack measured on April 1 was the fifth smallest on record.

Snowmelt and rain from the Sierra Nevada are sources for our imported water, which makes up about half of Santa Clara County’s water supply. Based on the record dry conditions so far in 2022, the amount of imported water Santa Clara County will receive this year from the state and federal government was significantly reduced. These limited amounts of imported water bring conservation to the forefront of our drought-fighting efforts.

Our agency has been a statewide leader in taking actions to reduce water use during this drought. In June 2021, we established a 15 percent water use reduction goal for Santa Clara County compared to 2019. Overall, residents, businesses and farmers reduced water use by 6 percent between June 2021 and February 2022.

We have a ways to go to reach our 15 percent goal. As we enter the warmer summer months, now is the time for residents and businesses to ramp up their water-saving efforts.

We are purchasing emergency water on the open market to ensure our communities continue to have a reliable supply of safe, clean water. Unfortunately, as water becomes scarce during this severe drought, it also becomes more expensive. The best way to save money is to save water.

In addition, Valley Water is making smart and necessary investments in water infrastructure and technology. We’ll need to be prepared for severe droughts by developing and managing drought-resilient water supplies, such as increasing our use of recycled and purified water.

Please join us in adapting to drought by reducing your outdoor watering to no more than two days a week. Together we can reach the 15 percent water reduction goal. Let’s say “yes” to saving water. Together, we can protect our current and future water supply.

John Varela is the chair pro tem of the Valley Water board directors. He represents Valley Water’s District 1, which includes Gilroy, San Martin and Morgan Hill.