California meeting explores water conservation solutions

SAN BERNARDINO- Susan Lien Longville says she got a “less than enthusiastic” reaction from developers at the inaugural San Bernardino County Water Conference last year when she proposed using wastewater from homes to irrigate lawns.  Longville, director of the Water Resources Institute at Cal State San Bernardino, said developers’ attitudes at this year’s conference was much more receptive.

Hundreds of people from local government, the building industry and water agencies gathered at the Ontario Convention Center Thursday to discuss solutions to the state’s looming water crisis. Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought in June, and a recent court order reduced the amount of water available to Southern California from the Central Valley and State Water projects.

Panel speakers agreed that there needed to be a coordinated effort to address the problem: builders installing water-efficient fixtures; municipalities passing ordinances to require permeable paving surfaces to reduce water runoff; homeowners cutting lawn watering by half and using water-controlled shower heads and water-efficient washing machines.  “Everybody’s in the water business,” said Celeste Cantu, Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority.

Schwarzenegger has set a goal for the state to reduce per capita water consumption by 20 percent by 2020. Several panel speakers Thursday said the goal was achievable.  Asked whether economic development and conservation can co-exist, Kirby Brill, general manager of the Mojave Water Agency, said “absolutely. … without a doubt.”

Read full article

Source:  The Press-Enterprise