Is the drought over?

I’ve used the analogy before about our water supply being like a bank account. Much of the savings account, the already overused water stored underground, has been exasperated by five years of drought. It will take some time to recover that savings.

A value of the drought was to open our eyes to the precariousness of the California water supply in the face of ever increasing population. This has spurred all kinds of interest groups at high levels to move toward more sustainable solutions. Here in the Tehachapi Valley, 50 percent of our water supply is imported. That’s a long way from sustainable.

What else did we learn from the drought?

• That we really can get by on less water, and we can keep those habits going.

• That lawn doesn’t need to be watered every day, twice a week works.

• That new low flow toilets work, toilet manufacturers finally got it right!

Did we learn that moving toward water sustainability is up to you and me and the guy down the street?

The services supplied by water and wastewater utilities are incredibly valuable to each and every one of us. Life is water. Utilities carry a burden to supply reliable services that sustain public health. To put this in perspective, just spend a minute imagining what our cities would be like if we all switched to outhouses in the back yard. Yuck!

To whatever degree, utilities are limited in their ability to move toward sustainability because they have to supply reliable services that sustain public health. They can’t just say, no water on Thursdays, or, the wastewater treatment plant will be closed for the month of August for upgrades.

Another constraint is that almost all water and wastewater utilities are part of a local government that depends on water bills as a reliable source of revenue. Another government revenue source is associated with new growth, development fees to the planning department as well as connection fees that are charged to developers for new demands on the capacity of the water and wastewater system. Growth has slowed substantially in the last decade. This is a very simplistic glance at government revenue sources, but we see local governments struggling to balance their budgets with limited revenue all the time.

When we use less water (thereby producing less wastewater), government revenues are impacted in a domino effect that often results in rate changes. Rate setting is a very complex process that can result in revenue stability and the ability of utilities to maintain reliability, but everyone is unhappy with the results. You saved all this water and your water bill went up! Are you going to vote for that elected official?

Please don’t think I’m criticizing our local governments, this type of system is ubiquitous. The point is, local governments and water/wastewater utilities have real limitations on their abilities to move toward sustainable water use. Who does that leave to create a water sustainable future? You and me and the guy down the street.