Worries on Water Addressed

By Liset Marquez

MIRA LOMA – The Jurupa Community Services District board of directors addressed drought and conservation efforts around Riverside County in the second of two workshops on the topic.

The board held the special meeting in part to help decide whether it wanted to hire a consultant for water-conservation efforts.

Board member Ken McLaughlin suggested that the board hold one more workshop where it would outline the measures it has taken and evaluate what needs to be handled by a consultant.

Board President R.M. “Cook” Barela agreed.

“We as a board want to understand where we want to go,” he said. “What good is a consultant if we want to go in different directions?”

The board agreed to hold another workshop where it would come up with a priority list, as well as decide if a consultant would be necessary.

Celeste Cantu, general manager of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, talked to the board about the drought conditions and offered some current issues and solutions facing water districts.

“We want a no-regret strategy,” Cantu said.

The best way to conserve water is by getting residents to water their grass less, she said, and many people don’t realize that their yards don’t need much water, and they end up over-watering.

If residents cut back, they could save themselves 35percent of the water they use, she said.

“We need to start developing water ethics,” she told the board.

Cantu said the government is already starting to do that with several bills that are being proposed.

“The question is not that we develop, it’s how you develop,” she said.

A couple of months ago, Barela was contemplating a moratorium on all development in the district.

Cantu said the district should really put the pressure on the developers to make sure their projects are water efficient.

Water districts should really consider enforcing low-impact developments that have things such as permeable parking, she said.

“We just have to go about our business smarter,” she said.

The biggest challenge in doing this is the misconception that it would require more money, she said. One big solution would be making sure all homes recycle their water.

“We need to get to a point and time when all our landscape is watered by recycled water,” she said.

This action would cut down water use and save the state money in other ways. About 20percent of California energy is used to transport and treat water, she said.

After listening to Cantu, board member Betty Anderson said she was ready to take action on several of those ideas including some of her own.

“I don’t want to get a consultant on board. I don’t want to wait anymore,” she said.

The date of the next meeting has not been set.

(c) 2008 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.