The HOA Board Quarterly Fall 2014 Issue #11 | Page 9

Drought - Worst in Recorded History, Pre 1850’s
by Moquey Marquross

D

rought: Yes, California is in another drought. How
bad the drought really is will only be known once
it’s over. Meanwhile, we need to face the facts.
Lake Mead (the primary source for San Diego County
water - 60% of our supply) is only at 39% capacity due
to a prolonged drought in the inland southwest. This
is the lowest level it’s been at since the reservoir was
constructed in the 1930s. The other primary supply, the
California State Water Project (20% of our supply) is in
worse condition, with most reservoirs at historic lows
(20-35% of capacity).
The vast majority of California is currently experiencing
level D-4 ‘Exceptional Drought’ conditions, which is the
highest degree of drought. Water year 2013 was the
driest year since recording started in the 1850s, and
water year 2014 closed out even drier, probably the
driest since 1580 according to tree-ring data. Recent
scientific studies of tree-rings, lake sediment and other
indicators show that California has been in an overall
wetter-than-normal period from the 1870s to the 1990s.
This historical data also shows extended, extremely dry
periods have lasted for decades and even centuries
(850-1050AD & 1120-1295AD most notably) without
relief.
Currently, the water situation is bad, however; one
wet, cold winter could turn things around which is
what all of the water agencies are counting on. With
unprecedented warm ocean currents there has been
much talk of a wet El Niño winter weather pattern.
However, recent models show that it may not produce
much precipitation, and even if it does, it will most likely
only affect Southern California (good for us), but will
also bring warmer weather, causing quicker snow melt
in the Sierra’s which does not help us overall.
As water shortages persist, the only thing we can count
on are increased water rates. Increased rates are not
only caused by simple ‘supply and demand’ economics,
but are also caused by the water district’s fixed
infrastructure costs which are set up to be recovered
from a lower volume of sales. For this reason, many
retail water districts are already having reservations
about promoting further conservation. They simply
cannot afford to sell less water, which puts them in a
distinct ‘catch 22’ situation.

Waste: I like to separate ‘waste’ from ‘conservation’
because the two are completely different aspects.
Waste is water that serves NO REAL PURPOSE; this is not
water that was used to water a thirsty landscape, wash
a car, or take an extra-long shower (all of those serve
a purpose, even if they are not very ‘conservative’).
From numerous studies done by the EPA, water districts
and us, the single biggest water-wasters are leaking
toilets, including new, old and low-flow toilets. If it has
a tank, it can leak. Other areas of wasted water include:
landscape overwatering/runoff, underground/underslab leaks, leaving a shower or faucet running while not
using the water and overfilling pools.
To all of us concerned about saving water, water waste
is where we should start. Eliminating waste has no
negative impact, saves money and is the easiest option
available. The first step is to identify where the water is
going (building, unit, or landscape sector/station), then
to identify specifically where the waste is occurring.
This is where sub-metering comes in because without
metering, there is no real way to pinpoint the problem,
and all you can do is guess.
Eliminating water waste alone can reduce consumption
by up to 30% ongoing.
Water Conservation: This aspect of saving water is all
about information, awareness, planning and enabling
good decision-making. The best conservation plan is
one that involves everyone who uses water. There is no
single ‘silver bullet’ that will optimize conservation. It is
a combination of water users (residents, landscapers,
boards) making conscientious decisions, using efficient
technology (low flow fixtures and irrigation distribution),
and tracking and monitoring on an ongoing basis. Since
landscapes are a large user in most HOA settings, this is
where most conservation efforts start. Landscape usage
is also highly visible and within the Board’s control,
making it an easy target. The often over-looked area is
residential indoor usage, where the residents and the
board have no way of knowing how much water is being
used, unless the units are individually metered (or submetered). Since conservation starts with knowledge,
the first step is determining where the water is going by
tracking its usage.
continued on next page

Fall 2014 | Issue #11 | The HOA Board Quarterly | 9