Santa Clarans deserve a pat on the back. After a wet start to 2017 and the end of the infamous drought, residents and businesses went on to achieve water demands of 15.8 percent less than those in 2013.
Though Santa Clara’s drought standings improved at the beginning of 2017, the City Council decided in July 2017 to keep a voluntary 10 percent reduction—the prior goal was a 20 percent reduction decided on by the State and County.
The area’s drought standings have improved. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center’s Feb. 8 report, 17.68 percent of Santa Clara County is labeled as abnormally dry, while 82.32 percent of the County shows no drought. This time last year, only 61.29 percent of the County was drought free.
These numbers are worth celebrating—in fact, just in January, 100 percent of Santa Clara County was drought free—however, the 2017-18 Winter was considered a dry one, which resulted in some of the County becoming abnormally dry.
Through a wider lens, California’s overall drought conditions have improved greatly, but Californian’s can’t slack on their water conservation efforts. According to the U.S.’s drought website—drought.gov—75 percent of the state’s population is currently affected by drought or abnormal dryness.
In Santa Clara, the water reduction goals are in fact voluntary. Yet, the 15.8 percent reduction reported in the City Manager Deanna Santana’s recent blog post is a promising indication that the area’s current drier condition can be offset with Santa Clarans’ efforts to reduce water use.
“While this reduction should be lauded as a success, it is important to continue to make water conservation a ‘way of life’ and continue to find ways to conserve,” said City Manager’s blog post.
Looking for more ways to contribute to reduction efforts? Visit: www.santaclaraca.gov/government/departments/water-sewer-utilities/water-conservation/conservation-tips