Community Corner
Marin Water Agencies Explore New Supply Options: Report
The findings of a North Marin Water District study favor Stafford Lake reservoir expansion, The Marin Independent Journal reports.
MARIN COUNTY, CA — Marin’s two largest water agencies are exploring additional supply options that aim to meet an increase in projected demand, The Marin Independent Journal reports.
The findings of a North Marin Water District study favor Stafford Lake reservoir expansion over costlier or logistically challenging options such as desalination, according to the report.
The agency that serves more than 60,000 residents of Novato and surrounding areas projects a 26 percent increase in demand over the next 25 years, the reports said.
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The Marin Municipal Water District, which serves more than 190,000 residents, mostly in southern and central Marin, plans to discuss supply options at upcoming workshops, according to the report.
Already mired in a historic megadrought, California experienced the driest three-month period to start a new year on record, The Los Angeles Times reports.
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The past 22 years have been the driest California and adjacent states have experienced in more than 1,200 years, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Gov. Gavin Newsom last month called on local water suppliers to move to Level 2 of their Water Shortage Contingency Plans.
The plans require agencies to take “locally-appropriate actions” and the directing the State Water Resources Control Board to consider a ban on the watering of decorative grass at businesses and institutions.
“While we have made historic investments to protect our communities, economy and ecosystems from the worsening drought across the West, it is clear we need to do more,” Newsom said in a statement.
“Today, I am calling on local water agencies to implement more aggressive water conservation measures, including having the Water Board evaluate a ban on watering ornamental grass on commercial properties, which will drive water use savings at this critical time. Amid climate-driven extremes in weather, we must all continue to do our part and make water conservation a way of life.”
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