Update on California Drought

Last month the New York Times wrote an article about the development plans in the state of California. Despite the historic lows of rainfall and intense state mandated water-use cut backs, public officials are not stopping the housing development within their communities.

There is a real need for Home Greywater Systems

In Folsom over 10,000 new homes have been approved for building despite the fact that the City’s main source of water, Folsom Lake, is at a record low. In Sacramento, over 280,000 new homes have been approved where Lake Oroville is also at notable lows. Just south of Sacramento, there has been approval of 3,000 homes in East Porterville where communities have run out of water completely! Outside the Central Valley, in Newport Beach over 1,000 homes have been approved despite the fact that seawater seeps into the groundwater.

While State authorities set requirements on how things are built — like requiring developers of more than 500 homes to demonstrate where they will get water (finally, a much needed requirement for development in my opinion) — decisions on land use are left to local city councils and planning commissions. As stated in the article “…water consumption is not necessarily the first concern of local officials as they approve grand 25-year development plans, with their promises of jobs and tax revenues.” Not to mention the boost in popularity amongst the politicians’ constituents.

One wonders why the State doesn’t require implementation of graywater reuse systems as well. California greywater polices are well written and easy to understand, though not all a prerequisite of future construction. The State is more than capable of enforcing such requirements, as it has with various earthquake building codes for decades, so why not ones concerning water consumption? In this state of insatiable development regardless of strained resources, is it not time for water conscience codes be formed and enforced?

To read the full article that further emphasizes the need for home greywater systems, go to www.NYTimes.com