What About
Our Water?
Written By Robin Shepherd
H
appy New Year, South County!
I hope it’s raining when you read
this. While 2015 marked our
fourth consecutive year of drought, we
came through it okay. Our community
not only demonstrated its ability to save
water, but we’re beginning to adopt water
conservation practices as a permanent way
of life – not just a temporary fix.
At
TODAY , we join civic leaders
and members of the media in keeping water
issues front and center in our community.
When we can turn on the tap and clean
water flows out, it’s hard to believe our
supply is not limitless. When we have
to grab an umbrella before heading out
the door, it’s easy to forget about water
scarcity. On the flip side, when the ground
is parched and our lawns are brown, it’s
hard to think about flood control
gmh
Can’t Fight Mother Nature
Half of Santa Clara County’s water supply
originates with the Sierra snowpack, which
is at a 500-year low. Scientists made this
determination by examining the cores of
California blue oaks that date back to the
16
early 1500s. The oak tree’s rings provide
a faithful record of the water content of
our annual snowpack. The rule of thumb:
wide rings follow wet winters. Their results
showed 2015 as the driest year on record,
with a snowpack of only 5 percent of the
500-year average.
Mother Nature is both friend and foe.
She calls all the shots. At her best, she
spins a perfect cycle of precipitation and
evaporation that quenches the Earth. At
her worst, she offers drought and flooding.
Meanwhile, we challenge Mother Nature
with population growth (county population
estimate is 2.0 million by 2020), pollution,
oil and gas exploration, deforestation,
and other activities that threaten our
water security.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016
Water legislation, regulation and
management happen at all levels of
government. Many agencies are involved,
including the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,
the California Department of Water
Resources, the Association of California
Water Agencies, the Santa Clara Valley
Water District, and the Cities of Morgan
Hill and Gilroy – to name a few. Among
the agencies, the Water District bears a huge
responsibility as the steward of our water.
Word from the Water District
Last November, the Water District’s CEO
Beau Goldie told
TODAY , “We’ve
already picked the low-hanging fruit when
it comes to water conservation. Now it’s
going to get tougher.” He applauded the
gmh
gmhtoday.com