I want to congratulate our community, all of YOU for your water conservation efforts! Beverly Hills has averaged saving 30% of our water when comparing month to month from April 2022 through March 2023 to those same months in 2013. That was the city’s goal when City Council called for a water shortage emergency in February of 2022.
How did our community do it? Well, for the most part you limited your irrigation to just two days a week and avoided watering from dawn to dusk, but when you really shined was during these past wet months. When it rained, you stopped watering altogether. The city also stopped watering its parks and green spaces during those rainy months as well and began watering two days a week on April 17.
What next? Lifelong water efficiency!
Why do we still need to use less water? Think about right sizing your water consumption just like you don’t necessarily need to supersize that soda. If we use what is necessary indoors and curb our thirst by planting California-friendly plants, treating our soils so they are absorbent and use the right amount of water, we can make this rainy season last for more than a year.
Aren’t we out of the drought? Well, hydrologically the drought has been subdued, but drought is predictable in California, so we need to use wisely to stretch further each drop. This year, one of the three water resources for the city of Beverly Hills is doing exceptionally well. The State Water Project that originates from the Feather River Watershed collected in Lake Oroville is at a 100% allocation. That bit of good news was declared just last week. The last time the State Water Project had an allocation of 100% was in 2006.
The Colorado River, another source for Beverly Hills, is still recovering from depletion and one good year will not wipe the slate clean. The third resource for the city is our own groundwater. Since April 2022, the Water Treatment Plant is back up and running, but depends upon our groundwater basins recovering and absorbing all the rain and creating permeable areas for that to happen. The city continues to create stormwater capture and by this July, the Burton Way Green Street project will be complete, which entails a 1-million-gallon stormwater capture reservoir to irrigate the Burton Way median’s new water efficient landscape. In addition, Beverly Hills is a founding member of the Metropolitan Water District. This water collective is actively storing water in groundwater basins and reservoirs to help us stock away water for those dry years to come.
If you would like to learn more about how you can live a water efficient life and receive rebates, visit bhsaves.org or bewaterwise.com. Always feel free to call the city at 310-285-2467 or email us at AskPW@beverlyhills.org. Any of our customer service representatives can help you sign up for water tracker to learn more about your individual water use.
