For the last 40 years, state and local water agencies have preached water conservation to Californians. They created drought-tolerant demonstration gardens, funded low-flow toilet replacements, subsidized artificial turf installations, supported high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and appliance requirements, ran school education and public information campaigns, and much more.
Editor’s note: Congratulations for being the kind of person who would click on a title like that. Despite the fact that it’s actually a very interesting and dynamic topic, it’s virtually impossible to write a clickbait-y title for an article on integrated water management (believe me, I’ve tried), so I commend you on your genuine …
Understanding Your Water Footprint As we Californians embrace smarter, more efficient water use as a way of making our relationship with water more sustainable and more secure, we often focus on our residential water use as the primary place to conserve. Truth be told, residential water use – the water we use in our homes …
San Diego Coastkeeper is made up of water-loving people working hard to protect and restore clean water on behalf of the communities and wildlife that depend on it. We surf, we swim, we SUP, we fish, and then we trade our wetsuits for real suits and meet with stakeholders and decision-makers, advocating for the environment …
With conditions across California suggesting an impending return to drought, San Diego is poised to take a meaningful leadership role in sustainable water management – should the city step up and take it.
Water in San Diego County San Diego County imports over 80 percent of our drinking water from far-away sources such as the Colorado River and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. We use about half of that drinking water for outdoor uses, such as watering our lawns. This dependence on energy-intensive imported water and water-intensive uses …
Off to a swell start Back in 2013, I landed myself a really swell job. At San Diego Coastkeeper, Project SWELL is the name of our K-6th environmental curriculum. SWELL stands for “Stewardship: Water Education for Lifelong Leadership.” It’s a fitting title. Through Project SWELL, Coastkeeper teaches kids about water conservation, climate science, and the …
Still reeling after our most recent multi-year drought, many San Diegans have decided to carry their water-saving practices forward, for good. During the drought, what used to be a mundane, taken-for-granted resource was now frequently front-page news. As a result, many of us felt a fundamental shift in the way we think about, talk about, …
The numbers are in. California is conserving less water than it needs to. San Diego is doing even worse. California conserved less water this year than last year. In October 2015, California conserved 22.5 percent more than 2013. This year, California only conserved 19.5 percent. In October 2016, San Diego County conserved 12 percent more …
