NGA Water Report- April 2002

Mike Proffitt, El Modeno Gardens … Water committee chair

Continuing from my last report, the snow has still fallen in the Sierra Mountains north of Bishop. Currently most stations are reporting well over 90% of a normal years snowfall. The added bonus is, it is measuring very high in moisture content so the fear of a statewide drought is not being discussed.

However, the situation is not all the same for southern California. Several water districts that rely heavily on groundwater may be facing shortages. Most counties of the south have only received 30% to 50% of their normal rainfall. If this summer is a warm one, several communities may be talking rationing. Less water may also equal more expensive water. This shortage in the south may become a vehicle for some water districts to raise the price of water, which we would all have to pay. Please let us know if your water district is planning on any rationing or price increases, as the NGA wants to monitor these so the nursery industry can be as proactive as possible to help avoid future rising costs of water.

 

Is relief in sight? Several weather Guru's have predicted that 2003 will be another El Nino (heavy rainfall) year. If this occurs all our water shortage worries could be past. Of course, we would have other problems to address.

There are other issues that concern our subject of water. Currently there are two bills in our state legislature that will highly impact our industry if passed. They are the following:

AB2734 (sponsored by Representative Pabley) … this bill would lower the evapotranspiration rate in a landscape from 0.8 to 0.6. If passed, this would limit the types of plant material that could be used in the landscape.

SB1385 (sponsored by senator Brulte) … this bill calls for state and local agencies to promote programs and incentives for the installation of new water conserving devices and landscapes.

NGA is working closely with CAN to combat these bills. I will keep updates coming as they occur.

Please plan on attending the May 20th General NGA meeting. Our guest speakers will be John Kabashima and Jo-Anne Newton. The topic will be water runoff from our nurseries. John will be addressing the policy side of the topic, and Jo-Anne will be discussing what El Modeno Gardens has instituted to aid in lowering both the nutrient and chemical runoff amounts.

See you all there!

Mike Proffitt
NGA Vice President and Water Chair.