This was a tremendous week, in that I managed to secure a forum for my in-person presentation with the City of Brea’s Chamber of Commerce. It is tentatively scheduled for July 15th time is TBD. I completed a formal outline of my presentation and submitted it to the city’s environmental services manager. He put me in contact with the city’s events coordinator, who will provide me with details on how to prepare to be the guest speaker at the Chamber’s luncheon next month. They are allotting me 15 minutes to give my presentation, so I will make sure it is concise, informative, but most of all be beneficial to the business owners and residents of Brea (my hometown).
Here is the outline I submitted:
I. Introduction
A. About myself
B. About my research project
II. Describe Mandatory Water Restrictions
A. Governors mandates
B. State Boards Emergency Water Rules
C. Brea’s Ordinance (Implementing Phase II)
III. Impacts to Businesses and Residents
A. Local Enforcement – Education and Voluntary Compliance
B. Penalties to Water Wasters – Districts that miss the goal (Brea 24%) of their reductions could be fined $10,000 a day
1. Based on combined district use – not individual consumers
2. (NEED INFO FOR BREA on proposed fines)
C. Monthly reporting by water districts – per capita usage
IV. FAQ’s
A. Can you keep your lawn/landscape? Yes
1. Rebates available
2. Drought resistant landscaping
3. Future new construction may have restrictions
B. Will the price of water go up?
1. “Upward pressures” to raise rates
2. Ironically conservation may cause rates to go up – cover fixed costs
3. Tiered pricing – controversial and challenged in the courts
V. Aren’t farms the biggest users of water…what is the state doing about them?
A. State’s system providing reduced allocations
B. Many growers have been forced to leave their farms unplanted. C. Pumping increasing amounts of groundwater – California passed first-ever groundwater management law last year
VI. Will inefficient crops be uprooted like almond trees and rice paddies?
A. State is unlikely to mandate crop choices
B. Supply and demand will effect what farmers do
VII. Conclusion
A. Urge support of water restrictions
B. Get educated – Improve water efficiency inside and outside
C. Take advantages of rebates
As you can see I have chosen to support the mandatory water restrictions and will urge the Chamber to do the same. Overall I feel the restrictions are needed in order for the state to conserve water during the drought. However, they aren’t perfect and in my report and video I will share how the state and stakeholders can work to improve a bad situation.