PD Editorial: An ongoing need for conservation in California

California finally caught a break from the drought this winter, but then along came some Stanford University scientists to rain on the parade.

When Frank Gehrke, the state’s chief snow surveyor, recently trekked up the mountains, a gaggle of reporters followed. They - and all of California - anxiously waited to hear the report on the pivotal Sierra snowpack.

Gehrke reported good news: The snowpack is 95 percent of average. And after years of drought, that’s good enough. At this time last year, the snowpack in the Sierras was only 5 percent of normal. As a result, many in agriculture expect to receive full allotments of water this year.

Californians can thank El Niño for the precipitation, but despite the showers that are expected this weekend - following unusually hot temperatures this week - El Niño won’t last. Consumers of water - i.e., everyone - need to resist becoming complacent. Conservation measures put in place over the last few years need to become the new normal. One year of average snow and water will not replenish aquifers nor end the drought.

In fact, we’re likely to see more if Stanford researchers are right. They and their colleagues studied atmospheric trends and concluded that hot and dry is going to be the norm in the years to come. The weather will swing more toward extremes, according to the Stanford report published last week. Multi-year droughts will be broken up by periods of intense precipitation.

“Managing the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of extreme meteorological events in California is a challenging endeavor,” the researchers wrote. “In many cases, natural hazard risks of opposing character - such as droughts and floods - must be dealt with simultaneously.”

Public and private officials can plan for predictable weather patterns. When the weather bounces between extremes, however, it’s harder to plan. The snowpack banks water for one year, not many. It’s worse, when the ground is parched and dry and precipitation tends to flow into the Pacific Ocean too quickly.

The researchers go out of their way not to attribute the atmospheric conditions causing these trends to human-caused climate change. Even if they didn’t look at that angle in their work, this is par for the course on a warming planet. It’s just the sort of increasing weather extremes that climate scientists have predicted.

The temptation to open the spigot and let families, ranchers, farmers and industry consume water at will is understandable. California is tired after four years of drought. But restraint is needed as much as more rainfall.

Healdsburg understands the danger of succumbing to temptation. The City Council there is expanding a recycled wastewater program for vineyard irrigation. Other communities are showing a lack of such foresight. The San Juan Water District last month declared the drought over and rescinded mandatory water conservation.

Even if a comprehensive solution remains elusive, Californians can still take steps to prepare for what is to come. We mustn’t allow one good water year to create collective amnesia. Not only must cities and counties continue the water conservation of the last several years, it must build on them in preparation for the worst to come. Because it’s coming - and it’s staying.