Nipomo CSD doesn’t reach Stage IV water reduction

The Nipomo Community Services District (NCSD) failed to reach a target of 50 percent water reduction by the end of 2016, according to a status report presented at the NCSD board meeting on Dec. 14. 

From July to November, the district was only able to reach a 48.5 percent water reduction. With Stage IV water shortage reduction measures in place since last July, the district as a whole is required to reduce water consumption by half.

The shortage is based on the Water Shortage Response and Management Plan adopted by the NCSD in response to escalating drought conditions. California has been experiencing a drought since 2011. It became so severe that Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency on Jan. 17, 2014. 

The findings come despite the additional water from the Nipomo Supplemental Water Project—a $17 million public works project that pumps water from Santa Maria to the Nipomo mesa—and an increase in groundwater levels, according to a report by Newton Geo-Hydrology Consulting.

Before supplemental water, Nipomo relied solely on groundwater. 

Even though the district fell short before the end of the year, NCSD Manager Mario Iglesias expects the district will reach its target by January 2017. 

Iglesias pointed to the month of November, which saw a reduction of more than 56 percent. To reach the overall 50 percent target, Iglesias said more outreach such as notices and newsletters will be needed. 

“You can’t just turn the knob and people adjust their water usage,” Iglesias said. “It takes a constant dripping.”

Plus, Iglesias added, the Water Shortage Response and Management Plan is nonbinding and is used by the NCSD as a “roadmap” for possible action. The board is actually bound by requirements set forth by the Nipomo Mesa Management Area (NMMA) Shortage Response Stages. The water management plan could influence further action for water reduction.

“NCSD wants to apply pressure to water users through regulatory actions only to the point that water users reach the necessary objective,” Iglesias said in an emailed statement. “It is prudent to reserve actions that may need to be taken in the event NCSD must go to Stage V of the NMMA. In that event we would have to reduce [groundwater pumping] by 60 percent.” 

This article appears in Dec 15-22, 2016.