Health

Water Shortages Could Be the New Norm

By Ed Joyce / Reporter

Published June 1, 2009 at 12:19 PM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

The California Department of Water Resources issued its lowest ever initial estimate on how much water will be delivered from the State Water Project. Winter rain and snowfall may provide relief, but will likely not counteract three years of drought.

Water Shortages Could Be the New Norm

A water conservation summit gets underway Tuesday in San Diego. The goal is to find ways to meet current and future water demand. KPBS Environment Reporter Ed Joyce says the summit comes as most Southern California communities are under mandatory water restrictions.

Homeowners and businesses in San Diego County are in the first day of water conservation rules.

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San Diego and other Southern California cities rely mostly on imported water.

But those supplies are limited due to a third-year of drought and regulatory restrictions in Northern California.

Bob Yamada is with the San Diego County Water Authority.

He says while the restrictions are scheduled to end in October

"I think we're into a multi-year environment where we're going to need to be looking at our supplies every single year and paying attention to what happens with regard to rainfall and snowpack and runoff and we're going to be monitoring that quite carefully," Yamada says.

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He says along with the new restrictions some water agencies are using tiered water rates that will charge more money for excessive use.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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