EDITORIAL: Conservation not enough to handle drought

Jul. 11—The Marin Municipal Water District is wise to take a hard look at bringing in a barge equipped with a desalination plant to help its customers endure this historic drought — the worst dry spell the county has faced in nearly a century.

MMWD's problem is that its water supply isn't deep enough to weather the months this drought could last.

MMWD has largely been banking on conservation to accommodate growth and demand on its water supply, most of which relies on rain that fills up its mountain reservoirs. After the 1976-77 drought, the district did establish a bi-county connecting to the Lake Sonoma reservoir, but this year its levels are dropping and Sonoma County water officials have had to cut back deliveries.

MMWD not only faces a water shortage now, but also needs to expand its supply as insurance for future droughts.

MMWD is asking its customers to conserve. We have to. But in most cases those conservation measures are on top of those that led past district boards to controversial plans to build a desalination plant at a site on San Pablo Bay.

Now the district is again looking at desalination, but officials question its promise because of the huge cost of electrical power needed to keep it running.

District officials have also been looking at bringing back the pipeline across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, a lifeline during the 1976-77 drought but one that relies on neighboring counties also having enough water to share.

The local numbers are dire.

On average, Marin's reservoirs are 82.9% full at this time of year.

Last year, at this time, they were at 78.8%.

Earlier this week, they were only 43.6% full — and we are not even halfway through the dry part of the year.

Districtwide, we have cut water usage by 21%. The district's goal, however, is 40%.

The immediate outlook is reason for action, both short- and long-term.

MMWD officials are considering leasing one of more portable desalination plants to bolster the local supply.

Even MMWD General Manager Ben Horenstein sees acquiring those lessons "a relatively difficult endeavor" because of their availability and cost.

Still, it is worth finding out the answer to both of those questions.

The district also faces the questions regarding local environmentalists' staunch opposition to desalination regarding potential impacts on the bay.

Will those same forces embrace a temporary, short-term use of desalination in a crisis? Or snarl any potential progress in months of debate and legal challenges that led MMWD leaders, a decade age, to shelve long-studied plans to build a desal plant.

While immediate need has to be a top priority, the district also has to address its long-term supply.

Without conservation by its customers, MMWD's current situation would be even more dire.

But given customers' slow progress toward reaching the 40% conservation goal, it is obvious that further conservation, on top of measures many of us have already taken, is going to be difficult and painful.

Pursuing the viability of leasing emergency desalination plants makes sense.

So does starting work on expanding MMWD's capacity, including possibly creating a new reservoir or adding water tanks, and significantly expanding the district's use of recycled water for outdoor irrigation.

The current crisis is a clear sign that the district can't just bank on conservation, but must do more now to prepare for making sure it has enough water supply in the future.

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