Ethan Anderson
Assistant Editor
Following two abnormally rainy winters, Gov. Gavin Newsom made the decision to roll back drought emergency protocols in 19 California counties.
The decision came earlier this month and it impacts large counties including Los Angeles, San Gabriel, Riverside, and San Diego.
According to the governor’s website, Newsom’s move nullifies a few provisions of prior flooding and drought related executive orders.
In 2021 Newsom declared a state-wide drought emergency and asked everyone to reduce their water usage by 15%.
Emergency proclamations are an administrative provision put in place to respond to effects of problems such as natural disasters including floods, earthquakes, fires and droughts.
This move is adding on to last March when Newsom began the process of rolling back drought protocol. Certain provisions of previous executive orders related to drought were revoked during the 2022-2023 wet season where according to ncei.noaa.gov, we got 47.3 inches of precipitation making winter rather historic.
Emergency proclamations typically relax administrative provisions to allow faster action from the governor.
California experiences drought and extreme weather conditions swings frequently. Many cities have water usage restrictions for residents in anticipation of future droughts.
“Regardless of drought conditions that have come and gone since 2017, we have maintained our water use restrictions here in Covina,” former environmental services analyst Sandy Costandi said.
California has statewide laws for water conservation and they increase over the years, drought or no drought.
“During a drought, local agencies can either request or order specific conservation measures, but those are on top of already existing conservation requirements,” interstate manager of the California Department of Water Resources Jeanine Jones said.
Ethan Anderson can be reached at ethan.anderson@laverne.edu.
Ethan Anderson is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. He is the LV Life editor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times, and a staff writer and photographer for La Verne Magazine. He has previously been a staff writer for the Campus Times. As a lifelong student-athlete, he has picked up valuable skills that he seeks to apply in his career in public relations, and ultimately make an impact.
