What is the 20-Gallon Challenge?

Why should I conserve water?

How have supply cuts from Northern California affected our region?

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What is the 20-Gallon Challenge?

The 20-Gallon Challenge was created to urge residents and businesses to reduce our region’s water use on average by 20 gallons per person, per day. The challenge began in 2007 as a voluntary campaign to increase conservation. Today, regionwide water use has declined nearly 23 percent compared to 2007 levels.  The 20GC remains an important resource to home and business owners wanting to fulfill their civic duty of using water wisely every day.

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Why should I conserve water?

Although the recent drought is over, we must continue to use water wisely every day. Ensuring a safe and reliable water supply is a long-term challenge here in semi-arid Southern California. Residents and businesses must continue efficient water use practices in the face ongoing supply challenges and the long-term achievement of a state-mandated 20 percent reduction in water use by 2020.

The San Diego region continues to face significant supply challenges because California's water supply system is still in a crisis. Regulatory restrictions on pumping in the Bay-Delta reduce water supply benefits from wet winters. While the effects of the restrictions have been offset this year because of improved river flows and judicial orders temporarily easing some measures, there is still no long-term plan in place to settle the ongoing water reliability and environmental issues in the Bay-Delta , traditionally the source of up to 30 percent of our water supply. These regulatory restrictions will continue to make our state system for managing water more vulnerable to weather changes. This will make it even more difficult to cope with and recover from dry conditions in the years ahead.

The Water Authority and its 24 member agencies are working hard on securing and developing reliable new water supplies to meet future needs. Your efforts to save water make a difference by helping us keep as much water in storage as possible for use during future dry periods, which we experience far more often than in wet years.. And saving water isn't difficult. There are easy residential and business tips and incentives and programs to help you. Thank you for your efforts to save water!

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How have supply cuts from Northern California affected our region?

As much as 30 percent of water used in San Diego County comes from the State Water Project (SWP). The SWP conveys runoff from the Sierra snowpack in Northern California through the Sacramento River/San Joaquin River Delta (Bay-Delta) to the Harvey O. Banks pumping plant, which pumps the water south to 25 million Californians in communities from the Bay Area to San Diego.

In 2008, a federal court imposed restrictions on the pumps that move water from the Bay-Delta south to Central and Southern California. The restrictions were designed to protect the Delta smelt, a threatened fish species. The court action was followed by additional regulatory restrictions in 2009 to protect the Delta smelt and other fish species, including the longfin smelt, green sturgeon, Chinook salmon, and Central Valley steelhead. These restrictions can reduce the amount of water the State Water Project delivers by up to 30 percent.

Water agencies challenged the restrictions in court and in May 2010, a federal judge granted a temporary reprieve from some of the pumping restrictions intended to protect salmon. However, pumping restrictions will continue to impact the reliability of Bay-Delta water supplies until a long-term solution is found.

The Water Authority continues to work with other water agencies, the Legislature and the Governor’s office on long-term solutions to the Bay-Delta’s infrastructure, legal and environmental problems that will enable the SWP to safely and reliably convey water supplies to the San Diego region.

For more information about our water supplies, click here.

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