Monday August 29, 2022
SF Gate —
The Santa Clara Valley Water District hosted a summit Friday morning in Santa Clara, bringing together elected officials and organizations across the Bay Area to discuss solutions to statewide water problems as California experiences its third consecutive year of a severe drought emergency.
Water Summit 2022 focused on both short- and long-term solutions and mitigations to water shortages.
Aaron Baker, the chief operating officer for water utility at Valley Water, said such solutions are needed to help the region through the current drought.
For Valley Water, some of the solutions include conservation programs. The water district offers rebates for scrapping lawns in favor of low water use and environmentally friendly options, and rebates to those irrigating with graywater diverted from laundry use. Landscaping rebates can reach up to $3,000 for residential sites and $100,000 for commercial, institutional or industrial sites, depending on the water use savings.