캘리포니아의 세너제이(San Jose) 시가 물 절약에 대한 국가 수자원 관리위원회의 명령을 준수하기 위해 최근 30%의 물절약 목표를 설정해 비상 선언했다. 보다 물을 절약하려는 도시의 방침은 지난 4년간 겪었던 심한 가뭄 문제를 해결하는데 도움이 될 것으로 기대된다.

세너제이의 새로운 방침은 2016년 3월 1일부터 적용되며, 중수도(화장실이나 세면대에서 사용하는 물 등)나 재활용수가 아닌 식수에만 물 제한을 적용한다.

 

 

 

In an effort to comply with the State Water Resource Control Board mandate for water conservation throughout the state of California, the San Jose City Council recently issued an emergency declaration of a 30-percent water savings target.

 

The city's action also calls for further water conservation to help address the effects of the past four years of severe drought. The new rules take effect immediately through March 31, 2016. San Jose's water restrictions only apply to potable water, not gray water (used water from baths, sinks, etc.) or recycled water.

 

"We're in a serious drought, which pushes us to rethink how we use water," said Kerrie Romanow, director of the San Jose Environmental Services Department. "We're in this together; we must all do our part to save water by taking additional steps to conserve and meet increased water conservation targets."

 

Approximately 70 percent of San Jose's total water use is attributed to residential use, with about 35 percent of the city's total water use attributed to residential outdoor watering. Outdoor water use is the easiest place to save water and accounts for roughly half of the average water bill.

 

Statewide and local precipitation has remained low this past season. In the Sierra Nevada, from where San Jose imports half of its water, the snow pack measurement in April was only 6 percent of average levels. Locally, the groundwater level in the city has fallen to about five to 25 feet lower than last year depending on location.

 

[출처 = Water World / 2015년 4월 23일]