Editorial: Drought’s not over, folks

This month's wet weather only a drop in the catchment basin|

Well, that’s it-drought’s over!

Phew. Things were beginning to get pretty dry in the Valley - but it looks like we’ve dodged that 100-year-drought bullet once again, right?

Because, after all, it’s been rainy. Schellville got soaked last week. I even hydroplaned for about a hundred feet on Arnold Drive last Thursday. Yep, we can now wash our hands of all the water-conservation talk of the past few years. Hey, we can wash them with all that rainwater that’s been pouring down.

In fact, it appears that’s what a lot of people are doing.

Multiple neighbors within a few blocks of our house still had their sprinkler systems working during the brief weather reprieve over the weekend. Six weeks ago, when we had the light rain over Halloween, I saw at least a dozen catchment systems under residential roofs around town. The number I’ve seen this week? Zero.

Water agencies throughout the state are stressing that, even with a wet December, we’re still in a drought - yet one gets the impression not everyone’s buying it.

But three inches of rain here, three inches of rain there does not desecrate the desiccation of recent years. In December 2010, it poured all month - literally, breaking records throughout the Bay Area. (Our daughter was born that month, and the torrential rain kept us cooped up inside with a screaming infant - with shockingly well-developed lungs. It was wet, loud and miserable.)

And what happened after that? It didn’t rain again for four freakin’ years.

Don’t get me wrong - the rainy weather this month is great. Lake Sonoma went up an impressive 2.6 feet from Dec. 2 to Dec. 4 alone - and even more when you add the late runoff from that storm. But the lake is still barely flirting with 60 percent capacity, and we’re well into the November to March months when it’s pretty much rain-or-no-gain for the entire year.

Fortunately, according to the Sonoma County Water Agency, Lake Sonoma is massive enough to provide multiple years of water supply, even under the current drought conditions.

Still, this is no time for long showers and washing dishes by hand (the No. 1 common water waster, according to scientificamerican.com - the dishwasher is far more water efficient).

The Sonoma City Council in November even partly equated the need to raise water rates with the need to increase conservation. “Sadly, we are the worst-performing city in the entire county when it comes to conservation,” observed Councilmember Steve Barbose at that Nov. 17 meeting.

Sonoma’s arguably No. 1 at a lot of things: Helping the disenfranchised, perhaps. Community spirit, possibly. Producing fine wines, natch. But at not conserving water? Say it ain’t so, Sonoma.

Get a low-flow shower head; catch your kitchen-sink water in a basin; and check out more simple ways to conserve via the state’s Save Our Water program website, saveourh2o.org.

- Jason Walsh

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