Governor Eases Drought Restrictions

On Friday, March 24, 2023, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-5-23 rolling back some drought emergency restrictions but maintaining others. The recent rain storms have helped ease drought conditions for a majority of the state but there are still some regions and communities experiencing water supply shortages, especially those that rely heavily on groundwater supplies which have been severely depleted during the drought. The state also announced an anticipated increase in state water allocations from 35% to 75% allocation.

Listed below are the restrictions that have ended and those that remain with the implementation of EO N-5-23.

• Ends the voluntary 15% water conservation target, while continuing to encourage that Californians make conservation a way of life;
• Ends the requirement that local water agencies implement level 2 of their drought contingency plans;
• Maintains the ban on wasteful water uses, such as watering ornamental grass on commercial properties;
• Preserves all current emergency orders focused on groundwater supply, where the effects of the multi-year drought continue to be devastating;
• Maintains orders focused on specific watersheds that have not benefited as much from recent rains, including the Klamath River and Colorado River basins, which both remain in drought;
• Retains a state of emergency for all 58 counties to allow for drought response and recovery efforts to continue.

The District anticipates moving from Stage 3 to Stage 1 Drought Condition by the end of April 2023.