State refuses request for more water in communities with high wildfire risk

RockedBuzz
By RockedBuzz 2 Min Read

News, State refuses request for more water in communities with high wildfire risk : detailed suggestions and opinions about State refuses request for more water in communities with high wildfire risk .

State officials have denied a request by Southern California municipal water districts for more water to mitigate wildfire risk.

The agencies had worked with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to ask the California Department of Water Resources to allocate 26,300 more acre-feet of water under the health-and-safety exception to drought rules, using the rationale that the exception should include supplies to reduce wildfire hazards by irrigating vegetation in high-risk areas.

“Irrigation of landscaping within defensible space, as described in your request, can play a role in reducing wildfire risk,” read the July 29 response from DWR and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “However, alternative approaches for fire prevention are available that will be equally effective as supplemental deliveries, and therefore DWR is denying your request.”

Residents and officials should reduce risk by hardening structures with fire-resistant materials, creating defensible space and putting in place fuel management programs, the letter recommended. If vegetation within a defensible space can’t be watered sufficiently to keep it from dying, it should be cut back, the letter said.

Story continues

Share This Article
Leave a comment