Scott Houston of the West Basin Municipal Water District joins WEHOonline to mark Earth Day with this exclusive interview.
Q: What is Earth Day?
Earth Day brings us together to celebrate the beauties of our planet while calling attention to pollution and the many ways we have degraded it. We must do all we can to protect its life-giving natural resources for future generations, and we can each do our part by incorporating environmentally-friendly practices into our daily lives such as composting food waste, bicycling to work or for errands, and capturing rain water for watering plants and a home garden.
Q: Are we losing the battle to climate change?
A: We have no choice but to do everything in our power to address climate change and to adapt to changing conditions. There is no doubt that we’re seeing things happen all around us and around the world. Sea levels are rising, regions are sinking due to groundwater over pumping, and we’re experiencing more extreme and destructive weather conditions. The new normal of hotter, drier and wetter conditions keeps us guessing and is straining our financial resources as we try to adapt our aging infrastructure to meet the moment of our current and future conditions.
Our state and local jurisdictions can each do their part, and yet we must recognize that other states and countries have not made climate change and adaptation a priority. It’s a global societal effort. The U.S. must continue to lead and we must find ways to assist and bring others with us.
Have the recent rains refilled our reservoirs?
Most of our state reservoirs are near full thanks to a second unexpectedly wet winter. However, the Colorado River system remains very challenged with its two largest reservoirs, Lakes Powell and Mead, both below 40% of capacity. So we cannot take our eye off the ball when it comes to our vulnerable water systems that supply California and the western United States.
Q: Closing thoughts?
A: West Hollywood has done an excellent job of encouraging and promoting water conservation and sustainable practices over the last decade, and I’d like to encourage residents and property owners to continue looking at ways to reduce water use, particularly by replacing lawns with drought friendly native plants. West Hollywood is in the West Basin Municipal Water District service area, and West Basin has grass replacement rebates available for residential and commercial properties, as well as other rebates and incentives to help you save water and save money while doing your part locally. Check out all of the district’s conservation resources at https://www.westbasin.org/conservation-3/
Happy Earth Day.
#Save our planet.