Weather or not

The fact that we’ve had almost no rainfall since the beginning of October might seem a bit worrisome, but in reality California precipitation shows high year-to-year variability, and low precipitation for the month of October is not unusual. Plus, meteorologists have found little or no relationship between the amount of rain we receive in October and how much we get during our core rainy months, which fall in midwinter to late winter.

With any luck, then, we’ll receive our normal amount of rainfall this winter. But even if we do, warmer than normal temperatures will cause more precipitation to fall as rain, rather than snow — and what snow we get will likely melt sooner than usual. That is an issue not only for those among us who love to ski, but because California counts on a healthy snowpack to ensure that we have enough water to last throughout the year.

Our reservoirs don’t hold enough potable water to get us through an entire year: We depend upon melting snow to replenish those reservoirs as we draw down their stores. That snowpack needs to build up in the winter and then slowly release its water throughout the warmer, drier months. Snow that melts too soon, when the reservoirs are already full, simply runs off into the ocean, where we can no longer make use of it.

Currently our part of California is not in a drought, but we’re close: Our current condition is classified as “abnormally dry.” That’s still not great, but we’re relatively lucky: Some areas to our north and south are in “moderate drought,” while coastal Southern California from San Luis Obispo to San Diego is in “severe drought.” NOAA seems to be forecasting a slight improvement in our condition over the remainder of the rainfall year, though, so keep your fingers crossed.

We may be at the mercy of the weather, but we do have control over how we use what water we get, potentially allowing the water we store in our reservoirs to last longer. Many of us have already taken steps to reduce the amount of water we use, but we all should remain vigilant for ways to do more.

Like many of you, my wife and I do all of the simple things: We don’t run the faucet more than necessary, we don’t flush our already low-flow toilets any more than we have to, we take our cars to a car wash that recycles its water, we’ve converted all of our irrigation to drip and, while waiting for our showers to heat up, we collect the water for use on our landscaping.

We’ve also taken advantage of a variety of rebate programs that help us go even farther. We switched to a front-loading washing machine, we installed low-flow toilets and shower heads, and we installed rain barrels on a couple of our downspouts. We even signed up to obtain recycled water from Redwood City, which we use on our landscaping. Regretfully, given our warm weather of late, Redwood City’s recycled water fill station has already closed for the season — but we’ll be back next year.

My wife and I got rid of our lawn in favor of drought-tolerant plants years ago, but I’ll note that if you still have one, the “Lawn Be Gone!” program is still active: Qualifying homeowners can receive up to $4 per square foot of lawn that they replace with drought-tolerant landscaping.

I truly hope we have a wet winter this year, and that a goodly amount of the precipitation we receive is captured in the form of Sierra snow. But hoping isn’t enough: We need to plan for the worst and do our best to ensure that none of the precious, life-giving liquid is wasted. And while you are planning, spend some time outside. This wonderful weather may not be normal but, while we have it, we might as well enjoy it. Just pay attention to those air quality warnings.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.