It’s summer and our thoughts turn to baseball,
picnics, . . . and water.

With an abundant snow pack still melting in the Sierra Nevada and winter and spring rains over, most irrigation systems in Southern California kick into high gear. Water bills zoom upward and we begin to hear reports of drought in certain corners of the country. We worry about Santa Ana conditions here and out-of-control brushfires.

Water conservation seems to have a season in Southern California. We at Aqueduct have taken advantage of this seasonal focus to explore in this issue various aspects and issues surrounding water conservation.

Water conservation is crucial to the state’s future. California expects to add another 14 million people to the state to reach 47.5 million by 2020. With nearly every major dam already in place in the Sierra Nevadas and with existing canals, levees and reservoirs needing billions of dollars in remedial work, the logical place to meet our increasing water needs rests with conservation.

In “Voices,” we’ve asked a sampling of water experts, advocates, water district officials and public officials to give us their opinions on water conservation. They tell us what’s working, where water is still being wasted, what government and individuals can do and, more personally, what they are doing in their everyday lives to help conserve this valuable resource.