American States Water Co (AWR) Preparing for Continued California Drought

August 27, 2014

American States Water Co (AWR) CEO Robert Sprowls says the company has a plan in place to deal with continued drought conditions in California. Sprowls says 35% of the company’s water supply is purchased from member agencies of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and about 65% comes from the company’s own groundwater basins.

“Reduced precipitation in California has resulted in reduced recharge to groundwater basins, and water levels in several of the basins — especially the smaller basins — are dropping,” Sprowls says. “We have been in pretty good shape so far, but we will start to have more significant issues if we don’t get more precipitation this upcoming winter.”

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Sprowls says none of American States Water Company’s systems are in immediate danger. He adds that the company is implementing mandatory outdoor water restrictions in accordance with requirements recently issued by the State Water Resources Control Board, and is communicating with customers about conservation.

“In some cases, we’ve already made physical adjustments to our wells to draw deeper into the aquifers,” Sprowls says. “In other cases, we are taking steps to bring in supply from other areas, should that become necessary.”