2013 has been declared the third consecutive dry year for California. Though Gov. Jerry Brown has not officially declared a drought, governmental entities such as the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), among others, are collaborating to come to consensus on solutions.

The California Department of Water Resources is planning to draft emergency legislation to present to Gov. Brown within the next few weeks.

While there is still a possibility we can get enough rain in the next three months, many cities in the greater Sacramento area have already taken initiative in water conservation efforts. Folsom was the first to mandate a 20 percent water conservation effort from its citizens on Dec. 23, 2013. Sacramento County followed a few days later asking voluntary reductions in water use by 20 percent.

Davis has already instilled a water conservation goal of 20 percent for 2020. The Water Advisory Committee has made efforts to give advice on how to conserve.

“Our citizens are already being asked to conserve. The City Council also will be discussing our ongoing Water Conservation Plan at an upcoming Council meeting. Initial concepts were introduced on Dec. 17,” said Dianna Jensen of the City of Davis Water Advisory Committee.

Mayor Joe Krovoza ensures that the City of Davis is less at risk due to reliance on groundwater.

“The City of Davis is still 100 percent dependent on groundwater, so the drought doesn’t affect our supply at this time,” Krovoza said.

Jensen discusses how the dry year might affect the surface water project, Measure I, that was passed last spring.

“There are considerations of dry years taken into account with the new surface water project. The surface water treatment plant will be online in 2016, but we will maintain our deep water aquifer wells and will have the ability to supplement the surface water,” Jensen said.

However, many towns throughout CA relying on deep water aquifer wells will have a great challenge, accessing sufficient clean drinking water. This is one of the major problems that the DWR has identified and will be addressing in the coming months.

The U.S. Geological Survey expressed in a released statement that various deep aquifers in the San Joaquin Valley are “increasing the rate of land subsidence.” They explain that this could lead to damage to the water transfer from Northern to Southern California — vital to the cities and crops throughout the Central Valley.

The DWR’s Information Officer, Doug Carlson, expands on this issue.

“[Cities using] deep aquifer wells will do what they’ve done in past. The allotments are reduced and they’ll use their groundwater. However, the use of groundwater [is] partially the cause of subsided aquifer wells,” Carlson said. “Land is subsiding up to a foot or two a year — a somewhat alarming statistic. Continued reliance on groundwater is problematic because those wells are dropping and it’s just not a sustainable way to supply your water.”

According to a released statement, Director of the DWR, Mark Cowin has initiated a Drought Management Team to “prepare for and reduce potential impacts” of the dry year.

“Voluntary water transfers will be key to DWR’s drought response, as they hold the potential to alleviate critical shortages,” Cowin said. “We are making arrangements to bring additional resources with expertise in water transfers to advise the Drought Management Team to assure that the 2014 water transfers approval process is administered efficiently.”

Cowin added in a news release that the DWR is working with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the SWRCB to ensure that water will be transferred to cities which have less access to water.

Carlson explains how the collaborating agencies are working on the issues to come up with efficient solutions that address the issue as best as possible.

“These agencies are meeting weekly with representatives to assess water supply and how to coordinate a response … We are ensuring water transfers can occur in one part of the state to other parts of state where the need is urgent. They will ensure [that] they will occur efficiently,” Carlson said.

The greatest challenge for efficient water distribution, Carlson adds, is to the cropland throughout California.

“There’s been a significant steady increase in the amount of acreage of crops that require constant water. While row crops can be taken out of production simply by not [planting] … that year, orchards just don’t have that luxury,” Carlson said. “[It’s] a concern that many people share to ensure the agriculture sector of the Central Valley has access to water.”

Though we may still get more rain in the coming months, it’s vital that Californians make an effort to conserve water.

“Individuals can contribute in helping to conserve in many ways. They can wash their clothes only in full load, only run the dishwasher when it’s full and cut back on irrigation,”Carlson said.

For additional water conservation tips, visit water.cityofdavis.org/water-conservation.

With the beginning of the new year, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has implemented new road rules for 2014.

“Many of these new laws are a combination of ideas by the state legislature and the DMV,” said Artemio Armenta, public information officer for the DMV. “New ideas are continually introduced and moved through the process.”

Of the seven new rules, the most relevant to the City of Davis and UC Davis students is the updated law for Bicycle Passing Distance [AB 1371]. Alternatively named the Three Feet for Safety Act, effective Sept. 16, this rule states that a car or other motorized vehicle must leave three feet of space between itself and any bicycle.

“Everyone is responsible for making sure that all who share the road [are] kept safe,” Armenta said. “The base fine for violating this law is $35, and can range to $200. If someone is hurt, the fine can go up to $1,000, in addition to other legal issues.”

This law has been established in hopes of creating a safer environment for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists and preventing dispute or injury. However, this law may affect motorists negatively because they would be the party responsible for keeping the three feet of distance, even if cyclists are performing the malpractice.

“I think that’s ridiculous,” said Sally Sandoval, purchasing manager of the UC Davis Evolution and Ecology Department. “I don’t think I have time to pay attention to the road and judge the specific distance between myself and a biker. I have been on this campus for 29 years and sometimes, bikers just keep going and don’t look or stop.”

There are six other new laws affecting California drivers. They officially went into effect Jan. 1.

SB 194 states that teenage drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from reading, sending or using a text-based device while operating a motor vehicle, even if the device is hands-free.

“There have been cases of people using hands-free devices while driving and killing people,” said Nathan Sands, a UC Davis alumnus. “The media tends to pick these few cases and generalize them, especially to the under-18 demographic.”

While this law prohibiting texting while driving is technically already in effect for drivers of all ages, SB 194 is specifically targeting teenagers and younger drivers.

SB 266 and SB 286 are new laws regarding Clean Air vehicles or vehicles with HOV stickers enabling cars with the appropriate decals to operate in carpool lanes without meeting the minimum occupancy requirement.

“HOV stickers benefit or help drivers of low emission or no emission,” Armenta said. “There are currently two decals — white meaning no emission and green meaning low emission.” These stickers allow the vehicle with one occupant to drive in carpool lanes at any time of day.

SB 806 is a program aimed to explore more cost-effective or technologically-oriented replacements for license plates. These methods may include utilizing electronic license plates and finding alternatives to metal plates, plastic registration stickers and paper registration cards.

AB 443 prohibits vehicle ownership transfer between family members until all traffic, parking or toll violations and penalties are paid off. The fines must be paid off by the family member receiving the vehicle transference.

AB 244 states that the California Department of Veteran Affairs (CalVet) is required to fund the creation of veteran’s special interest license plates. The DMV is required to issue them if the aforementioned conditions are agreeable by CalVet regarding eligibility of the individual.

In addition, there is an enhancement to the Honoring Veterans design of the Veteran’s Organization license plate available to all vehicle owners.

AB 1047 allows drivers holding out-of-state learner’s permits to take commercial driving tests through the DMV in the state of California. The information would then be transferred electronically to the driver’s state of residence.

A secondary part of this law requires drivers of a bus weighing over 26,000 pounds to attain a Class B license, but a bus weighing less than 26,000 pounds requires the driver to have only a Class C license.

These new laws will be implemented by the police departments, highway patrol and other law enforcements with the intention of creating a safer, more structured environment for the California public.

“The legislative branch finishes the process and the laws usually go into effect at the beginning of the year,” said Officer Mike Harris of the California Highway Patrol. “Our designation is to save lives. We don’t write [these laws], we put them into effect.”

According to Armenta, the DMV plans to update the driver handbook for 2014 as well as the guide and the DMV website with information regarding these new laws.