Water Shortages Could Cost $3 Billion And 20,000 Jobs This Year
With
summer rapidly approaching, small businesses in the San Francisco area and
across California are bracing for renewed water shortages. A report issued last month by the California
Department of Water Resources concluded that 2012-2014 represented “the driest
consecutive three-year period on record,” with no sign of imminent relief.
Similarly, according to a study by Richard Howitt, a scholar with the
University of California Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, 2014’s water
shortages cost California $2 billion and 17,100 jobs. Howitt projects the state
could lose $3 billion and 20,000 jobs this year.
What Happens Next:
The change in seasons portends
a fresh round of mandatory cutbacks to water use, profoundly impacting farmers,
ranchers, landscapers, and other small business owners across numerous economic
sectors. Agriculture faces the most daunting obstacles. Farmers have responded
to water rationing by allowing more of their fields to lie fallow, cutting into
the bottom lines of farm owners and forcing layoffs of farm workers. The
effects of these large-scale cutbacks are felt throughout the economy, putting
pressure on farm-dependent industries and raising the possibility of food price
inflation. State officials are in the process of finalizing water allocations
for the current growing year.
What This Means For Small Business.
Many
small businesses that have already struggled through the past three years of
water shortages face a possibility of an even harsher 2015. Though farmers face
the most immediate threats to their livelihoods, state and local water
restrictions have far-reaching impacts. For example, in some parts of the Bay
Area, restaurateurs can only serve water when requested, hotels must offer
guests the option of not washing towels every day, and car washing and lawn
watering is actively discouraged. Several local governments have implemented
stringent rules regarding swimming pools, raising new concerns among businesses
focused on installing, maintaining, and filling pools. In addition to mandatory
water use rules, California Gov. Jerry Brown recently asked all residents and
businesses to voluntarily reduce water use by 20%.
Additional Reading.
Other news outlets covering how
California’s water situation affects small business include NBC News and another story from NBC News.
