San Diego County and other parts of the state may get some flexibility in complying with California's rigorous water conservation mandate, Gov. Jerry Brown hinted Tuesday.

Meeting at San Diego City Hall with local political, business and water industry leaders, Brown said conservation would continue with some modifications once his emergency mandate expires in February. Media were admitted to the meeting near the end.

Since details of the mandatory conservation program were announced in May, numerous water agencies in San Diego County have said they are hurt by inflexible rules that don't account for water reliability programs, such as the desalination plant soon to open in Carlsbad.

While not making any specific promises, Brown said he understood that changes need to made as the state makes stepped-up conservation permanent.

"There'll be lots of adjustments," Brown said. "In fact, I would say politics is the art of adjustments."

That quip provoked laughter from the audience, which included Kevin Faulconer , San Diego's mayor; Maureen Stapleton, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority; Jerry Sanders , president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce; and other notable civic leaders.

Jerry Brown, San Diego, and the drought

Faulconer and Stapleton said the meeting was positive and productive, with a consensus on the need to continue saving water and developing new sources.

Stapleton said Brown's goal is to provide a dependable water supply, both by increasing conservation and by developing new water supplies.

"He is committed to a long-term solution on water reliability for the state of California," Stapleton said. "And we're so appreciative of him recognizing the investments that San Diego has made, and the leadership role we have taken in conservation and in water diversification."

Brown's San Diego visit was the latest in a series of meetings across the state to listen to local leaders, assess how conservation efforts are going, and discuss the challenges that remain.

In June, Brown went to Los Angeles to talk with Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the region's largest water wholesaler. He also talked that month with water leaders in the San Jose area.

In April, Brown talked with mayors from across the state, business officials from numerous industries affected by the drought, and agricultural, environmental and urban water agency leaders.

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San Diego County's difficulties with the mandatory conservation program have been discussed well in advance of Tuesday's meeting.

The San Diego County Water Authority, which supplies nearly all the county's population, has said it is capable of providing 99 percent of the area's water needs this year. But like all urban water agencies in the state, those in San Diego County are required to save from 8 percent to 36 percent of their potable water consumption from their use two years ago. The total saved statewide is calculated to reach a 25 percent reduction.

Glitches and misunderstandings between the water agencies and the State Water Resources Control Board, which enforces the mandates under penalty of fines, have also contribute to the friction.

Initial reports for June, the first month of mandatory conservation, said the Valley Center Municipal Water District had narrowly missed its 36 percent mandate, and Fallbrook Public Utility District missed its 36 percent mandate by a wide margin. Corrected reports found that the Valley Center district met its mandate, while Fallbrook missed its goal by a much narrower margin.

Faulconer said Tuesday's meeting took a constructive tone.

Brown and local leaders found "a lot of commonalities about our mutual goals," Faulconer said.

"We are united in our efforts at conservation," Faulconer said. "And we talked a lot today, particularly about here in the San Diego region, about creating new water supplies, for sustainability for the future."

Faulconer specifically mentioned two programs, the new Carlsbad desalination plant that's soon scheduled to begin operation, and the Pure Water San Diego Program to recycle waste water into drinking water.

"We had the opportunity to talk to the governor and his team about moving forward expeditiously at the state level on that program," Faulconer said, referring to the pure water program. The city aims to produce one-third of its drinking water through the program by 2035.

An environmental leader asked to comment on the state's conservation mandate said it is working, and that enforced conservation should become permanent.

"Self-reported data from water districts show that in June of this year, most of the San Diego region stepped up and demonstrated measurable reduction in water use. So, we know it is possible," Megan Baehrens, executive director of San Diego Coastkeeper, said by email.

"Time after time we see that mandatory rules produce much stronger results than voluntary suggestions," Baehrens said. "We don’t anticipate the drought expiring alongside the governor’s order, so we urge state and regional authorities to continue to enforce mandatory water use restrictions that ensure San Diego County lives within its water budget. We have to adjust to a new water ethic in which we increase water conservation, capture and reuse as effective local supplies."