SAN JOSE (BCN) — Gov. Jerry Brown met with leaders at San Jose City Hall on Friday to discuss local conservation efforts, noting that the Santa Clara Valley “is doing better than most” parts of the state in conserving water.

The governor met with more than a dozen other leaders representing cities within Santa Clara County, utility companies and regional agencies.

“In the short-term we have the sustainability of the water supply for Northern California and Santa Clara Valley in particular,” Brown said.

“We’re not at the level that we want to attain but we’re doing very good and better than most,” he said.

As part of his efforts to help save the state water, Brown noted that he didn’t take a shower this morning.

He also has a low-level flow system at his home that is being used “quite sparingly,” he said.

On April 1, Brown announced a mandatory 25 percent reduction in water use throughout the state, and any agencies that fail to meet the condition could be fined up to $10,000 a day.

“The drought is serious and we have to take serious measures to respond,” Brown said.

In March, the Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors called for a 30 percent reduction in water use and a cutback on the irrigation of outdoor landscapes and lawns to two days a week.

On June 15, the San Jose Water Company will implement a plan to reduce water by 30 percent.

More water could be saved through a project Brown supports in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The project includes the construction of large tunnels for water to reach other parts of the state, which would become a source for local water supply projects including ones in the Santa Clara Valley, Brown said.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who also attended today’s meeting, said, “Here in Silicon Valley we view scarcity as an opportunity for innovation.”

Last month, the city of San Jose and Santa Clara Valley Water District called on Brown and state legislators to exempt a water-recycling project from the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, which would help speed up the process in construction.

The $612 million project would help expand a facility that would convert wastewater into drinkable water.

Speaking on the efforts being made to lift the CEQA exemption, Liccardo said “the Governor’s Office has been very helpful in crafting language which we hope the Legislature will support and we’re looking forward for the coming days to seeing that kind of support materialize.”

Other local representatives at today’s meeting included the mayors of Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Santa Clara and representatives from San Jose’s Environmental Services Department, Santa Clara Valley Water District, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, San Jose Water Company, California Water Services Company, Association of Bay Governments and Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency.