Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
December 18, 2007
1. Top Items
PWP urges conservation as water shortage worsens - Pasadena Star News
PWP urges conservation as water shortage worsens
By Elise Kleeman, staff writer
Acting on the recommendation of Pasadena Water & Power, the City Council voted Tuesday night to declare a Phase 1 water shortage and to approve a voluntary water conservation plan.
The decision sets the stage for future mandatory water rationing that could be enacted if drought conditions worsen.
"We need to conserve water, this is a really serious situation we're in," Brad Boman, chief water engineer for PWP, said Monday as he stood in an empty Arroyo Seco percolation pond north of Devil's Gate Dam.
"This is the worst water situation we've been in in 20 years."
As part of the kickoff of PWP's new public awareness campaign about the shrinking water supply, Boman took reporters to the string of parched ponds along the Arroyo's east side.
"Normally, at this time of winter we'd see these ponds full," he said. "This (one) hasn't been full for two winters now."
But on Monday above Devil's Gate Dam, the Arroyo Seco was reduced to two thin, muddy trickles. Of the 15 ponds, all but one tiny one were dusty expanses of sand and boulders.
The region, Boman said, was in a "perfect drought" brought on by sparse rainfall, an eight-year Colorado River drought and an environmental battle in
In response, PWP - like many water agencies around
"I think our citizens are up to the challenge, and we hope they will meet our challenge," said Shan Kwan, PWP's director of water.
A similar voluntary cutback in 1992, he said, resulted in a 15 percent drop in water usage by PWP customers.
But this year, PWP has already pushed patrons to conserve with very limited results.
Boman hoped more people would listen now because PWP was changing its approach by suggesting specific water saving tips like taking shorter showers, fixing leaky faucets and sweeping, not hosing off, driveways.
The water agency is also rolling out an advertising campaign in local papers and on benches and the sides of buses.
The ads feature "the usual suspects" - mug shots of guilty water wasters like "Leaky Faucet Linda," "Long Shower Larry" and "Driveway Hoser Dave." #
KNBC Channel 4 (
"This hasn't been full for two winters now. We are hoping normally this time of year, these ponds would be full of water, and the water would be seeping into the ground," said Pasadena Water & Power Chief Water Engineer Brad Boman, describing a series of reservoirs that collect water off the
The
"What we are really asking for is a change of habit," said water conservation specialist Nancy Wong.
The drought is not the only factor. A conflict concerning water has developed between northern and southern
Bay Area officials and environmentalists celebrated a federal court decision and a follow-up ruling on Friday to effectively reduce southern
The change was part of an effort to protect the tiny delta smelt, a fish that was being chewed up by the pumps that send the water south, Nolan reported.
The court order means more water flowing into the
"This is probably the most critical point that we have ever faced," said Shan Kwan of Pasadena Water & Power. #
http://www.knbc.com/news/14877047/detail.html
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