[Water_news] 1. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS - Top Item for 10/3/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment

 

October 3, 2008

 

1.  Top Items -

 

 

Water rationing falls short of EBMUD's goal

San Francisco Chronicle – 10/3/08

By Kelly Zito, staff writer

 

Savings across parts of Contra Costa and Alameda counties served by the East Bay Municipal Utility District have reached 11.3 percent, officials said Wednesday. Water managers had hoped fixed leaks, shorter showers, and less frequent lawn watering would net a 15 percent reduction.

 

With experts forecasting the third dry winter in a row, the district said the pressure is on.

 

"There will be rain this weekend, but who knows for how many days, or how much rain will make it into our reservoirs - this weekend and this winter," said Laura Luong, public information representative at the district. "Since we declared the drought May 13, (savings) started slow, but our customers are getting the message. We just need to remind them that they need to conserve for what's to come."

 

The district announced the emergency rationing and drought pricing - one of the first in Northern California - in May after the state experienced the driest spring on record, and key East Bay reservoirs hit crucially low levels. In the weeks following, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought and other districts around the state that had not yet asked for voluntary water conservation called on their customers to do more.

 

Residents and businesses in the East Bay district's service area were slow to trim their water use, achieving only 4 percent savings overall not long after the announcement. But conservation has improved, and officials expect more declines after customers get their first bills - mailed out this week - that demand higher fees for those who use more than their allotments. District officials do not expect to boost the savings target in coming months, but much will depend on how rainy the rainy season is.

 

Some 7,300 EBMUD customers filed "allotment adjustment" requests; that is they asked to use more water for medical needs, increased household size or because they had already maxed out their savings potential. Ninety percent of the requests were granted, Luong said.

 

The district's goal is to protect its dwindling water supply, which now stands at about 415,000 acre-feet. In an ideal water year, which officially starts Oct. 1, the district has 600,000 acre-feet. One acre-foot is equal to about 326,000 gallons, or the amount needed to supply two families for one year.

 

No customer category - for instance, single-family residential or industrial users - hit the target savings rate. But some were close. For instance, the category including hospitals and schools achieved 8 percent savings, just below the 9 percent target rate. Manufacturers and others in the industrial class hit 8 percent, their target was 13 percent.

 

The district has deployed a handful of water cops - conservation technicians in district parlance - to tour neighborhoods in search of water wasters. The agency has only informed customers of misuses and so far issued no citations, according to district spokesman Charles Hardy.

 

"In 1991 and 1992, you had water cops issuing citations because it was a long-term drought and it was the only thing you could do to bring about savings," Hardy said.

 

The next benchmark for the district is 300,000 acre-feet, Luong said. If water levels lurch toward that figure, water managers would reconvene and craft a more drastic rationing program.

 

"At that point, rationing would go to the next step because it becomes a very critical shortage," she said.

 

Water savings

The East Bay Municipal Utility District in mid-May imposed mandatory water rationing after two parched winters and the driest spring in at least 150 years. Water managers set a target savings rate of 15 percent; so far its 1.3 million customers in parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties have achieved 11.3 percent savings. How the savings* break down:

1.18% Single-family (target: 19%)

11.8% Multi-family (target: 11%)

11.8% Industrial

(target: 13%)

11.8% Institutional

(target: 9%)

1.21% Irrigation

(target: 30%)

11.3% Overall

(target: 15%)

*Based on meters read in half of August and half of September

Source: East Bay Municipal Water District#

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/03/BA6F13ALM6.DTL

 

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