| Dry season: Mandatory water restriction in Santa Cruz could be approved on Tuesday The Santa Cruz Sentinel – 4/26/09 By Genevieve Bookwalter SANTA CRUZ -- About 90,000 residents likely will have to curb their water use soon or face $500 fines as city leaders on Tuesday are expected to approve mandatory restrictions for Santa Cruz Water Department customers. The Santa Cruz Water Department's proposed conservation measures would take effect Friday for residents from the North Coast to Capitola. The cuts come as the San Lorenzo River, from which the department pulls most of its water, flows at only 40 percent of normal and the Central Coast endures its third dry year in a row. The river "looks more like it does in July than what it should be at the end of April," said Toby Goddard, the department's water conservation manager. He called the pending restrictions "a very real reminder of how vulnerable the city water system is." If approved, Water Department customers will not be allowed to fill home pools, hose off driveways or water backyard grass for five days of the week. Diners must ask for a glass of water when eating out, and hotels must offer guests the chance to reuse their towels and sheets without having them washed every day. The measures are expected to cut water use by about 15 percent. Those who don't comply could face fines up to $500 and have flow restrictors installed on their waterline, which would cut supply to those customers by 90 percent. The department will patrol neighborhoods looking for violators of the restrictions. Some exceptions will be made, though. Residents with drip irrigation systems, soaker hoses and watering cans can irrigate at all times, regardless of the day, according to the city's proposal. Fruit and vegetable gardens also can be watered by hand at will. Santa Cruz is expected to be the first water department in the county to set strict conservation rules, but might not be the last. City rules could be the tightest, though, as Santa Cruz depends more on surface water, which is greatly influenced by seasonal rainfall, than any other water agency. Most water districts in the county use a large amount of ground water, which percolates slowly through the soil and is less affected by year-to-year rainfall totals than rivers are. No Santa Cruz County water provider taps federal or state supplies or pipes in water from somewhere else, which has caused other headaches in counties around the San Francisco Bay. Santa Clara Valley Water District, for example, in March required all customers to cut back by 15 percent this summer, but not because of low rainfall. Instead, state and federal water supplies that the agency depends on were cut in half to accommodate endangered smelt and salmon in the San Francisco Bay delta. At Ristorante Italiano in Santa Cruz, owner Janet Bolender said the eatery already is conserving water and has placed blue placards on each table letting customers know what's going on. "Some people still drink some water," Bolender said. But many now decline refills if they know they won't finish a full glass. At UC Santa Cruz, the city's biggest water customer, university leaders plan to conserve about 20 million of the 130 million gallons the campus consumes each summer. Efforts include replacing inefficient spray valves in kitchens, cafes and restaurants and adding new pressure-regulating valves to farm irrigation systems, said spokesman Jim Burns. Students also have gotten involved, with residents of the various colleges leading drives to replace old shower heads and toilets with new, low-flow models, among other efforts. "There's a very clear sense on campus that we all must do our part to reduce water consumption," Burns said.# http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_12230635 Cal City to share portion of water allotment with Borax mine The Antelope Valley Press – 4/25/09 By Allison Gatlin
CALIFORNIA CITY - In an effort to aid a local economic engine, California City has agreed to send a portion of its 2009 state water project allotments to the Borax mining operation in Boron. The mine, owned by Rio Tinto, was facing a 70% shortfall in the water needed for its operations, California City Public Works Director Michael Bevins said Tuesday in presenting the agreement to the City Council for approval. The shortfall "would've forced them into significant shutdown of operations," Bevins said. Considering the economic impact of such a shutdown on the region, the Rosamond Community Services District and California City worked out an agreement to send a portion of its 2009 allotments from the Antelope Valley East Kern Water Agency to the mine. The agreement, approved on a 4-0 vote with Mayor Larry Adams absent, would send as much as 350 acre-feet of water from California City's allotment to the mining operation. The amount will depend on the ever-changing delivery amount from AVEK, Bevins said. The mine might not need the full 350 acre-feet. California City also has a carryover of water allocation of 200 acre-feet from last year, water that was not used, Bevins said. Rio Tinto will pay $100 per acre foot to the city for the water allocation. If all of the allotment is used, that would be $35,000 to California City, money that could be used for refurbishment of the waterfall and lake in Central Park, Bevins said. Deliveries from the state water project are down for all purveyors due to the third year of drought conditions and court-ordered pumping restrictions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in order to protect the Delta smelt, a two-inch-long fish whose numbers are dwindling. Because California City already decided not to rely on AVEK for its water needs this year, the decision to share with the mine will not affect city water use. "This will not have an impact on our customers in 2009," Bevins said. The water sharing is a one-time deal, for the 2009 allocation only. "It's a very, very restrictive approval," he said. California City's own water situation will be the subject of a public workshop at 6 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 21000 Hacienda Blvd.# http://www.avpress.com/n/25/0425_s9.hts ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DWR’s California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the DWR Public Affairs Office. For reader’s services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news . DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of California. | 
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