California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 2, 2009
2. Supply –
Warm predictions follow another below-average Sacramento rainy season
The Modesto Bee
Lack of money for rebates halts Inland distribution of water-saving toilets
Riverside Press Enterprise
Water restrictions gain traction
Glendale News Press
This summer, kids can dive into water conservation
San Diego Union-Tribune
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Warm predictions follow another below-average Sacramento rainy season
The Modesto Bee-7/2/09
By Bill Lindelof
As the Sacramento region settles into its annual stretch of dry summer weather, data from the official rain season that ended Tuesday shows that though it could have been worse, a little more precipitation would not have hurt.
Predictions from the National Weather Service provide no hope that the new rain season -- it runs annually from July 1 through June 30 -- will start any differently than the previous one ended: It will be warm and dry.
This holiday weekend forecast is for mostly clear skies and high temperatures in Sacramento hitting 94 degrees today and reaching 96 degrees on Independence Day.
After that, experts say to expect a moderate slide to 92 degrees Sunday and into the mid-80s the first three days of next week.
Weather service forecaster Johnnie Powell provided a breakdown of precipitation data for the just-ended rain season:
• Total rainfall: 16.47 inches, 83 percent of normal, which is 19.87 inches. The highest total ever recorded in Sacramento is 37.49 inches in 1982-83; lowest total was 7.25 inches in 1975-76.
• January rainfall: 1.48 inches instead of the average of 4.18 in what usually is the wettest month. In the last eight years, January has been above normal one time -- 7.42 inches in 2007.
• February rainfall: 5.06 inches, well above the average of 3.77. Wettest month in 2008-2009.
• April, May and June produced above-average rainfall, just not enough make up for a below-average year overall.
"The spread of the rain was surprising," forecaster George Cline said. "We got the rain in May and June. But we still are in deficit. It wasn't as bad a year as it has been. It could have been better, but we have done a lot worse lately."
Cline said a bright spot for the just-completed weather year was that June temperatures were mild, preserving the snowpack some and delaying the snowmelt's annual rush to the sea.
"We had a relatively cool June," he said. "That preserves the snowpack. The average temperature ended up 1.7 degrees below normal for June."
Month-by-month totals revealed that if January rain had been featured average rainfall, Sacramento would have nearly met its annual average.
"January was a bad month for us," he said. "February helped a bit, but a dry January is never a good sign for our water year."#
http://www.modbee.com/2307/story/767901.html
Lack of money for rebates halts Inland distribution of water-saving toilets
Riverside Press Enterprise-7/1/09
By Laurie Lucas
Western Municipal Water District's participation in a program that this week will finish delivering 1,500 water-saving toilets at no cost to Riverside County homes, hotels and commercial buildings is in limbo because of doubt about whether Western will receive promised rebates.
In the past three months, the Mission Inn, UC Riverside and March Air Reserve Base received a total of 1,000 of the toilets, and 500 went to Corona, mostly to multifamily residences such as apartments.
One low-flow toilet will save about 2 gallons per flush or 4,800 gallons a year, according to Clay Monroe, water conservation coordinator with Riverside Public Utilities.
But the program was suspended because of the uncertainty of reimbursement from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said Tim Barr. He's the water use efficiency manager for Western, which covers 527 square miles serving 853,000 people in the Jurupa Valley, Corona, Norco, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake and Temecula.
Besides Riverside, the city of Corona also worked closely with Barr to promote the project.
Metropolitan's blanket program, "SoCal Water$mart" was designed as a conservation incentive for the 26 cities and agencies that buy its water in six counties for 19 million people. Rebates on high-efficiency toilets and other equipment had been available to residents of areas that receive MWD water, including Eastern and Western municipal water districts in Riverside County and Inland Empire Utilities Agency in western San Bernardino County.
Barr said Western drew up its own marketing campaign touting low-flow toilets.
Eastern installed 8,000 of the low-flow toilets this last fiscal year. The agency has shelved requests for another 1,500 until Metropolitan resolves its budget problems. Perris-based Eastern serves an area from Moreno Valley south to Temecula and east to Hemet and San Jacinto.
The Inland Empire Utilities Agency installed 4,256 low-flow toilets this last fiscal year. Chino-based Inland serves the cities of Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Montclair, Ontario, and Upland as well as the Cucamonga Valley and Monte Vista Water Districts and the Water Facilities Authority.
Initially, Metropolitan agreed to pitch in anywhere from $50 to $100 per toilet; Western would pick up the rest of the cost from its rate payers. But because Metropolitan didn't have the money to cover the overwhelming demand for rebates, Western could be on the hook for anywhere from $65 to $110 per toilet, Barr said. "So Metropolitan is suspending its commercial program from three to six months until after an audit and they figure out how to go forward," Barr said.
Low-flow toilets save about 2 gallons per flush, or 4,800 gallons a year, conservation experts say.
MWD's regional rebate program is $24 million in the hole. The program started with $20 million, which doubled last February. Those resources dried up in May and the board turned off the spending tap until an audit is complete. A report is expected at the next board meeting, July 14.
The San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, the regional equivalent of Metropolitan, serving 700,000 water users over 350 square miles, might offer a similar water conservation program, according to Douglass Headrick, deputy general manager. "We're watching to see how this will play out with Metropolitan," he said.
Meanwhile, Western's program is winding down this week with toilet installations concluding in the Sandra Apartments on 7th Street in Riverside, said contractor Michael Franchek.
His Encinitas-based company, Ecogreen Services, contracted with Western Municipal in April to install 1,500 toilets at $165 apiece. Since April, Franchek has placed 80 percent of the new toilets in multi-family residences and the rest in hotels and commercial buildings.
Low-flow toilets look no different from their predecessors and cost about the same, according to Franchek.
"They flow a lot less because of their intelligent design," he said.
The old fixtures use 3.5 gallons per flush while their replacements use less than 1.3 gallons per flush. Recyclers grind up the put-out-to-pasture toilets which are used as construction aggregate.
Russ Kitchen, director of the Mission Inn's property operations, said he's pleased with the 80 new low-flows, the latest in the hotel's efforts to go green.
"We're always looking for ways to conserve our natural resources," he said. Management has retrofitted its cooling center to use less energy and replaced most lighting with fluorescent bulbs.#
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_toilets02.4857e29.html
Water restrictions gain traction
Regulations would limit water usage, but councilwoman questions how they will be enforced
Glendale News Press-7/2/09
By Melanie Hicken
In response to the growing statewide water crisis, the City Council on Tuesday authorized changes to the city's water conservation ordinance — paving the way for regulations limiting outdoor watering to three times a week in August.
The new regulations take effect Aug. 1, at which point utility officials are expected to ask for and get their three-day-a-week watering restrictions to reduce usage citywide by 10%. Watering would be restricted to Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for no more than 10 minutes a day. Watering irrigation would also be banned between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Glendale Water & Power pushed for the water restrictions to help it stay within a reduced allotment that went into effect Wednesday from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies up to 70% of Glendale's water.
Glendale joins cities across the region in enacting or preparing for water restrictions. In June, the Crescenta Valley Water District, another Metropolitan client, increased its water rationing, limiting outdoor watering to only two days a week.
In order for the city's conservation efforts to produce the necessary reduction and keep the utility from incurring heavy penalties from Metropolitan, officials stress that all residents must comply with the regulations.
"We have to have 100% compliance," said Peter Kavounas, assistant general manager for water services. "I think people will respond. I think we will get there."
Overall, La Crescenta residents seem to have taken to the regulations, resulting in an almost 20% reduction in water use in the first two weeks of June compared to the period last year, said Dennis Erdman, general manager of the Crescenta Valley Water District.
"We are seeing some good cooperation from our customers on conservation," he said. "We hope it will continue as the temperatures rise."
Next week, Glendale Water & Power will begin a massive public outreach campaign — including direct mailings, public service announcements, newspaper advertisements and bill inserts — to get the word out about what residents should expect.
Erdman emphasized the need for outreach efforts, adding that some La Crescenta residents are still surprised to hear the restrictions have been increased to twice a week.
Glendale's move follows weeks of public discussion and community meetings discussing the need for the city to move beyond voluntary conservation, which has only yielded about 4% in water savings since it was enacted last summer.
Last week, the City Council coalesced around the outdoor watering restrictions as an alternative to an unpopular proposal from Glendale Water & Power earlier this year that would have billed customers at least twice the regular rate for any water used that exceeded individually assigned benchmarks, which would be calculated at 10% less than their average consumption in 2006.
"We're going to be changing our lifestyles in the way that we water," said Councilman Ara Najarian.
While the outdoor watering restrictions had more community support, officials and council members have expressed concern about its enforcement.
"I don't think its enforceable," Councilwoman Laura Friedman said at last week's council meeting. "I don't think it's going to work. People are going to be pointing fingers at each other . . . How do you actually enforce this?"
Whereas the original proposal would have been easily policed through higher rates and the billing system, the outdoor regulations will be handled by code enforcement officers who can levy fines of up to $1,000 for violations.
To cut down on the policing expense, the utility will establish a toll-free hotline, where residents can report illegal water usage.
But in response to concerns of finger-pointing, Kavounas emphasized that penalties will only be levied on infractions that are observed by city code enforcers.
He also noted that enforcement will be used only to deter flagrant repeat offenders.
John Brownell, senior supervisor for city code enforcement, said that enforcing the water ordinance will be folded into the many duties of the city's six code enforcement officers, who enforce everything from zoning laws to the city's recently enacted anti-smoking regulations.
Officials stressed that with the city reaching its hottest time of the year, now is the most important time to be conserving.
GLENDALE
Outdoor watering will be limited to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for no more than 10 minutes per station, per day.
Outdoor watering will be completely banned between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Vehicle washing must be done with a handheld bucket and a hose with a shut off nozzle.
Hotels must give option not to launder towels and linens.
Leaks must be repaired within 72 hours.
Use of water that causes overspray or runoff is prohibited.
The use of potable water to fill lakes or ponds will be prohibited.
The use of potable water to clean, fill or maintain exterior decorative fountains will be prohibited.
Any new or retrofit landscaping projects will be required to use "California- friendly landscapes" as deemed by the Metropolitan Water District.
LA CRESCENTA
Outdoor watering is limited to Tuesdays and Saturdays for no more than 10 minutes per station, per day.
Outdoor watering is banned between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Use of water that causes overspray or runoff is prohibited.
Leaks must be repaired within 48 hours.
The use of potable water to clean, fill or maintain exterior decorative fountains is prohibited.#
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2009/07/02/politics/gnp-enforcement02.txt
This summer, kids can dive into water conservation
San Diego Union-Tribune-7/2/09
By Jennifer Davies
When the weather warms up, there is nothing more enticing for kids than water … whether it be running through the sprinklers, wading in a kiddie pool or playing with the hose. - JupiterimagesWhen the weather warms up, there is nothing more enticing for kids than water – whether it be running through the sprinklers, wading in a kiddie pool or playing with the hose.
The problem is that our current water shortage is giving parents pause about indulging children's aquatic aspirations. Here are some ways to teach your kids about water conservation while still letting them have some fun:
Explain yourself: Saving water can seem like an abstract concept for many kids, says Chris Robbins, water conservation supervisor for the city of San Diego.
When he gives talks to school groups, he brings along a big jug of water. He asks the kids to pick up the 1-gallon container so they can feel how heavy it is. He asks them to think about how hard it would be to have to carry the jug a long way to help them realize that water is a precious resource and not something to be wasted.
Have a conservation challenge: Teach your children simple rules by making it a game. Give them gold stars for turning off the water while they are brushing their teeth or washing their hands.
Have your kids look for leaks around the hose and in the yard and give them a treat if they find one. Put a piece of tape in the bathtub to mark how full they can make the tub. Give them a timer if you have an older child who likes to take showers. Think of creative ways to reward conservation.
Go for a two-fer: If you break down and let your child play in the kiddie pool, try not to fill it up so high. After you're done, make sure to tip it out on your plants or grass.
If you have a watering can handy, you can dip it into the pool and water your plants inside, too. Kristen Crane, water conservation administrator of the city of Poway, sometimes has her kiddie pool double as bath time.
If your kids are going to have a water balloon fight, let the field of combat be your grass so the water isn't wasted.
Have fun: Both Robbins and Crane say kids should be able to enjoy water – within reason. Don't run the hose or the sprinkler for hours on end, as that water really does just go down the drain.
Still, Robbins points out that a child's water usage really is, well, a drop in the bucket. "Kids really don't have much of a water footprint. Half of all water gets used in exterior irrigation," he explains. And remember, the easiest way to curb water cravings is to head to the beach or a community pool.#
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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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