Mandatory water restrictions are now in effect for Fremont, Newark and Union City, following the Alameda County Water District’s declaration of a water shortage emergency.
Facing a third consecutive upcoming dry year in the state, the district’s board on Thursday unanimously voted to declare the emergency and adopt new water use restrictions, aimed at reducing water usage in the Tri-City area by 15%.
Water reduction targets will not be imposed on individual customer accounts, but instead the district is prohibiting any wasteful water use districtwide.
Effective immediately, customers in the district may only water lawns and other landscaping once every other week, through February, though not when it is raining. More watering days would likely be allowed in warmer months, the district said.
Public parks and sports or recreation fields will be allowed one extra day of watering per week.
Watering excessively that leads to runoff or pooling is also a violation of the water restriction rules.
“With record low rainfall and dismal long-range forecasts, we need customers to conserve,” John Weed, the district board’s president, said in a statement issued Friday.
“Reduced strain on our water supply will help us meet our customers’ needs, and we ask customers to save where they can,” he said.
Pools also cannot be drained and then refilled, decorative water fountains must be shut off and hoses need to have a shutoff nozzle attached when in use. Hosing off sidewalks or driveways is prohibited.
Leaks or breaks in plumbing need to be fixed within 72 hours, the district said.
The district’s statement said the focus of the ordinance is to help alert customers to the need for water conservation. Customers who violate the rules repeatedly could have their water shut off or restricted, though only if the violations are not corrected following mailed notices, calls and visits from district staff.
Though California saw several rainy days and storms in October and some rain in November, and the Bay Area is expected to get a drenching beginning this weekend, it won’t be enough to make up for two mostly dry years in a row, with 80% of the state currently in “extreme drought,” according to U.S. Drought Monitor.
In July, Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a statewide 15% water use reduction, but Alameda County Water District reports say locally, customers have not consistently hit the 15% target.
The district saw reductions of 6%, 8%, 5%, and 15% in comparison with 2020 water use in July, August, September and October, respectively. And while conservation is lagging, water supply from local sources and water the district buys are also drying up.
The district, which provides water to about 360,000 people, gets 40% of its supply from the State Water Project, a massive network of dams, pipes and canals that supplies water to 27 million people across much of the state.
On Dec. 1, the state’s Department of Water Resources announced the State Water Project would be providing virtually no water to all the districts, cities and farms it typically sends water to, because of the drought conditions.
Another 20% of the district’s water comes from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission regional water system, which in late November also declared a water shortage emergency, and asked for a voluntary 10% reduction in water use, which could also affect supplies.
Rainfall and runoff from the Alameda Creek Watershed account for the remaining 40% of Alameda County Water District supply, but the district has seen only 46% of normal rainfall in the current water year, and 58% in the prior year.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has “forecast increased probabilities for a third dry year,” district staff reports said.
“This drought is serious. However, together with our customers’ commitment to water conservation and ACWD’s management of water resources and water supply planning, we can mitigate the severity of the drought’s impact on the Tri-City area,” Ed Stevenson, district general manager, said in a statement.
“Many customers are already efficient, leaving little room to conserve. Still, some can dial back irrigation and make other changes that help them tighten up non-essential use,” Stevenson said.
The district is not alone in requiring cutbacks. The San Jose Water Company last month began imposing stringent water budgets on their customers. Most residential customers are being required to cut water use 15% from their 2019 levels, or face surcharges of a little more than $7 for each unit of water, or 748 gallons, above that amount.
East Bay Municipal Utility District, meanwhile, has not yet called for any mandatory cutbacks for its 1.4 million customers, instead relying on voluntary 10% reductions in water use requested earlier this year.
The Zone 7 Water Agency, a water wholesaler which supplies Dublin, Livermore, and Pleasanton, declared a water shortage emergency in September, mandating a 15% reduction in water across its service area. Roughly 70% of Zone 7’s supply comes from the State Water Project.
Staff writer Paul Rogers contributed to this report.
Source: www.mercurynews.com