A Penny for 10 Gallons of Water: “Most Significant Drought in History“; Cal Water Now Using Tiered Rates; Average Water Rate $.80 Per 748 Gallons (ChicoER)

Feb.09, 2009 in Drought

(Feb. 8, 2009, ChicoER)

California is experiencing “the most significant water crisis in history,” according to the state Department of Water Resources.In the Central Valley, farmers are choosing to plant fewer crops this year. Some orchardists are making tough decisions about whether to allow their trees to go without water.

Residents in areas such as the Bay Area and the coast are already being asked, or told, to cut back. More is expected if rain does not appear.

In Butte and Glenn counties, water officials are watching groundwater levels carefully, noting some areas where wells are reaching levels seen in dry years of the early 1990s.

Yet, so far it’s still OK to water your lawn.

“Even though we’re not in a crisis situation like other parts of the state, we still need to conserve,” said Mike Pembroke, manager of California Water Service of Chico.

If you look at your water bill closely, you’ll see that Cal Water is now using a tiered rate — charging more per water unit as the water usage increases.

“What we’re really asking people to do is to use the water they need, but encouraging them to monitor their waste,” Pembroke said.

In the next couple of weeks, Pembroke said he’ll be meeting with county water officials, city managers, school districts, park and recreation departments and Chico State University, asking them to watch their water.

Pembroke said companies such as Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Hignell and Hignell Property Management have asked for a water audit and a presentation on what employees can do in their personal lives to save water.

It is hoped that more companies will also step forward.

Pembroke said Cal Water recently did audits of six sites in Chico, mostly parks. These measure monthly water use and look at modifications that can be made.

“I feel really good about what we’re doing. Water conservation is a hard sell. Water is relatively inexpensive. The medium rate is 80 cents a unit (for 748 gallons). That’s inexpensive water.

“We have to change the mindset of people and get them to want to do the right thing for the long-term future. There might not be a crisis today, but the question is what will this look like in 20-40 years.

“I would just as soon we do the right thing now,” he said.

Cal Water is shifting all residential customers to metered rates. Of the 28,000 customers in Chico, about 10,000 still have flat rates. Each month a crew is switching more than 100 customers to metered rates.

Butte County residents are at the top of water use in the state, with an average of 280 gallons per person a day. In Southern California, where most homes have low-flow toilets and water conservation is becoming the norm, water use is below 200 gallons a day.

So should we be watering our lawns?

“Yes and no,” Pembroke said.

People with landscapes tend to “set an automatic clock and walk away from it.”

Especially now, auto-timers should be re-evaluated and watering done only when most needed, he said.

Also, people still have bad habits such as allowing water to run into the gutter and running the tap while they brush their teeth.

He urged people to take advantage of plumbing retrofits and rebates “so they don’t have to think about conservation.”

Cal Water has rebates for toilets and washing machines listed at www.calwater.com/conservation/rebates.php.

Cal Water customers can go online to request free water-saving devices such as shower heads, faucet aerators, hose nozzles and leak detection tablets.

The district also has information about drought-tolerant plants.

“I’m not anti-lawn. But at some point in the future we will have to think differently about things like that,” he said.

“There are communities throughout the country that have already made those changes, because they had to. Wouldn’t it be nice if we changed the paradigm before we are in a situation where we are forced to?” Pembroke commented.

Paul Gosselin, manager of the county Department of Water and Resource Conservation, said that while Northern California is better off than the rest of the state, “it isn’t the same as it was.”

All Cal Water is groundwater. In addition to conserving water as a resource, it costs money to bring water to the surface.

Water wasted by residential users could affect farmers who depend on the same groundwater for their livelihood, Gosselin said.

“We can keep our way of life, the things that make Butte County a great place to live, by being just a little more efficient,” he said.

Staff writer Heather Hacking can be reached at 896-7758 or hhacking@chicoer.com.

(Original Article Here)