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Sonoma County Gazette, November, 2014: The Drought

Urban Conservation Report Card:
20% goal not met….

Who’s paying attention?
Most people served by public water systems are accustomed to turning on the tap and water flows out. Busy urban dwellers seldom ponder where their water is coming from, how it gets to their taps, or whether reservoir supplies are adequate. City planners generally rely on ‘paper water’ for new development, i.e., estimated projections of how much future water is expected to be available.

What motivates people to pay attention to water use? How much attention has been paid to media publicity repeatedly announcing we are in a drought? Do people notice the pictures of depleted reservoirs? The new heroes are those who look at their dying lawns with pride! In this time of dire shortage, the difference between green and brown has become the symbol of who cares and who doesn’t.

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Sonoma County Gazette, October 2014: Septic Upgrades

New sewer regulations on the way…..The North Coast Regional Board is gearing up to develop new septic regulations to satisfy requirements of AB 885, a controversial regulation in the making for over ten years and finally approved a few years ago. AB 885’s intent is to clean up waterways allegedly polluted by failing septics, and its implementation in our area relies on their assessment of bacterial problems in the lower Russian River, a process to be completed within two years.

Russian River Watershed Protection Committee supports requirements that provide assurance of environmental protections that address health concerns and beneficial uses, yet appropriately distributes responsibility for identified problems.

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RRWPC Comments to Regional Board, 8/14/14

Public Forum Comments By Brenda Adelman, RRWPC Regional Board Chair, Members, and staff: Starting in early July, I began travelling to Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park on numerous occasions to take photographs very early in the morning of ...
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August 2014 Newsletter: The Drought Continues

Drought worsens…..Our May mailer reported that El Nino conditions were expected for the coming winter, including forecasts of extensive rain, but this prediction has since been changed to one that is much more uncertain.   Forecasts are decidedly unclear now about what rain can be expected this winter.

In the last twelve months, Santa Rosa saw less than 18” of rain, when normal is 32”. In the last two years, Santa Rosa received a little over 40” of rain, when normal would be 64”. (Data not available for all of Sonoma County.)

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Sonoma County Gazette, August, 2014: The Drought

For California, the drought is worse than serious…..
“There’s a drought on, turn the water off!”. This phrase appears everywhere lately. While summer is here, abundant water is not, and living with severely reduced supplies may become the new normal for 2015. The U.S. Drought Monitor designates the whole of California to be severely dry now and there is dire need to stretch our limited supplies as far as we can.

 

In our watershed, Lake Mendocino is the greatest concern with its water supply pool currently about 38% of capacity (compared to mid-July average of 67.3% for period 1959-2013). Lake Sonoma, which supplies urban water users and the lower river, is in better shape at around 68% (compared to mid-July average of 93.9% for period 1992-2013 ).

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Sonoma County Gazette, June 2014: Drought in the News

With the specter of global warming and unusual weather patterns, we now live in a new water reality that should persuade all citizens to regularly and stringently conserve water on a permanent basis.

Drought in the News….

On April 25th, the Governor issued his second Executive Order to redouble State drought actions.  The Order consisted of 20 actions requiring immediate implementation. He states: “The driest months are still to come in California and extreme drought conditions will get worse.  This Order cuts red tape to help get water to farmers more quickly, ensure communities have safe drinking water, protect vulnerable species and prepare for an extreme fire season.”

On May 15th, the US Drought Monitor for California declared that 100% of California is now in highest stages of drought.  There are five stages all together and our area is in the fourth stage.   About 70% of California is in the 4th and 5th stages.  The area in the highest stage goes from San Francisco to Los Angeles and from the Coast to the Sierra Mountains.  Seven major fires have broken out in the last few weeks in Southern California.  It’s a time to be very cautious.

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