In article , Charlie wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:48:25 -0700, Billy Rose
wrote:

Forestville on the Russian River. I doubt anyone here knows what a
cistern is.

Isn't there some current flap about Sonoma County Water Agency and
rationing or a mandatory reduction? Or is this simply another
journalistic flap?

Charlie

Oh, ja sure, you betcha. State water board wants a 15% reduction in the
amount of water that is pumped out of the Russian River. Boy, must be a
slow news day in the mid-west. Anyway, the water board asked nice in
June. Use rate didn't drop as much as they. Now they say they are going
to get tough, inspect meters, and rely on snitches to report waste. They
are prepared to do anything but stop development.


COUNTY TOUGHENS RULES ON WATER USE
Officials next week to reveal allocation figures for each city, water
district

By BOB NORBERG
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The Sonoma County Water Agency is unilaterally tightening the tap after
failing so far to meet a state-mandated cut in the amount of water drawn
from the Russian River.

Specific allocation figures will be established and the agency, like the
state, says water could be cut off altogether for communities that
continue to miss conservation targets.

"Until now it was a more general, 'You need 15 percent,' " said Pam
Jeane, the Water Agency's deputy director for operations. "Now we are
giving them hard targets."

Some cities already are looking at stricter measures.

Windsor will vote tonight on an ordinance that would limit lawn
irrigation, and Petaluma is considering a law requiring a water
conservation check before a home can be sold.

Jeane said the new targets and the possible loss of water are intended
to provide certainty for the cities and water districts supplied by the
agency.

"I don't see it as a threat," she said. "It gives them something
tangible to shoot for. For some of the cities, if they need to save more
than they thought, they need to implement more stringent measures."

She said it is unlikely that anyone would be cut off, citing health and
safety concerns.

Similarly, the state Water Resources Control Board warned last week it
would consider prohibiting Sonoma County from drawing any water from the
river if the conservation order isn't fulfilled.

The Water Agency was told in mid-June to cut its diversions by 15
percent from July 1 to Oct. 28 from the same period in 2004, saving the
water in Lake Mendocino for the fall salmon run.

The agency passed the conservation message to its individual water
contractors -- Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Windsor Petaluma,
Sonoma and the Valley of the Moon and North Marin water districts.
Together, the contractors serve 600,000 homes and businesses from
Windsor to Sausalito.

During the first two weeks of the mandatory cuts, however, the saving
was only 9.9 percent, short of the mandatory target, according to the
Water Agency.

"We are going to do all we can to meet the goal," Jeane said. "If we
miss the goal, it will be very bad, not for just the Water Agency, but
the customers also. We need to do it. The state board expects us to do
it, and we need to do it."

On Monday, the agency plans to tell each contractor what its allocation
will be.

That will take the guesswork out of how much water they need to save and
could trigger mandatory conservation measures, Jeane said.

"We are providing them with more certainty to what they are shooting
for," she said.

The cities and water districts already have conservation programs in
place and are poised to implement mandatory requirements.

By knowing exactly how much water they can use, they will know if
mandatory measures need to be implemented, said Krishna Kumar, general
manager of the Valley of the Moon Water District and vice chairman of
the contractors' technical advisory committee.

"We have to meet the state-mandated reduction, and this is one way to
approach it," he said.

"We advocate for that," said Glen Wright, Santa Rosa's deputy director
of water resources. "We would like to see what target we are shooting
for."

The allocations will be based on a 15 percent reduction in the 2004
level and will take into account population and per capita water use, so
cities will not be penalized for already having strong conservation
programs, Water Agency officials said.

You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or
.
--
Billy
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/