EBMUD Adapts Drought Management Program

You might want to cut down on the time you spend in the shower, and turn off the faucet when your brushing your teeth. Water is our most precious resource, and I've talked about in previous blogs, clean water supplies are more scarce then most of us would like to believe.

In the Bay Area, a lack of rain over the last year has caused water reservoirs to dwindle to just two-thirds of normal levels. East Bay Municipal Utility District, the primary supplier of water in Alameda and Contra Costa County, is taking these numbers very seriously, with a water rationing program in full effect. To achieve a 15% reduction in water use, EBMUD is calling for single family residents to cut back use by 19%, multi family units, 11%; irrigators--like golf courses--30%; commercial, 12%; institutional, 9%; and industrial 5%. In addition, EBMUD's drought program prohibits any activity that unnecessarily uses an excessive amount of water-- like washing sidewalks with a water hose, or washing your car with a hose that doesn't contain a shutoff nozzle.

Those who fail to meet the water rationing guidelines will face fines, and excessive violators will face having their water services shut off.

If you live in another part of California, don't think that the water crisis doesn't apply to you. The state of California is on the verge of a drought, after two parched years, and the driest Spring in over a century. The water district in Orange County enacted a water rationing programs last year. Other California counties are expected to follow suit by this summer.