More than a month has passed since Gov. Jerry Brown ordered a mandatory 25 percent water reduction for the state’s urban areas, and Santa Marians are about to get hit with the surging wave of conservation efforts it created.
At the May 5 Santa Maria City Council meeting, councilmembers proclaimed May as Water Awareness Month. And city Water Conservation Specialist Myra Ritchie announced the winners of sixth annual water awareness school poster/slogan contest.
Soon, Santa Maria city buses will be sporting the new “Save Water For Life” slogan, written by Andrea Lemus, a third grader at Tunnell Elementary School.
As part of awareness month, Ritchie told councilmembers that residents can request water audits from the utilities department, which is also giving away free conservation kits. The kits include items such as ultra low flow showerheads, bathroom sink aerators, and a leak tablet detector.
The council’s proclamations coincide with the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) decisions on May 5 and 6 to adopt emergency water reductions. The aim is to save 1.2 million acre-feet of potable water across the state during the next nine months, according to a press release from the Control Board. One acre-foot equals 325,900 gallons.
Aside from proclamations, is Santa Maria really serious about water conservation? At least one concerned citizen questioned the city’s dedication to the cause.
During the public comments portion of the City Council meeting, Donna Olivera was the only one to stand up and speak. She said it wasn’t planned but spontaneaous. She told the Sun that she happened to wander into the council chambers only to realize a meeting was going on. Speaking in an impromptu fashion, the young woman stood before the council and said she wanted them to do more than just talk.
“The city councilmembers can do a lot more than just making a proclamation,” Olivera said.
The Sacramento Bee reported that statewide water usage is down only 9 percent since June 2014, so Olivera’s concern may be justified. After all, Gov. Brown just turned voluntary conservation efforts into mandatory ones.
Although, what Santa Marians need to conserve isn’t as much as previously thought. Originally, the SWRCB wanted the city to reduce its water use by 28 percent, but now that required reduction is set at 16 percent.
While the city’s water-saving efforts might not be in the form of mandates yet, there are signs that Santa Maria’s contributing to the overall conservation drive. City officials established a hotline in early April, enabling residents to snitch on neighbors for water-wasting offenses. The city has received several calls since then, with around 27 calls coming within the first two weeks and calls increasing by the week, according to Director of Utilities Shad Springer.
For now, the city’s relying more on the carrot than the stick. Springer said he’s not taking any enforcement action, although he could if he wants to. Springer said the city has the authority to hand out $500 fines per violation per day.
“When we get those calls on the hotline, it’s not like we immediately send code enforcement,” Springer said.
Instead, Springer sends a water conservation specialist to the alleged violator and helps them find ways to save water. If that doesn’t work, then Springer said he’ll forward the complaint to the city’s code compliance division.
To meet recently required 16 percent reduction, Springer is trying to get an agenda item to modify the city’s water contingency plan in time for the next City Council meeting on May 19. He’s waiting for more specific direction from state officials.
Residents aren’t the only thirsty ones in the city. Santa Maria itself is the city’s biggest water customer. In fiscal year 2014, the city used about 682-acre feet of state water; that amount accounts for less than 10 percent of the state water distributed by the city, according to financial disclosure records from the Central Coast Water Authority, the state water supplier for Santa Maria.
The SWRCB’s directives affect direct suppliers, such as the city of Santa Maria. The Central Coast Water Board isn’t obligated to follow suite because they are a wholesaler, according to Ray Stokes, the agency’s executive director.
Springer said the contingency plan will follow three requirements: prohibit the use of potable water to irrigate outdoor landscapes during or after 48 hours of measurable rainfall, prohibit irrigation with potable water on ornamental plants on public street medians, and prohibit irrigation with potable water outside of newly constructed homes or buildings.
Springer is trying to reconcile the future measures with regulations from the Building Standards Commission.
In the face of unprecedented state water conservation requirements, public commenter Olivera also questioned whether new residential developments will strain city water resources.
Surrounding the portion of town she lives in, land that was once farmland is now being developed into new homes, she told the City Council.
“I wanted to bring up the issue of how can you negotiate the gray area between land development … and then [try] to address and proclaim conservation of our resources when we already have a shortage in the city and yet we’re developing more land and bringing more people here,” Olivera said.
Santa Maria Director of Community Development Larry Appel said the city wouldn’t be approving projects if it didn’t already have the water resources. Besides purchasing water from the Central Coast Water Authority, the city also relies on the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin for water.
“If a person would study more, they would find that we have a huge groundwater basin that extends up to the Five Cities area,” Appel said, noting that the drought isn’t affecting city development, yet.
Appel listed seven active developments in the city: 296 single family homes at Heritage, 268 units at Hancock Terrace Apartments, 211 units at Siena Apartments, 169 single family homes at Harvest Glen, 125 town homes for the Refugio development, 120 single family homes at Legacy at La Ventana, and 21 single family homes at Parkland Cottages.
Appel said all the projects will be served with municipal water from the city.
With no conceivable future plans to annex land beyond current city limits, Appel said the city could still accommodate for more developments. Theoretically, according to Appel, the city can grow to 122,768 people.
Contact Staff Writer David Minsky at dminsky@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 14-21, 2015.