By Neil Farrell ~
San Luis Obispo County is reporting a 35-percent decrease in water use at its public facilities besting the Governor’s mandate of 25%, the County Public Works Department announced last week.
With lake levels falling fast and no rain in sight, despite predictions of a big El Niño weather event in the Pacific, the rain, and more importantly the snow has not fallen.
The County’s 35-percent savings is over the same time and use from 2013, the baseline set by the State, and includes facilities and grounds.
“Our response to the severity of the drought over the last two years shows that we are serious about conserving water,” said County Administrative Analyst, Lisa Howe, who leads the County Drought Task Force. “The County will keep doing its part and we encourage all citizens to continue with this culture of conservation, as this drought has no end in sight.”
The County cut water use by retrofitting 44 buildings with low-flow fixtures, saving an estimated 4,500 gallons per week, according to a County news release. They’ve also repaired leaks to minimize water loss, updated plumbing fixture standards for new, construction contracts and purchase orders and replaced water monitoring systems to regulate irrigation at County parks and other grounds.
As for the County’s reservoirs — lakes Lopez, Nacimiento, and Salinas (Santa Margarita Lake) plus Whale Rock Reservoir — while not exactly mud holes, they continue to fall.
Nacimiento Reservoir stands at 22% of capacity (81,930 acre feet); Whale Rock is at 39% (15,126 a.f.); Lopez is at 33% (16,164); and Salinas is at 13% (3,193) of capacity.
Most of the South County gets water from Lopez Lake, the City of SLO and the County take water from Salinas, and Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero, SLO and the County’s jail complex all get Nacimiento water.
SLO, Cayucos, CMC, Cuesta College, Cal Poly, and the County are all part of the Whale Rock Commission and able to tap that water. Only Cayucos is dependent on Whale Rock water, entitled to 800 acre feet a year (dating back to before the dam was built) and 600 a.f. of stored water in the reservoir, according to the County.
County Services Area 10A, which operates a treatment plant below the dam and distributes water on the south end of town, has an agreement to tap Naciemento water, which is traded out (on paper not actually) for more Whale Rock water.
And perhaps in case of a total emergency, Cayucos’ various water companies also have an old system of groundwater wells that could potentially be resurrected — in a pinch.
“Even though an El Niño is predicted for our area in the winter and spring, the drought is likely to continue,” Howe said. “The outlook is calling for the drought to persist or intensify throughout California and most of the western U.S. According to some figures, 400 to 600 percent of normal precipitation is needed to catch up to normal pre-drought conditions.”
The County tracks drought and fire conditions on a website, see: www.slocounty.ca.gov.
