Tipping off excess use

The water flowing across Farmers Lane in Santa Rosa from a restaurant overwatering its lawn irked Kevin Howe, who is letting his lawn go toward shades of brown.

"They water the grass so much there, in the strip in the parking lot, the water comes across the road. It is like a lake; it is totally out of control," said Howe, a Santa Rosa resident.

So Howe became one of the dozens of Sonoma County residents who each day are tipping off cities and water districts to water waste.

"We are up to 30 calls a day," said Dan Muelrath, Santa Rosa's water conservation director. "They are calling in everything from commercial sites to homes. A lot is just excess water use, watering too long or not watering at the appropriate time."

Howe wouldn't identify the restaurant but said the city had been in contact and believed the problem was being solved.

Reports from the public are an important part of the Sonoma County Water Agency's program to cut the amount of water it takes from the Russian River.

"It is one of our top 10 conservation tips, to report water waste," Brad Sherwood, a Water Agency spokesman, said Wednesday. "When you have the city of Santa Rosa, which has staff that will go out and investigate, it helps tremendously."

The Water Agency, the cities and water districts have set up hot lines for anonymous tips, and the Water Agency also is planning to put a tip form on its Web site, Sherwood said.

"It puts people on notice that everyone is paying attention, it is a community effort, so water wisely," Sherwood said, who called the tip program "very helpful, very helpful."

The Water Agency has been ordered by the state Water Resources Control Board to reduce the amount of water it takes from the Russian River by 15 percent from July 1 to Oct. 28, compared with the same period of 2004.

The savings will be pooled in Lake Mendocino for release in the fall for the chinook salmon run.

In response to the state order, the Water Agency has called for conservation efforts by its major water buyers, which include the cities of Windsor, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Cotati and Sonoma and the Valley of the Moon and North Marin water districts.

In the first two weeks of the mandatory program, however, the savings have only amounted to 9.9 percent.

Outdoor watering is one of the primary areas for conservation.

"That is where a lot of the inefficiencies lay," Muelrath said. "Irrigation systems and outdoor water systems is where we can get the additional savings."

Muelrath said city workers try to follow up on tips and investigate as soon as possible to get the owner to fix the problem.

Windsor officials said tips are followed up by the public works department, but the program only got under way last week.

"It is very helpful for us; we don't always see what happens next door to you," said Cheryl Godwin, a Windsor senior analyst. "It is helpful to know where the problems are to educate people. It really will take us all working together to get the savings we need and reduce waste."

For the tipsters themselves, like Howe, who have front-loading washers and are cutting the amount of water they are using on their lawns, there is a matter of fairness.

"It irritated me," Howe said. "We are all trying to save water, and they are not paying attention at all."

You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or bob.norberg@pressdemocrat.com.