Efforts to save water paying off

Drop by drop, gallon by gallon, the conservation efforts of consumers in Sonoma and Marin counties are leading to ever-decreasing use of Russian River water.

As of Tuesday, the Sonoma County Water Agency said it had achieved a 16.6 percent reduction in the amount of water siphoned from the river, exceeding the state-mandated 15 percent level.

The agency delivers water to 600,000 residential and business customers in Sonoma and Marin counties.

"We continue to save water. Those are good numbers," said Water Agency spokesman Brad Sherwood.

He cautioned that the order to reduce Russian River diversions applies through Oct. 28 and conservation efforts need to be sustained.

"We haven't had an enormously bad heat wave, which drives up demand," he said. "Weather plays an enormous factor."

But Sherwood said the message has gotten out and people are genuinely concerned about saving water.

They also don't want to be singled out as water wasters and reported by their neighbors.

"The water cops have people concerned. They don't want to be tagged or embarrassed," Sherwood said.

Officials credit most of the reduction in Russian River diversions to conservation efforts, but some of the cities and districts that contract with the Water Agency also have switched to their own wells or local reservoirs.

The Water Agency is under state order to reduce diversions from the Russian River by 15 percent from July 1 through Oct. 28, compared to the same period in 2004.

The mandate is intended to save enough water for the fall salmon run. By reducing diversions from the Russian River, officials hope to retain more water in Lake Mendocino near Ukiah.

Santa Rosa, Windsor, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Petaluma, Sonoma and two Marin water districts -- all of which obtain water from the Water Agency -- have called for conservation measures by residents and businesses.

A relatively dry past winter is one reason Lake Mendocino is lower, but it's also because diversions of water from the Eel River have been cut back to preserve fish habitat in that watershed.

Officials call the situation a "regulatory drought." There's plenty of water in Lake Sonoma, but releases are also restricted there to prevent disruption of migrating endangered fish in Dry Creek.

The figures released Tuesday show the Water Agency pumped 5,713 acre-feet of water from the Russian River for the first 30 days of July, a 16.6 percent reduction from the 6,852 acre-feet pumped during the same period in 2004. An acre-foot is approximately 326,000 gallons.

Cities have also turned to other sources for water.

Glen Wright, Santa Rosa's deputy director of water resources, said the city activated two of its wells off Farmers Lane, which produce about 2 million gallons a day. Historically, he said, the city's total use in the summer is about 32 million to 34 million gallons a day.

Wright estimated that roughly two-thirds of the reduction in Santa Rosa this past month can be attributed to conservation and one-third to switching to its own wells.

But Wright, like other water officials, said conservation efforts have caught on with the general public.

He said the city's water conservation unit has beefed up its staff to handle more than 20 calls per hour that come in to the hot line at 543-3985.

Residents and businesses can call to ask for a water audit to improve their own water habits or report instances of excess or improper outdoor water use.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat .com.