Water wasters exposed to heat

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES 

Pssst. Ready to water that beautiful lush lawn of yours? The one that’s the envy of the entire neighborhood.

If you live in Southern California, you’d better wait until after midnight. Preferably on a cloudy, new-moon night during a power outage when it’s so dark even night-vision goggles won’t give away your position. Otherwise, you could wind up the star of the latest drought-shaming video posted on YouTube or Twitter.

“Yeah, I put your address out there. The world is watching a lot more,” says Tony Corcoran, one of several people who spend their spare time these days canvassing the tony communities of Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and elsewhere, looking for people wasting water during the worst California drought in recent memory.

Corcoran alone estimates he’s put up on You-Tube more than 100 videos of water-wasters, complete with their addresses.

Others tweet out addresses and photos of water scofflaws, using hashtags such as #DroughtShaming. Still others are snapping smart-phone photos of them and sending them directly to authorities.

Not everyone is happy about it.

One woman, quickly tiring of Corcoran’s lecture on conservation while she watered her plants, turned her hose on him.

In Beverly Hills, where he was showing a reporter and photographer water running down the street in front of a mansion, the angry resident called police. Two patrol cars quickly responded, but the officers took no action.

In Hollywood, Sam Bakman, who manages a condominium complex, said his building was recently shamed wrongly by somebody on Twitter over a broken sprinkler head that was quickly repaired. He showed a reporter the city-issued restrictions on watering and pointed out his sprinkler timers fall well within the guidelines.

“If they thought we were doing something wrong, why not come knock on my door?” he asked.

Corcoran, a restaurant group administrator who kept his New York attitude when he came to laid-back Los Angeles awhile ago, is unrepentant.

“The whole point is to get people to change, not to shame,” he said.

Dan Estes, a Los Angeles real estate broker, has gone so far as to build his own free app, DroughtShame, that records the time and place where people see waste.

Unlike some shamers, he doesn’t believe in getting in people’s faces or outing them. Instead, people who use his app send the information and a photograph to him, and he forwards it to the appropriate water agency.

“I drought shamed the preschool next to my apartment,” Estes said. “Timer was off on their sprinklers. Those things were on for five hours, and the sidewalk was a river.”

Twenty minutes after he reported it, the sprinklers were off.

Fresno water use dives

Fresno Bee

Fresno water customers used 3.3 billion gallons less water in May compared to the same month in 2014, a drop-off of 24.8%, according to the city Department of Public Utilities.

The reduction helps Fresno in the effort to meet a state-ordered 28% cutback between 2013 and the beginning of 2016.

The big water savings probably was influenced by stepped-up water conservation restrictions that began in August. The city began allowing only two days of watering per week, instead of three.

Officials say the city has been on a downward trend for water use over the last seven years. The effort has picked up speed in the last few years as the four-year drought has taken hold.

“Water use for May is down 33.2% when you compare it to May 2013,” city spokesman Mark Standriff said. “That surpasses the overall 28% goal mandated for Fresno.”

Water Savings Tips

Fresno Bee

Here in dry, dusty California, dealing with the worst drought in state history has become the “new normal.” In my home, we’ve cut back on showers and watering the lawn.

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Sacramento region cut water use by 23 percent in April, report shows

Sacramento Bee

Sacramento-area residents cut their water use by 23 percent in April as compared to 2013, a better performance than any other month this year but still short of state-mandated conservation targets that take effect this month, the Regional Water Authority reported today.

Read more...

May Update

Dear Member:

A comfortable May is now behind us with a bit of rain and high temperatures which averaged about 6 degrees cooler than last year.  We know hot weather is just around the corner and the dreaded 100+ degree days will be here soon.

Our water usage so far this year is down 16% from last year.  Governor Brown's target of an 28% reduction from 2013 is difficult to reach.  We are 8% over the target year to date while May's usage was 8% better than the target.  We are making very good progress.  It is getting warmer and our lawns will be asking for more water, but 60 minutes (20 minutes, 3 times) per week is more than enough to keep our lawns reasonably green.  We will be invstigating and sharing water usage tips on the Belmont Water blog which will feed directly into the BWC website.

In the middle of May, Kelly and Mike checked the well depth again.  The water depth dropped 2 feet to 74 feet from February to May, but was the same depth as last October.

We plan on checking and reporting the water level every quarter.

The board has scheduled June 27 for a main shut off valve search.  Our goal is to locate every property owner's incoming water valve.  Not only will it aid the board in planning for the future, you may need to find your valve to shut off water at the street to make repairs to your water lines.  Ernie Valdovinos purchased a valve wrench which he has donated to BWC.  It is now kept in the well compound and is available to anyone in need. Contact any of your board members for access.  Board member contact information can be found on the contact page of BWC website.

Speaking of the BWC web site.  It has been completely redesigned from top to bottom and is located on its own site, not on WIX.  It now also works on IPads and iPhones.  Check it out.  Let us know how you like it by sending your comments via the contact page.

There were complaints made a couple of months ago about the country club watering often while BWC members are asked to save water.  Belmont Country Club is working on managing the golf course with reduced water usage.  The incident that sparked the complaint was grounds crew testing lines and removing accumulated sand in those lines which deceases the efficiency of the watering.  They have adopted a drought contingency plan, turned water off in certain areas, hired an expert to assist in planning, and have contacted the City of Fresno to solicit access to gray water.  As a business, they are doing their part to save as much water as possible while maintaining a playable golf course.

We have new neighbors again, Jessica and Ryan Montag are moving into their, new to them, home on the 7th fairway. David and Maryann Callahan will be moving into their completely remodeled home also located on the 7th fairway in June.  Welcome to the neighborhood.

As we welcome new neighbors, we mourn the passing of others as Katherine Mobley lost her mother last month.  Our thoughts are with you.

Thank you for your continued support,
Board of Directors

How to cut your water use in half

Click here for video

Consumer Reports

As the saying goes, you can’t squeeze water from a stone. But that’s what California residents have been trying to do as the state’s drought stretches into its fourth year. With hot weather approaching and water scarce in many parts of the country, there are lots of water-saving ideas floating around, but frankly, we admit that some of them seem downright silly.

Picking up an ice cube that’s fallen on the floor and putting it on a plant won’t provide much moisture. Throwing your dog’s leftover water on the garden won’t help much, either, unless you have a really big dog. And you could give all your kids a bath at the same time, but they might object.

California isn’t the only place facing a dry spell. Water managers in 40 states say that even if water conditions remain normal, they expect shortages in some part of their state over the next decade. That’s according to WaterSense, the water conservation partner of the Environmental Protection Agency. That means we all could benefit from California’s efforts to get “more pop per drop,” as a state water authority put it.
The two best ways to save water are by replacing water-wasting appliances and fixtures, and changing your lifestyle and habits. Neither is easy. The first requires an up-front expense and the second a long-term commitment. But do both and you can cut your usage in half or better. That’s good for the earth and your budget.
Outdoor watering accounts for almost 30 percent of water use, according to an analysis published by Environment Magazine. But toilets (19 percent), washing machines (15 percent), showers (12 percent), and faucets (11 percent) also use substantial amounts. Then there’s the 10 percent of water lost to leaks that are not always easy to detect.
In addition to plugging leaks, five of the most effective ways to save water indoors, says Environment Magazine, are to install low-flow toilets, use a high-efficiency washer, reduce shower time to five minutes, wash only full loads of laundry, and reduce toilet flushes by 25 percent. Buying a more efficient dishwasher and installing low-flow showerheads also help.
Despite good intentions, switching appliances and fixtures can sometimes have unintended consequences. Folks who install a low-flow shower may take longer showers, and those with low-flow toilets may flush more often thinking that they aren’t getting the oomph they once did. That’s where Consumer Reports can help. In our tests of those and other products, we measure not only efficiency but performance. For example, nine low-flow toilets made our list of top toilet picks because all were very good to excellent at removing solid waste.
Water-saving bathroom and kitchen fixtures that meet federal WaterSense standards carry that label, and appliances that meet federal water and energy standards earn the blue Energy Star. Both agencies encourage their partners to reward energy and water-saving behavior with rebates, as do many utilities.
Following are some meaningful ways to save water around the house and yard as well as top-performing water misers from our tests of washing machines, dishwashers, toilets, and showerheads.

Water Wisdom – from the Growing California video series

CDFA Office of Public Affairs

The latest segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Water Wisdom,” a profile of Central California farmer Don Cameron and his innovative water management to lessen the pain of the drought.