April Update

Dear Member:

It’s here, the first signs of summer with several days in the 90’s last week. Our gardens are growing and our lawns are beginning to green.
It’s best to water between 10:00PM to 6:00AM to reduce loss of moisture due to evaporation. It’s difficult to see if your sprinklers are working correctly during this time period, because most of us are not yet awake. It’s also a good idea to operate your sprinkler systems in a test cycle to see if sprinklers are working and aimed properly. Watering the street does nothing for your lawn and flower beds and wastes precious water.


Please do not irrigate during peak hours. Much of the water used during this time evaporates rather than irrigating your plants. PG&E summer electrical peak time rates (1:00PM to 7:00PM) began May 1 and run to October 31. These rates are nearly four times the cost of off-peak rates. The cost of pumping increases during peak periods contributes to higher water rates.

Although the cities of Fresno and Clovis have reduced watering days, BWC is still on a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule until further notice.



Thank you for your support,
Board of Directors

California’s Farm-Water Scapegoat

Wall Street Journal 

Bay Area greens have been starving agriculture for years.

Perhaps the only issue on which Bay Area liberals and conservatives down California’s coastline agree is that farmers use too much water and should be rationed. The fortunate in Silicon Valley and Marin County need a tutorial in Golden State water allocation.

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Water for Farms – a briefing by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC)

CDFA, Office of Public Affairs

California’s farms face growing water management challenges

California is an agricultural powerhouse—the nation’s largest farm state and a world market leader, with 2012 sales of $48 billion (Note – the California Agricultural Statistics Service reports $46.4 billion in farm receipts in 2013). California’s dry summers make irrigation essential.

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California Drought Tests History of Endless Growth

New York Times

LOS ANGELES — For more than a century, California has been the state where people flocked for a better life — 164,000 square miles of mountains, farmland and coastline, shimmering with ambition and dreams, money and beauty. It was the cutting-edge symbol of possibility: Hollywood, Silicon Valley, aerospace, agriculture and vineyards.

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5 Things California Can Do To Survive A Megadrought

FastCompany

You think a few years of no water is bad? Try a few decades.

It's year four of the California drought. A few remote communities have already run out of water. The governor just announced aggressive water restrictions. But what will happen to the state if the drought doesn't end?

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Governor Brown Directs First Ever Statewide Mandatory Water Reductions

Office of the Governor

SACRAMENTO - Following the lowest snowpack ever recorded and with no end to the drought in sight, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced actions that will save water, increase enforcement to prevent wasteful water use, streamline the state's drought response and invest in new technologies that will make California more drought resilient.

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March Update

Dear Member:

Thank you to all who attended the annual membership meeting held at the Country Club on March 18, 2015. It was again another nice turnout. Your board of directors appreciates your participation. We are all in this drought together and we need to continue to work together. Minutes of the meeting can be seen by clicking here.

On April 1, 2015, Governor Brown directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions in cities and towns across California to reduce water usage by 25 percent. This savings amounts to approximately 1.5 million acre-feet of water over the next nine months, or nearly as much as is currently in Lake Oroville. Click here for more water news.

Belmont Water Corporation is on track to meet the mandatory reductions with a March year to date savings of 23%. Click here to see the chart of savings.

I received several comments on the Belmont Country Club’s (BCC) use of water this past week. BCC aerated the greens this last Monday and Tuesday and more water than usual is needed to encourage growth and recovery. In addition, the BCC wells are beginning to pump more sand into the irrigation system. The flooding on the ninth fairway was caused by back flushing the irrigation lines to clear the sand. This is not an ongoing occurrence, but may become more frequent if the water table drops.

There has been considerable discussion about the drought situation and its effect on the course by BCC staff and board. An expert has been engaged to determine what can be done with the outdated water delivery system along with a potential redesign of waste and boundary areas for water conservation. BCC also needs to balance the needs of the golfers to maintain a playable golf course. I believe most of us also moved to this area to be near a golf course and a nice well maintained course increases the value of our homes. The above photo of the old Palm Lakes Municipal Course describes pictorially what BCC could look like if not maintained.

The 2015-16 water assessments are due on April 15, 2015. Please send your payment at your earliest convenience.

The summer PG&E electrical rates begin May 1 which substantially increases the cost of pumping during day time hours.

Thank you for your continued support.

Board of Directors