Drought at its end in San Mateo County

Tom Francis, water resources manager for the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency, said the agency will continue to encourage its customers to use water wisely.

“Just because we are out of this drought doesn’t mean we won’t run into another one in the future and because of that we are going to continue to develop our conservation program so our customers will be better prepared for the next drought,” Francis said.

BAWSCA represents 26 agencies in the Bay Area that purchases its water supply from the SFPUC. It was formed through legislation authored by Assemblymembers Lou Papan and Joe Simitian and enacted by the California Legislature in 2002, according to BAWSCA’s website.

“We [BAWSCA] are sort of like an oversight committee that keeps SFPUC accountable. Ensuring the water supplier is maintaining infrastructure maintenance and Bay Area residents are receiving quality water,” said Francis who added BAWSCA’s mission is to provide a reliable supply of high quality water at a reasonable price.

But BAWSCA is more than an oversight agency. In its effort to nudge the community to save water, Francis said BAWSCA creates hands-on educational and rebate programs.

During the 2015 drought, Former Gov. Jerry Brown said he wanted to make water conservation a California way of life, and Francis said BAWSCA’s mission really ties into that. Francis is most proud of the Bay Area residents who held up their end of the bargain conserving water over the past year and a half.

“You all are contributing to the solution, as opposed to the problem,” Francis said

The water year runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 and officials use that timeline to record how much rain falls in a year. This year, the Bay Area is already ranked the fifth wettest rain year on record, since 1906, if it doesn’t rain again. By early April, Redwood City usually accumulates around 17.75 inches of rain. This year, it accumulated more than 30 inches of rain, 189% more than normal for the rain season, National Weather Service Meteorologist Sarah McCorkle said previously.

Those numbers have helped fill the local reservoirs. Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir is 79% filled and has scheduled releases to ensure it doesn’t overflow. The San Andreas Reservoir is 87% full, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

“Recent storms have made this year one of the wettest on record, and snowpack has reached historic levels,” SFPUC General Manager Dennis Herrera said in a press release. “This follows three of the driest years in recorded history.”

Even though the drought is over, customers are still being asked to reduce water use, 5% for San Francisco customers and 11% statewide, which is part of the State Water Resources Control Board’s level two drought response, according to the SFPUC press release.

“The State Water Board sort of runs the show,” Francis said.

On average, San Francisco residents use 42 gallons of water per day at home. Comparatively, the rest of the state averages 90 gallons of water per person a day. Still, the city will continue to have water use restrictions.

Some examples are watering with a hose within 48 hours of rainfall. Francis said it is unnecessary to do that, also grass lawns take up a lot of water and he encourages residents to instead plant drought tolerant plants. Another example of wasting water is serving drinking water at restaurants by default, instead the water board is nudging restaurant establishments to wait to serve water only upon request. Using potable water to wash hardscapes for anything, unless it’s for health or safety reasons, is another example of wasting water. And large institutions and businesses are required to not water ornamental lawns, according to the SFPUC website.

And while the state’s water board has lists of things not to do, BAWSCA’s website offers a number of alternatives to conserve and limit water use, such as rain barrels, landscape classes and lawn alternatives. Go to bawsca.org to learn more.

nick@smdailyjournal.com

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