City tops water saving target

The latest data from California water regulators shows Petaluma exceeding a statewide mandate to reduce water use amid the ongoing drought, an achievement that the city’s public works officials are crediting to the willing cooperation of residents and businesses.

Petaluma has reduced its June water use by 27 percent compared to the same month in 2013 - the benchmark date set by Gov. Jerry Brown and the State Water Resources Control Board. Urban water suppliers throughout the state are required to reduce water use by at least 25 percent, and the average savings in California that month were 27.3 percent.

In a city that had already achieved significant water use reductions on a voluntary basis amid the ongoing California drought, local officials said it hasn’t taken much enforcement to surpass the statewide goal. And with the rising popularity of incentive programs like turf replacement and the continued expansion of the city’s recycled water irrigation system, much of those savings stand to outlast the current drought, those officials said.

“Number one, we want to emphasize the incredible cooperation and participation of Petaluma residents and businesses,” said Dan St. John, the city’s director of public works.

Suppliers in California who failed to meet the 25 percent reduction goal could ultimately come to face steep fines. Petaluma had something of a head start last year, only needing to reduce water use by another 16 percent. Even with June being the hottest on record in California, the city still surpassed that goal.

“People are really stepping up,” said Leah Walker, environmental services manager with the City of Petaluma.

Among the most effective measures in reducing water use throughout the city have been those related to outdoor irrigation, she said. Rules went into effect last month limiting watering to Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings, with irrigation prohibited within 48 hours of rainfall.

The city has been monitoring high-volume users and conducting “dawn patrols” to see if irrigation is occurring outside of permitted windows. Most residents have been compliant. Of those who are irrigating on prohibited days, many simply don’t know how to adjust their automated sprinkler system, St. John said.

“Our enforcement has been about education,” St. John said. “People want to do the right thing.”

Because the order does not apply to non-drinkable water, irrigation using the city’s “purple pipe” network - which uses highly treated wastewater from the Ellis Creek treatment plant - has been allowed to continue unaffected. The system provides irrigation water to several large east side properties, and added Casa Grande High School and the entirety of Rooster Run Golf Course this year. Arroyo Park and a landscape area in the Fox Hollow neighborhood will also be added in 2015, St. John said.

“The fact that we really cranked that up over the last three years has really helped us work through these mandates this summer,” he said.

Some have eliminated the need to water their landscaping altogether. More than 200 properties have taken part in the city’s turf replacement program, Mulch Madness, with two months to go in the current fiscal year. There were 175 properties that took part last year, Walker said.

Her department is in the middle of a study to determine the average amount of savings each participant has achieved on their water bill, but early estimates show savings of around 20 percent, she said.

“This is where we get our most dramatic, long-term savings,” Walker said.

While the process involves removing and replacing an otherwise water-thirsty lawn, those reformed landscapes can still be a thriving setting for vegetation, said Kellen Watson, program coordinator for Daily Acts.

The group contracts with Petaluma and several other Sonoma County cities to lead volunteer-driven, water-friendly landscape revamps. The result is often lawns that pair form and farming, particularly in projects that happen in agriculture-oriented Petaluma, she said.

“It’s not just ‘get rid of the lawn.’ It’s how you make it a more functional landscape that also reduces water use,” Watson said.

The city also offers rebates for purchasing water-efficient appliances and a program to analyze a home’s water use. Yet officials said the day-to-day cutbacks of those in Petaluma, which happen in countless ways, have lead the charge.

“It all adds up,” St. John said.

(Contact Eric Gneckow at eric.gneckow@arguscourier.com. On Twitter @Eric_Reports.)