Calls renewed for Petaluma water conservation amid new programs

As concerns about local water supplies continue, Petaluma officials are urging residents and businesses to continue daily water conservation and are introducing new incentives and programs to help them do so.

In a May 25 monthly community bulletin email, city officials said they are noticing some residents are not following current limitations. As a result, they are beseeching those living in the city to follow the outdoor watering schedule that restricts irrigation to Tuesdays and Saturdays between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m.

“As we head into the summer months, the city is committed to reducing water use, both at our own facilities and in our larger community,” said Petaluma environmental services analyst Chelsea Thomson in an email to the Argus-Courier Wednesday afternoon.

“Our water conservation team is targeting outreach to high-water users and warning them that we will be under reduced allocations from Sonoma Water again this summer and will be reinstating customer water budgets for our highest users,” she added.

The notice comes after the City Council passed a resolution Sept. 13, 2021 proclaiming a Local Drought Emergency.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors later approved emergency regulations to promote water conservation, effective Jan. 18. While the cities of Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park are maintaining 20% mandatory water reduction programs amid this year’s low rainfall, Petaluma has taken efforts a step further in initiating a Stage 4 water emergency, which calls for a 30% mandatory water reduction citywide.

To help achieve water reduction goals, Petaluma officials launched a Water-Wise HouseCall program, which will send a technician to local homes and businesses at no charge to the customer, and the technician will evaluate water use and share ways it can be used more efficiently.

Residents who receive the Water-Wise HouseCall may also then qualify for the city’s new “Mulch Madness” program, which is offering free mulch, compost, cardboard and irrigation conversion kit to qualified customers from now until October, in an effort to motivate residents to convert their yards to become more drought-resistant.

Additionally, the city is offering rebates for residents looking to upgrade their homes or businesses to be more water-efficient. That includes a rebate of $150 (residential use) or $260 (commercial use) for installing a high-efficiency toilet in replacement of older toilets that flush 1.6 gallons per flush or more.

Petaluma is also offering a $75 rebate to those who install a high-efficiency clothes washer. According to the city website, a conventional washing machine can use between 30-45 gallons of water per load, while high-efficiency washers typically use 18-25 gallons per load.

The first four months of 2022 have been the driest in Sonoma County in 128 years, with rainfall totaling nearly 20 inches below normal, Sonoma Water reported in a Tuesday news release.

Sonoma Water’s main water supply comes from two of the area’s largest reservoirs, Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino, which are both experiencing lower-than-normal levels. As of May 30, Lake Sonoma reportedly reached just below 57% capacity, while Lake Mendocino was at 56% capacity.

While those levels are about the same as last year’s, they were about 30% higher at that same time in 2020.

Thompson said Petaluma recently received a $450,000 grant from the Department of Water Resources to evaluate the use of a concept called Aquifer Storage and Recovery, which will study taking surplus drinking water from the Russian River system during wet winter years and storing it in a deep underground aquifer in the Petaluma groundwater basin.

“The stored water would then be available as an emergency backup supply that could be pumped out when needed,” Thompson said.

She said the city also received a $2.9 million in grant funding from the Department of Water Resources to build a recycled water pipeline to serve vineyards and agricultural properties.

“Vineyard and agricultural properties outside the City’s water service area reduces reliance on precious groundwater and surface water,” Thompson added.

Residents can report water waste or watering restriction violations by going to cityofpetaluma.org/water-waste, or by contacting the City at conservation@cityofpetaluma.org or at (707) 778-4507.

To find out how to calculate water use, residents can visit cityofpetaluma.org/mywateruse.

The City is planning to replace all existing water meters with Advanced Metering Infrastructure meters and a customer engagement portal by December 2025, Thompson said. Doing so will give all water customers access to real-time water use information through a portal available for viewing on a smartphone or computer.

Amelia Parreira is a staff writer for the Argus-Courier. She can be reached at amelia.parreira@arguscourier.com or 707-521-5208.