Winter Water Conservation - Save Water Now, Save All Year

This past summer residents, businesses and land owners throughout the Russian River watershed once again responded to the requests to conserve water and did a great job reducing water use to help preserve water supply in Lake Mendocino. More and more residents are making improvements to their irrigation systems and removing high water use plants in their home gardens and public landscapes, replacing them with low water use plants to help reduce summertime water use. Water is a limited resource and it is extremely important that we use every drop as efficiently as possible all year round. Typically, in the winter most water use is from indoor household and business activities. By installing efficient fixtures, eliminating wasteful practices and using water wisely during the winter, you invest in year-round water savings because indoor fixtures are used all year. Not only are you saving our precious water resource, but you are also reducing the amount of wastewater that must be treated.

As utility costs continue to rise, there are simple things that you can do to reduce your water use and ultimately save money on your water and sewer bill. One way is to turn off your irrigation system during the winter months. Our region typically receives much more rainfall in the winter than plants need to stay healthy, so there is no need to irrigate during these months. Even during dry periods in the winter, plant growth is very slow and supplemental irrigation is rarely needed. By turning your irrigation system off now, you will eliminate waste and save money. You may also save money all year long because many utilities determine wastewater charges based on water use during the winter months when water use is typically for indoor needs only. Check with your local utility to determine when and how they calculate your wastewater charges.

A second way to save water and money is to check for and repair leaks. The biggest single cause of high utility bills is leaks. A single leaking toilet can waste over 200 gallons per day, and this is water that is also flowing to the sanitary sewer! To eliminate water waste from leaks, test your toilets and check your faucets and showerheads for leaks. Also, turn off all of your water using devices and check your meter to see if the low flow indicator is spinning. If it is moving, you may have a leak. Fix leaks right away because the longer you wait the more money and water you waste. The “Water Saving Home” web site at www.h2ouse.org has great tips for how to detect leaks, fix leaks, choose efficient plumbing fixtures and adopt water wise habits.

Another way you can save water and money is to improve the efficiency of your indoor water use fixtures. Consider replacing toilets with high-efficiency toilets (also called HET) that flush at 1.28 gallons per flush or less. Upgrade showerheads and aerators to high-efficiency versions and consider replacing your washing machine with a qualifying high-efficiency model. Many of our water and electric utilities provide rebates and incentives for replacing indoor water use fixtures with high-efficiency models.

Finally, you can save water and money by thinking about how you use water and determining if there are ways to either use less or eliminate the use all together. For example, turn the water off while brushing your teeth, don’t use the toilet as a wastebasket, use your garbage disposal less, and only wash full loads in your dishwasher and washing machine. Changing these habits will change your bill, and save our precious resource.

By turning off your irrigation system in the winter months, checking for leaks, replacing your indoor water fixtures, and improving your water use efficiency, you can save water, reduce wastewater and save money all year long!

This article was authored by Jennifer Burke of the City of Santa Rosa on behalf of RRWA. RRWA (www.rrwatershed.org) is an association of local public agencies in the Russian River Watershed that have come together to coordinate regional programs for clean water, fisheries restoration, and watershed enhancement.

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Imminent Lawsuit over Fish Kills from Water Diversions

Local Watershed Groups Put State on Notice

Lawsuit Imminent Over Water Diversions
Killing Salmon and Steelhead
in Russian and Gualala Rivers

Northern California River Watch of Sebastopol, Coast Action Group of Gualala, and the national environmental group The Center for Biological Diversity, sent notice of intent to sue California’s State Water Resources Control Board for authorizing water diversions that harm federally protected salmon and steelhead trout in the Russian River and Gualala River watersheds. The water board is violating the Endangered Species Act by permitting water diversions in Mendocino and Sonoma counties, primarily for vineyards, that adversely affect salmon. “River Watch is hopeful that this notice will protect the last of the species and ultimately allow the restoration of fish runs,” said River Watch member Larry Hanson.

Water diversions and pumping from streams for grape growing de-water rivers and creeks where listed fish species spawn, harming imperiled coho salmon, chinook salmon, and steelhead trout. Vineyards pull groundwater and divert stream flows to irrigate, protect from frost and heat, and irrigate grape vines post-harvest. De-watering of streams occurs not only during spring and summer vineyard irrigation, but also due to winter “frost protection” pumping to protect budding grapes from frost. When freezing temperatures hit the North Coast, vineyards pumping water for frost protection can dry up the Russian River and its tributaries, stranding and killing young salmon.

“Twelve years after the state water board determined that pumping for frost protection is harmful to salmon and concluded it to be a waste and unreasonable use of water, the board has still failed to take appropriate action on frost irrigation,” said Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Further fish kills are unacceptable — coho salmon are near extinction in the Russian River, and chinook salmon and steelhead are not far behind.”

In the spring of both 2008 and 2009 there were fish kills due to excessive water diversions in the main stem of the Russian River at Hopland and in Felta Creek, a tributary of the Russian River. There are at least 60,000 acres of vineyards in the Russian River watershed, 70 percent of which are within 300 feet of salmon streams. The Wheatfield Fork of the Gualala River is also experiencing dramatic changes from over-pumping, and fish habitat and survival are being significantly harmed.

The State Water Resources Control Board permits and authorizes harmful water pumping, diversions, and water storage and continues to issue water appropriation permits in the over-allocated Russian River and Gualala River watersheds, in conflict with public trust values and beneficial uses. In 1997, the water board released a report identifying vineyard practices, particularly frost protection activities, that adversely impact federally listed species of fish struggling to survive in the Russian River basin and its tributaries.

The National Marine Fisheries Service requested in the spring of 2009 that the water board pass regulations to protect listed fish species, but the board has continued to allow frost-protection withdrawals and unreasonable and excessive water use to continue in these watersheds. The water board is violating the Endangered Species Act by consenting to improper use and by failing to enforce existing regulations.

The region’s significant fisheries are near extinction: coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) on the central California coast are listed as endangered by both the state and federal governments; chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) along the California coast are federally listed as threatened; and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) on the central California coast and northern California are federally listed as threatened. Central California coast coho salmon are now at only 1 to 2 percent of their historical abundance. Coho have been eliminated from more than half of their historical streams in California, and in recent years, only 500 to 1,000 wild coho have returned to the entire central coast region to spawn. California coast chinook salmon have declined 97 to 99 percent from historical runs. Northern California coast steelhead have declined by 90 percent and central California coast steelhead have declined by 80 to 90 percent in the past 50 years.

Salmon and steelhead spawn in freshwater streams and young fish require habitat with sufficient flows; deep pools; adequate food and shelter; and clean, cold water in order to survive long enough to migrate to the sea. The huge amounts of water withdrawn for grape growing dries up spawning beds and kills fish or leaves young salmon and steelhead stranded in hot and crowded shallow pools, where they are exposed to overcrowding and predators.

January 2010 Meetings on Frost Mitigation & New Rules:

January 6 - Mark West Creek Watershed: 4pm at Kendall Jackson Wine Center, 5007 Fulton Rd, Fulton

January 8 - Green Valley: 4pm at Dutton Pavilion of Santa Rosa Junior College Campus/Shone Farm, 7450 Steve Olson lane, Forestville

January 8 - Knights Valley: 10am at Kinights Valley Fire Department, 16850 Spencer Lane, Calistoga

January 8 - Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys: 4pm at Healdsburg Community Center, Foss Creek Elementary School, 1557 healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg

January 14- Russian River Basin: 10am at Dutton Pavilion of Santa Rosa Junior College Campus/Shone Farm, 7450 Steve Olson lane, Forestville

January 21 - Dollars and Sense, grape market economics seminar and information on crop insurance as a risk-mitigation measure. Sonoma Wine Grape Association, 420 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa, 522-5860, info@sonomawinegrape.org

WATERSHED GROUPS:

Northern California River Watch
500 N. Main St. Ste. 110
Sebastopol, CA 95472
Fax: (707) 824-4372
E-mail: us@ncriverwatch.org
http://www.northerncaliforniariverwatch.org/


Alan Levine
Coast Action Group
Box 215
Point Arena, CA 95468
Phone: (707) 542-4408
alevine@mcn.org


Center for Biological Diversity
351 California St., Ste. 600
San Francisco, CA 94104
tel: (415) 436.9682
fax: (415) 436.9683


California’s State Water Resources Control Board
1001 I Street
PO Box100
Sacramento, CA 95812-0100
916-341-5254
fax: 916-341-5252
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/


National Marine Fisheries, Northern California
Attn: PRD Division
777 Sonoma Ave Rm 325
Santa Rosa Ca 95404
(707) 575-6050
(866) 300-2948 (VTS line)
(707) 578-3435 Fax

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Your Watershed: Holiday Recycling in Sonoma County

It’s the holiday season and that means more trash will be generated than at any other time of the year. After the holidays, you’ll likely be left with some cleanup—wrapping paper and packaging—not to mention the tree itself. If your gifts include new electronic devices, such as a new flatscreen TV, laptop or digital camera, you might find yourself with the challenge of properly disposing of your old equipment. Luckily, there are many opportunities in Sonoma County to easily recycle your wastes.

• Wrapping paper and ribbon - Recyclable paper makes up a large portion, 27%, of what’s going into our garbage in Sonoma County. Holiday paper and cardboard packaging can be recycled along with other year-round paper items like catalogs and magazines in your single-stream curbside recycling cart. Only foil-backed and plastic wrapping paper cannot be recycled.
Save ribbon to reuse on next year’s packages.
• Packaging -If you accumulate packing peanuts and bubble wrap over the holidays, many local packaging stores, such as UPS Stores, are glad to accept these items for reuse.
• Veggie food scraps - Compost your veggies! Fruits, vegetables, peels and seeds can be composted at home or put in the curbside yard waste carts for the municipal composting program. In fact about 35% of residential garbage is food waste, totaling nearly 800 tons a week in Sonoma County--a resource that could be used instead of landfilled.
• Christmas trees - Christmas trees can be recycled into compost and mulch! Your tree needs to be free of flocking, tinsel, decorations and its stand for recycling.
For curbside pick-up, and drop-off options, call the Sonoma County Eco-Desk at 565-3375 or visit www.recyclenow.org
• Electronics - Under a State mandate, electronics cannot be put in the garbage. An electronic device is anything with a circuit board. Look for devices with digital displays or programmable features. Examples include computers, TVs, laptops, printers, answering machines, CD & DVD players, stereos and cell phones. You have three options for proper disposal of electronics: 1. Bulky item pickup, 2. Curbside recycling, and 3. Drop-off recycling.
1. Bulky item pickup is available by appointment for residential garbage customers in Healdsburg, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Rohnert Park, Windsor and the unincorporated area. To schedule a home pickup, call your garbage company.
2. Curbside recycling for household electronics, not larger than 2 feet in any dimension, is available for garbage customers in Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Sebastopol. Devices with screens (such as TV’s, computer monitors and laptops) and batteries are not accepted curbside.
3. Drop-off recycling for non-working and working electronics is available at all County Refuse Disposal Sites, through electronic waste collection events, and at participating businesses in Sonoma County. For a complete list, call the Sonoma County Eco-Desk at 565-3375 or visit www.recyclenow.org
4. Batteries - Batteries should not be placed in the trash. Batteries are recycled by different processes than electronic equipment and should be removed from electronic equipment prior to recycling. By law, retailers selling rechargeable batteries are required to take back used rechargeable batteries from their customers. For a list of retailers, visit the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporations’s web site at www.rbrc.org
Some stores offer take-back for alkaline batteries, in addition to rechargeables. These stores include Whole Foods Markets, REI and the Computer Recycling Center. All kinds of household batteries can also be disposed of through Sonoma County’s Household Toxics Program. For a complete list of options, call the Sonoma County Eco-Desk at 565- 3375 or visit www.recyclenow.org
• More Recycling Information - For additional questions about recycling and year round disposal options in Sonoma County, see the Sonoma County Recycling Guide printed in the AT&T phone book Yellow Pages under Recycling, call the Sonoma County Eco-Desk at 565-DESK (3375) or visit www.recyclenow.org

This article was authored by Karina Chilcott and Lisa Steinman of the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency on behalf of RRWA. RRWA (www.rrwatershed.org) is an association of local public agencies in the Russian River Watershed that have come together to coordinate regional programs for clean water, fisheries restoration, and watershed enhancement.

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Camp Meeker News December 2009

I guess I know what to write about this time. It was a fairly big deal learning that our drinking water was not entirely safe, and a pretty stressful week it was. At this point I hang my head in shame and confess that I was, um, out of town that week. Yep, I had just made the big used-truck score on a sweet ’04 Tacoma with - get this – 12,000 miles on her. And unbeknownst to me, the sweet mag rims that earned me many dude points among the Truck Guys at work (and lo, they are legion). A score like that merits a few days of hitting the road “Easy Rider” style and, y’know, Finding America. And a gorgeous America it is if you drive in leisurely fashion up the Oregon coast as I did on two sparkling and crisp blue sky autumn days. When I arrived in Tacoma with my Tacoma, it was gray and rainy as per standard Puget Sound procedure, but the un-damage had been done. I am a happy man.

But back to the late unpleasantness in Damp Sneaker. It was, if Brock Dolman will pardon my pun, a watershed moment. If you have been reading up on global events, you know that fresh potable water (and the looming lack thereof) is one of the four horsemen that are riding down on this world in this most interesting century. The other three being peak oil, climate change, and encroaching wifi. I kid, I kid. Writing that sentence was depressing the heck out of me and I needed to lighten the mood.

Yes, our water line broke, spilling our drinking water into the creek and ingesting who knows what foul pollutants from the storm water. Maybe none, we don’t know – but prudence and unambiguous state law dictated that we be told in no uncertain terms to boil our water before drinking it. Everything is fine now, for us anyway. Still to be told is the chlorinated drinking water’s effect on the 8,000 coho fingerlings planted in the creek not long before as part of the effort to bring the salmon back to Dutch Bill Creek and to the Russian River watershed as a whole.

As we feel empathy for those coho children, let’s also feel empathy for the many people world wide for whom boiling water before drinking it is a daily and indefinite truth. Our access to fresh drinkable water right from the tap is the most precious luxury any of us own – and own it we do, along with the apparently fragile pipeline bringing it to us. Of course, by “ownership” I mean we pay the bills on it while other people decide what is to be done with it. Such is representative democracy, and I am not saying that in despair. Whatever horrible things are beyond our control in DC and worldwide, local elections still matter. As if anyone here needs reminding.

The specific task before us now is to educate ourselves on this water pipe as much as we can. Not only will this knowledge aid us in making appropriate decisions as required about the water pipeline, any knowledge we can gather about this pipeline will prove to be useful data if another pipeline, such as a sewer pipe, is ever proposed again.

The other thing we can get good practice at is solving a community problem together. We’re going to have to do more of that in the future, and with far less help from distant government authorities. If we get better at working together for mutual survival, that will be the silver lining here.

Okay, let’s end on a happy note. Shortly before the whole pipeline excitement, Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District (GRRCD) had a celebration at the firehouse for the completion of the dam removal and creek restoration project. Go down there and be inspired by what a community can do, working together. GRRCD was the spearhead agency on this and I say job well done. Your tax dollars at work!

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Sonoma County Historic Water Package

Sonoma County Water Agency News UPDATE

Historic Water Package Includes North Coast Funding

Three Million Gallons Per Year Saved

Biological Opinion One year Milestones

Water Supply Report
As of 11/01/09


Historic Water Package Includes North Coast Funding
The Sonoma County Water Agency is pleased that the State Legislature passed and the Governor signed an $11 billion overhaul of the state's water system that includes the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010.

Portions of the funding from the Act will be allocated for critical salmon and habitat restoration and recycled water projects, including $45 million for North Coast Integrated Regional Management Planning, $138 million for Bay Area IRWMP, $50 million for coastal salmon restoration projects to the California Coastal Conservancy, $50 million to the Coastal Conservancy for the Ocean Protection Act projects and $1 billon for statewide recycling. The Act will appear on the November 2, 2010 ballot for voter approval.

For more information about the water package and bond initiative, visit www.acwa.com.

Three Million Gallons Per Year Saved
More than 350 high-efficiency toilets have been installed in October through SCWA's Sanitation District High-Efficiency Fixture Direct-Install Program saving nearly 3 million gallons of water per year from being flushed down the drain and into county sanitation systems. Eligible homes and businesses in participating sanitation zones and districts receive free high-efficiency toilets and urinals with free, professional installation and recycling of the old fixtures, plus free low-flow showerheads and aerators through the program.

These new high-efficiency toilets use at least 63 percent less water than the original 3.5 gallon per flush low-flow toilets from the early 1980's and at least 20 percent less than the 1.6 gallon per flush ultra-low flow toilets from the 1990's.

All toilets installed through the program must be listed on SCWA's List of Qualifying Toilet Models. Currently, the toilets on the list must meet or exceed U.S. EPA WaterSense specifications for performance and water efficiency. Beginning January 1, 2010, SCWA will limit the list to only include toilets with a maximum of 1.1 gallons per flush in addition to meeting WaterSense specifications. Although the change from 1.28 to 1.1 gallons per flush may seem trivial, that fraction of a gallon adds up as SCWA's goal is to change out every toilet in sanitation district service areas.

In addition to the Direct-Install Program, SCWA also offers $150 high-efficiency toilet rebates for the do-it-yourselfers and $125 high-efficiency clothes washer rebates to select sanitation zones and districts. A new high-efficiency clothes washer uses 40 to 60 percent less water and energy per load than a standard, top-load clothes washer. Other rebates are available for businesses including a sustained reduction rebate for installing any fixture or technology that will permanently reduce the amount of water going down the drain.

http://www.scwa.ca.gov/direct-install/

Public Policy Facilitating Committee Update
The Public Policy Facilitating Committee (PPFC) met on October 29, 2009 to receive an update on implementation of the Biological Opinion, which was issued one year ago. The National Marine Fisheries Service, the California Department of Fish & Game, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer and SCWA discussed successes and problem areas on Year One milestones and provided a preview of what's ahead in Year Two of the implementation of the Biological Opinion. If you missed the meeting, please visit SCWA's Web site to view materials and presentations from staff. If you have any questions, please contact Ann DuBay at 707.524.8376.

Water Supply Report
As of 11/01/09

Lake Sonoma
Lake Sonoma's water supply pool is currently 78% full
Storage: 191,542 acre-feet (Water Supply Capacity: 245,000 acre-feet)
Rate of Release: 104 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs)
Required Dry Creek Flow Rate: 80 cfs

Lake Mendocino
Lake Mendocino's water supply pool is currently 50% full
Storage: 43,246 acre-feet (Water Supply Capacity: 89,000 acre feet)
Rate of Release: 153 cfs
Required Upper Russian River Flow Rate: 75cfs

Lake Pillsbury (PG&E Facility)
Lake Pillsbury's water supply pool is currently 42% full
Storage: 31,511 acre-feet (Maximum allowed: 78,901 acre-feet)
Rate of Release: 90 cfs
Cumulative inflow: 2,637 acre-feet

Lake Van Arsdale (PG&E Facility)
Potter Valley Diversion: 45 cfs
Eel River Release: 43 cfs

Hacienda Bridge
Rate of Flow: 215 cfs
Required Lower Russian River Flow Rate: 125 cfs


Public Meetings/ Notices
http://scwa2.computergrafixco.com/eNews/index.asp?issue=11/1/2009&campaign=Enews&article=2217

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Hazardous Water…“Runoff”

By Brenda Adelman

Twenty-five years ago, river citizens were enraged when they learned that Santa Rosa was planning an illegal dump of 800 million gallons of secondarily treated wastewater into the Russian River because their storage ponds were too full. Russian River Watershed Protection Committee has been pressuring them incessantly ever since to limit winter discharges. The City finally achieved zero discharge last year. But sadly, some summer discharges have just been legalized in the guise of “non-storm water runoff”!

New permit allows some runoff into impaired water bodies…..
On October 1st, the Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted a new joint permit for Santa Rosa, the Sonoma County Water Agency, and the County of Sonoma, with the intent of controlling storm and non-storm water runoff. Storm water runoff causes many pollutants deposited on city streets during the dry season, such as grease and oil from vehicles, to run off into our waterways when it rains and seriously degrade water quality.

Russian River Watershed Protection Committee and numerous other groups strongly support these new controls. But we adamantly oppose allowing “non-storm water runoff” from wastewater irrigation. Wastewater runoff contains many unregulated and poorly monitored chemicals, including endocrine disruptors, pesticides and herbicides, pharmaceuticals, and the growing problem of anti-biotic resistant germs. Regional Board staff have been severely cut back because of State budget problems, and a lack of adequate oversight would cause wastewater to ‘slip through the cracks’….

Santa Rosa is planning a new pipeline project to irrigate business park lawns and public parks in the summer, using wastewater on the landscaping that would normally be watered with potable supplies. This permit legalizes “accidental” wastewater runoff. Yet accidents happen all the time, but now concerned citizens would be prohibited from filing lawsuits if violations are not enforced by regulatory agencies.

The new permit requires “best management practices” of irrigation contractors, with the intent of preventing runoff. Yet we have witnessed first hand rampant irrigation runoff in Rohnert Park (not party to this agreement, but part of Santa Rosa’s Subregional Wastewater Treatment System and under a special reclamation permit that is currently not adequately enforced). We worry that similar runoff practices will occur in Santa Rosa as well and in fact, this last summer, they discovered about 40 over-irrigation incidents a week using potable water.

The Laguna is extremely water quality impaired and the Russian River is only slightly better. Both have serious temperature and sediment problems and the Laguna is badly impaired by nutrients. (Treated wastewater has a lot of nutrients.) Invasive plants are totally choking many of the streams west of Rohnert Park, and irrigation runoff is probably a contributory cause.

Major concerns about the Non-Storm Water Runoff requirements…
• Tertiary treated wastewater is considered safe enough by health regulators to reuse in most circumstances but for direct ingestion, in spite of the voluminous information about the hazards to humans and wildlife from unregulated pharmaceuticals, personal care products, anti-biotic resistant pathogens, etc. It will take many years for State Regulations to catch up with the problem and in the meantime, many species (including human) will greatly suffer as a result of increased contact with many unregulated, toxic substances.
• The State has approved a Water Recycling Policy which heavily promotes the use of wastewater for irrigation in order to save potable water. This is a notable goal, but in the case of Santa Rosa, an urban irrigation program WILL NOT SAVE ANY WATER. They will just transfer some of their agricultural irrigation to the urban area. Furthermore, most wastewater is under contract to be reclaimed at the Geysers anyway. So the goals of the State's Water Recycling Policy are already being realized by Santa Rosa and the City’s planned urban irrigation program IS REALLY UNNECESSARY.
• This permit fails to provide any precise numerical meaning of “incidental runoff”. We have no idea if “incidental” or similar euphemisms could mean 5 gallons, 50 gallons, 500 gallons or 5000 gallons. Furthermore, harm may be impossible to prove, especially since a leak can go undiscovered for weeks and still be legal under this permit.
• The new permit supposedly only allows discharges that are truly accidental and where only a “small” (undefined) amount escapes. What is not clear is how they will determine that broken irrigation equipment was not formerly in a state of disrepair, and is broken for the first time, and is discovered almost immediately after it accidentally breaks.
• It is unclear how best management practices will prevent harm from occurring. Specific controls will be implemented by Santa Rosa through third party contracts and there will be no direct Regional Board staff oversight in the monitoring of runoff incidents. Incidental runoff is stated as infrequent, short in duration, low in quantity, accidental, etc., but we have no idea how that will be enforced through best management practices. If “accidents” go a long time before being discovered, the water quality ramifications could be severe. (Santa Rosa will require that third party contractors check the system every week or two, while true compliance should demand inspections every hour or two.)
• This permit fails to differentiate between summer and winter runoff and the comparative impacts to aquatic life and their habitat based on amount of flow in receiving waters. It assumes that ANY discharge from irrigation runoff will be so inconsequential that it is not necessary to describe impacts. Yet the mere fact that the Laguna is grossly impaired for nutrients, should demand a higher regulatory standard.
• This permit fails to address, not only unregulated pollutants in the wastewater, but the massive chemicals and fertilizers used on lawns to keep them green. These will runoff into the drainage/receiving water along with the wastewater and exacerbate the toxic impacts even further.

Santa Rosa has allowed their reclaimed water to be used for irrigation for at least 40 years. Currently there are about 85 contractors using their wastewater, including the City of Rohnert Park, who regularly allows wastewater runoff.

So now Santa Rosa will have permission to legally allow incidental runoff. When it happens, it will get into the creeks and streams at a time when flow is low and they can be heavily impacted by nutrients, pesticides, herbicides, soil amendments, and all the unregulated stuff in the wastewater itself. We fail to see how this program will improve our creeks and resolve the long term problems of high temperature, high nutrients, and low dissolved oxygen.

Join RRWPC’s list to stay informed. We do not share it with anyone. Contact Brenda at rrwpc@comcast.net for information about getting on our list.

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“Runoff” is Polluted Water Entering our Rivers

By Brenda Adelman
Twenty-five years ago, river citizens were enraged when they learned that Santa Rosa was planning an illegal dump of 800 million gallons of secondarily treated wastewater into the Russian River because their storage ponds were too full. Russian River Watershed Protection Committee has been pressuring them incessantly ever since to limit winter discharges. The City finally achieved zero discharge last year. But sadly, some summer discharges have just been legalized in the guise of “non-storm water runoff”!
New permit allows some runoff into impaired water bodies…..
On October 1st, the Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted a new joint permit for Santa Rosa, the Sonoma County Water Agency, and the County of Sonoma, with the intent of controlling storm and non-storm water runoff. Storm water runoff causes many pollutants deposited on city streets during the dry season, such as grease and oil from vehicles, to run off into our waterways when it rains and seriously degrade water quality.

Russian River Watershed Protection Committee and numerous other groups strongly support these new controls. But we adamantly oppose allowing “non-storm water runoff” from wastewater irrigation. Wastewater runoff contains many unregulated and poorly monitored chemicals, including endocrine disruptors, pesticides and herbicides, pharmaceuticals, and the growing problem of anti-biotic resistant germs. Regional Board staff have been severely cut back because of State budget problems, and a lack of adequate oversight would cause wastewater to ‘slip through the cracks’….

Santa Rosa is planning a new pipeline project to irrigate business park lawns and public parks in the summer, using wastewater on the landscaping that would normally be watered with potable supplies. This permit legalizes “accidental” wastewater runoff. Yet accidents happen all the time, but now concerned citizens would be prohibited from filing lawsuits if violations are not enforced by regulatory agencies.

The new permit requires “best management practices” of irrigation contractors, with the intent of preventing runoff. Yet we have witnessed first hand rampant irrigation runoff in Rohnert Park (not party to this agreement, but part of Santa Rosa’s Subregional Wastewater Treatment System and under a special reclamation permit that is currently not adequately enforced). We worry that similar runoff practices will occur in Santa Rosa as well and in fact, this last summer, they discovered about 40 over-irrigation incidents a week using potable water.

The Laguna is extremely water quality impaired and the Russian River is only slightly better. Both have serious temperature and sediment problems and the Laguna is badly impaired by nutrients. (Treated wastewater has a lot of nutrients.) Invasive plants are totally choking many of the streams west of Rohnert Park, and irrigation runoff is probably a contributory cause.
Major concerns about the Non-Storm Water Runoff requirements…
• Tertiary treated wastewater is considered safe enough by health regulators to reuse in most circumstances but for direct ingestion, in spite of the voluminous information about the hazards to humans and wildlife from unregulated pharmaceuticals, personal care products, anti-biotic resistant pathogens, etc. It will take many years for State Regulations to catch up with the problem and in the meantime, many species (including human) will greatly suffer as a result of increased contact with many unregulated, toxic substances.

• The State has approved a Water Recycling Policy which heavily promotes the use of wastewater for irrigation in order to save potable water. This is a notable goal, but in the case of Santa Rosa, an urban irrigation program WILL NOT SAVE ANY WATER. They will just transfer some of their agricultural irrigation to the urban area. Furthermore, most wastewater is under contract to be reclaimed at the Geysers anyway. So the goals of the State's Water Recycling Policy are already being realized by Santa Rosa and the City’s planned urban irrigation program IS REALLY UNNECESSARY.

• This permit fails to provide any precise numerical meaning of “incidental runoff”. We have no idea if “incidental” or similar euphemisms could mean 5 gallons, 50 gallons, 500 gallons or 5000 gallons. Furthermore, harm may be impossible to prove, especially since a leak can go undiscovered for weeks and still be legal under this permit.

• The new permit supposedly only allows discharges that are truly accidental and where only a “small” (undefined) amount escapes. What is not clear is how they will determine that broken irrigation equipment was not formerly in a state of disrepair, and is broken for the first time, and is discovered almost immediately after it accidentally breaks.

• It is unclear how best management practices will prevent harm from occurring. Specific controls will be implemented by Santa Rosa through third party contracts and there will be no direct Regional Board staff oversight in the monitoring of runoff incidents. Incidental runoff is stated as infrequent, short in duration, low in quantity, accidental, etc., but we have no idea how that will be enforced through best management practices. If “accidents” go a long time before being discovered, the water quality ramifications could be severe. (Santa Rosa will require that third party contractors check the system every week or two, while true compliance should demand inspections every hour or two.)

• This permit fails to differentiate between summer and winter runoff and the comparative impacts to aquatic life and their habitat based on amount of flow in receiving waters. It assumes that ANY discharge from irrigation runoff will be so inconsequential that it is not necessary to describe impacts. Yet the mere fact that the Laguna is grossly impaired for nutrients, should demand a higher regulatory standard.

• This permit fails to address, not only unregulated pollutants in the wastewater, but the massive chemicals and fertilizers used on lawns to keep them green. These will runoff into the drainage/receiving water along with the wastewater and exacerbate the toxic impacts even further.

Santa Rosa has allowed their reclaimed water to be used for irrigation for at least 40 years. Currently there are about 85 contractors using their wastewater, including the City of Rohnert Park, who regularly allows wastewater runoff.

So now Santa Rosa will have permission to legally allow incidental runoff. When it happens, it will get into the creeks and streams at a time when flow is low and they can be heavily impacted by nutrients, pesticides, herbicides, soil amendments, and all the unregulated stuff in the wastewater itself. We fail to see how this program will improve our creeks and resolve the long term problems of high temperature, high nutrients, and low dissolved oxygen.

Join RRWPC’s list to stay informed. We do not share it with anyone. Contact Brenda at rrwpc@comcast.net for information about getting on our list.

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Preparing for the Rainy Season

It’s autumn and time to prepare for the rainy season and winter. At this time of year, you might be starting to think about raking up leaves, cleaning out your rain-gutters, and undertaking some car maintenance like replacing wiper blades and changing the anti-freeze. In conjunction with these types of activities, there are a few simple tasks we can do at home and work to protect our local creeks and the quality of our wonderful environment.

With the coming rains anything we spill, drop, throw, or intentionally store on the ground can be washed off by storm water and enter a creek or river. Polluted runoff can come from a variety of sources - oil and grease from pavement; trash and pet waste from our yards or parks; fertilizers and pesticides from lawns or gardens; sediment from construction activities; and improperly stored loose materials like garden mulch or topsoil. This pollution can have a toxic effect on fish and wildlife.

Here are some ways that you can help reduce the flow of pollution into our waterways by making your home or business “rainy season ready”, supporting ongoing efforts to improve the health of our creeks:

Home and Garden
• Clean up pet waste and dispose of it in your trash container.
• Pick up leaf litter and yard clippings around your home. Use a broom to sweep your driveway and the gutter in front of your house, never rinse with a hose. Compost or recycle debris in City/County-issued garden waste containers.
• If you store garden products like soil, mulch, or compost; or if you store gas-powered garden equipment or chemicals outside, make sure you securely cover these items before it starts to rain.
• Minimize your use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers and avoid applying these chemicals if rain is in the forecast.
• Turn down your irrigation system run times during dry periods of the fall months, and turn your system off once the winter rains begin. Even during dry periods of the winter months, plants need little or no water.
• Fix car and gas-powered engine leaks. Oil, antifreeze and other harmful chemicals can drip onto streets, parking lots and driveways and then wash off into creeks.
• Commercial car washes recycle their water and keep soapy water out of the storm drain. If you wash your car at home, do it on the lawn. Rinse with a sponge, squeezing the soapy water into a bucket for disposal in the sink.
• Clean out your pickup truck bed and properly secure items that you are hauling in your truck or on top of your car. Random trash left in the back of your pickup can easily blow out onto the street and end up in the creek.
• Motor oil, antifreeze, paint, paint thinner, batteries and chemical cleaning products should only be disposed of at a household hazardous waste collection facility. See http://www.recyclenow.org/ or call the Sonoma County Eco Desk (707 565-DESK (3375)) for more information.

Businesses can use many of the same good housekeeping practices for the home as well as these:
• Cover toxic materials with tight-fitting lids and/or store them indoors.
• Check your dumpster for leaks and ask for a replacement if necessary.
• Schedule a sweeper to clean your parking lot before the rains begin.
• Sweep—don’t hose or wash dirt and debris from sidewalks and walkways.
• Train employees to use storm water pollution prevention practices such as cleaning up spills immediately.

A good rule of thumb to remember is “Only rain down the storm-drain” as almost everything else can become a pollutant. The damage can impact our creeks and our health. It costs less to prevent pollution than to clean up the creeks. Let’s all do our part!

This article was authored by Forest Frasieur of the City of Santa Rosa on behalf of RRWA. RRWA (www.rrwatershed.org) is an association of local public agencies in the Russian River Watershed that have come together to coordinate regional programs for clean water, fisheries restoration, and watershed enhancement

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Gail's Garden: Graywater Approved for Home Gardeners!

On August 4 the State of California adopted regulations that allow us to legally, without permits, re-use our graywater for landscape irrigation! This is a HUGE step forward in reasonable water use policy by the State, and will go a long way toward conserving our limited water resources, while maintaining fruitful and beautiful gardens.

What is graywater (or greywater), you ask? Water from tubs, showers, sinks, and clothes washers is termed graywater: this is lightly used water that is safe to re-use in the landscape, with some common sense precautions. Every load of the washing machine uses about 30 gallons of water, and each shower uses 10 to 30 gallons! That’s a lot of water that can be used to water your fruit trees, berries, grapes, as well as most ornamental plants!

A couple notes of caution: acid-loving plants like rhododendrons and citrus will not enjoy the alkaline content of graywater. For health and safety, graywater should never be applied to the edible parts of plants: i.e., lettuce, spinach, root vegetables, etc.

Some of the basic requirements for a safe and legal graywater use are: 1) keep the discharge on your own land, 2) do not allow ponding or run-off, 3) avoid direct contact between people, pets, and graywater, and 4) any above-ground release of graywater must be covered by 2” of mulch. Naturally, you will also want to evaluate the types of soaps, shampoos, etc. that you are putting into your graywater in order to keep everything biodegradable. Bleach or boron in graywater will kill your plants!

So, how to put together your own graywater system? First, check out the State regulations at www.bsc.ca.gov (see approved changes: HCD-EF 01/09 – Emergency Standards pertaining to Graywater for Residential Application: see section 1603A.1.1 for clothes washer system and/or single fixture system requirements). Then, check out these websites for some excellent information and suggestions on system construction: oclandscape.com/ocblog, oasisdesign.net and greywateraction.org. A couple great reference books are Graywater Use in the Landscape, by Robert Kourik, and Create an Oasis with Graywater, by Art Ludwig.

The Garden in Fall
This is a great time to divide your iris, daylilies, and other clump-forming plants. Dig out the entire root ball, if possible, and cut off divisions with a knife or shovel. Discard any shriveled and dried up parts. Look for new growth buds and healthy roots on each new division. Replant them in well-watered and composted soil immediately.

Begin thinking about planting soon! Buy those plants that are on sale now, hold them in your ‘nursery’ area until the rains start, then pop them into the ground where they will get rooted in over the winter for a great show next spring and summer. California native plants especially appreciate Fall planting. Wild flower seeds should also be spread in Fall.

If you need help and advise with any of these Fall garden activities, just give me a call at 829-2455. Consultations in your garden start at only $50.

Upcoming Garden Events:
FREE classes on Saturdays at Bassignani’s Nursery in Sebastopol:
Learn all about planting and growing Sweet Peas on Saturday October 10th at 10:30
Learn how to “Grow Your Own” on Saturday October 24 at 10:30 am
Increase your favorite plants with cuttings from your garden!

Check out http://www.gardenconservancy.org/ for these seminars:
November 6 & 7: Australian Native Plants
November 12: The Meadow Garden, with renown “GrassMan” John Greenlee

Do you have a gardening question you would like to ask? Or a photo to share?
Send your questions and photos (jpg) to bluehilldesign9@aol.com.

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Graywater for Gardeners!

The State of California adopted regulations that allow us to legally, without permits, re-use our graywater for landscape irrigation! This is a HUGE step forward in reasonable water use policy by the State, and will go a long way toward conserving our limited water resources, while maintaining fruitful and beautiful gardens.

What is graywater (or greywater), you ask? Water from tubs, showers, sinks, and clothes washers is termed graywater: this is lightly used water that is safe to re-use in the landscape, with some common sense precautions. Every load of the washing machine uses about 30 gallons of water, and each shower uses 10 to 30 gallons! That’s a lot of water that can be used to water your fruit trees, berries, grapes, as well as most ornamental plants!

A couple notes of caution: acid-loving plants like rhododendrons and citrus will not enjoy the alkaline content of graywater. For health and safety, graywater should never be applied to the edible parts of plants: i.e., lettuce, spinach, root vegetables, etc.

Some of the basic requirements for a safe and legal graywater use are: 1) keep the discharge on your own land, 2) do not allow ponding or run-off, 3) avoid direct contact between people, pets, and graywater, and 4) any above-ground release of graywater must be covered by 2” of mulch. Naturally, you will also want to evaluate the types of soaps, shampoos, etc. that you are putting into your graywater in order to keep everything biodegradable. Bleach or boron in graywater will kill your plants!

So, how to put together your own graywater system? First, check out the State regulations at www.bsc.ca.gov (see approved changes: HCD-EF 01/09 – Emergency Standards pertaining to Graywater for Residential Application: see section 1603A.1.1 for clothes washer system and/or single fixture system requirements). Then, check out these websites for some excellent information and suggestions on system construction: oclandscape.com/ocblog, oasisdesign.net and greywateraction.org. A couple great reference books are Graywater Use in the Landscape, by Robert Kourik, and Create an Oasis with Graywater, by Art Ludwig.

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Sonoma County's Russian River - More Restoration Needed

On September 8th, I made my second canoe trip down the river this summer, paddling from Burke’s Canoes in Forestville to a takeout spot just east of Guerneville. The purpose of the two trips – hosted and organized by Linda Burke, Russian RiverKeeper Don McEnhill and Sonoma County Water Agency staff – was to experience the river from the viewpoint of a typical Russian River visitor.

I’m happy to say that even with a flow of only 71 cubic feet per second, the river was beautiful. Yes, there were a few areas where the canoes scraped bottom but we never had to portage and there was plenty of water in most stretches. The wildlife was abundant, too. We spotted turtles, blue herons, ducks and several other bird species.

One of the most exciting moments during the trip was when we paddled by a bank stabilization and restoration project being undertaken by the Odd Fellows Park community. Crews were planting willow stumps, moving rocks and sculpting the stream bank to withstand high wintertime flows. This project, which was funded by Odd Fellows residents when State funding was lost at the final hour, was desperately needed to stop erosion that was threatening the community’s new, environmentally sound sewage treatment system. It speaks to the strength of that community that Jack Davies, Association President, was able to rally the funding from residents in just a few weeks.

Of course, all is not perfect with the river. Along with good projects like the Odd Fellows’ we also saw some questionable docks, areas where banks had been scraped clear of vegetation and several small ludwigia patches.

Fortunately, the Sonoma County Water Agency, has recently reiterated its commitment to the health of the river. On August 25, SCWA staff recommended that the Agency Board of Directors (I am a member) focus future water planning efforts on increased conservation, greater use of recycled water and enhanced local supplies.

A resolution that would set aside an environmental impact report for the Water Supply, Transmission and Reliability Project (Water Project) noted that current and future financial constraints could limit construction of large public works. The Water Project contemplated the construction of new pipes, collector wells, and other facilities, including possibly a new water pipeline from Lake Sonoma to bypass Dry Creek, to meet the peak demands of the Agency's customers. The estimated cost of the Water Project was more than $600 million.

The resolution also called for the agency to pursue 12 water supply strategies and to reconsider an application with the State Water Resources Control Board for 101,000 acre feet of water per year.

After hearing public testimony, the SCWA Board decided to consider the recommendation on September 15.

The Friends of Villa Grande won their long effort to procure Patterson Point as a community site. Through a joint effort between the Friends and the Open Space District, funds were raised to purchase the property for public access and habitat restoration. For many years, the group worked hard and long, community members came forward with money, and their effort was rewarded when the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the acquisition and matching grant on August 11th.

The Consulate of Mexico sponsored my visit to an informative conference in Mexico City with other US elected officials at the end of August. The focus of the 2 day conference was on best practices for coordinating services to underserved populations. Our future efforts, working with the United Farm Workers, Consulate of Mexico, and our Community Based Organizations will be enhanced by information shared at the event.

Our local UFW chapter in Santa Rosa was honored by a visit from Congressman Patrick Kennedy on August 25th. Congressman Kennedy was introduced by UFW national president, Arturo Rodriguez. He addressed the crowd in Spanish, speaking of his long struggle on behalf of immigrant rights. A group of 50 or so UFW and community members attended and some testified to their daily experiences. Our sympathies go out to Congressman Kennedy, whose father Senator Edward Kennedy, lost his struggle with brain cancer later that evening.

Be on the lookout for news related to our local State Parks. A closure list is expected in the next weeks, and when that happens we will all need to work together to assure the future of these valuable assets. We are fortunate to have a strong community group partnering with State Parks to preserve and promote our Russian River area State Parks. Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods offers an informative website updating the budget impacts on Parks…this is a great way to get involved and be informed. The advocacy page is at www.stewardsofthecoastandredwoods.org/advocacy.htm

Their annual fundraiser, the Old Grove Festival, is the last weekend of this month. Please support their important work at this critical time by attending this fabulous event.
Please join us on October 7th for a Coastal Disaster Response Forum at Horicon School in Annapolis from 6-8pm. In partnership with Coast Life Support District, Fire Chiefs from North Coast Fire Departments, the Mendocino and Sonoma Sheriff’s Departments, and Sonoma County Department of Emergency Services will conduct a panel discussion about disaster readiness and capacity which I will moderate.

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Sonoma County Focuses on Water Conservation and Reuse

Future Water Supply Focuses on Conservation, Reuse

The Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) Board of Directors agreed to focus on securing current water rights and increasing future water supplies through continued conservation, greater use of recycled water and enhanced local supplies.

The SCWA board unanimously approved a resolution to set aside an environmental impact report for the Water Supply, Transmission and Reliability Project (Water Project). The resolution also directed agency staff to work with the SCWA board, water right attorneys and agency customers to modify an application and petition to the state for additional water rights.

“In simple terms, the question is ‘Should we jeopardize the water we have by asking for more? Or secure the water rights we have by delaying our ask for more.’ Our first priority must be securing our existing rights,” said SCWA Chairman Paul Kelley.

In 1999, SCWA filed petitions to change its four water rights permits and an application with the state board to increase its current diversions from the Russian River from 75,000 acre feet a year (AFY) to 101,000 AFY. The application and petitions have not yet been acted upon. The resolution approved by the Board of Directors would allow the 1999 request to be revised to –
among other reasons – be consistent with a federally mandated Biological Opinion.

The Russian River Biological Opinion, issued by National Marine Fisheries Service in 2008, analyzes the impact of SCWA’s operations on coho salmon, Chinook salmon and steelhead. This federal mandate requires SCWA to significantly change its operations in order to continue to deliver its current allocation of 75,000 AFYf of water. During the 15-year implementation period, SCWA must reduce summertime flows in the Russian River and reduce the velocity of water in Dry Creek in order to protect young coho and steelhead in the creek.

“The Biological Opinion makes it clear that SCWA must focus on securing its existing water supply,” Kelly said.

The Water Project contemplated the construction of new pipes, collector wells and other facilities, including possibly a pipeline from Lake Sonoma to bypass Dry Creek, to meet peak demands of the agency’s customers. The estimated cost of the Water Project was more than $600 million. SCWA board members noted that the Water Project was based on assumptions that no longer existed, principally SCWA’s ability to use Dry Creek to convey all the water for the project from Lake Sonoma to the Russian River and historic diversions from PG&E’s Eel River facilities.

The SCWA board is also concerned about the energy use associated with pumping an additional 26,000 AFY of water annually. SCWA and many of its contractors have set goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2015. By focusing on water conservation, rather than new supply, the agency and its contractors can better achieve this aggressive goal.

“The connection between water and energy is clear,” said SCWA director Shirlee Zane. “We need to invest in implementing sustainable strategies to guarantee water supply for current and future generations.”

SCWA contractors include the cities of Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Sonoma and Petaluma, the town of Windsor and Valley of the Moon and North Marin water districts.

Sonoma County Water Agency provides water supply, flood protection and sanitation services for portions of Sonoma and Marin counties. Visit us on the Web at www.sonomacountywater.org.

Ann DuBay
Public Information Officer
Sonoma County Water Agency
707/524-8378
www.scwa.ca.gov

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Greywater Systems - Approved for Sonoma County?

California Gives GREEN Light to Greywatwer Systems.

Responding to the increasing pressures on our state's water supplies, last month the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) approved new standards that facilitate the use of graywater in homes and voted to make the standards effective on August 4th, 2009 rather than waiting until 2011.

The new standards will make it much easier to reuse water from bathtubs, showers, sinks, and washing machines for outdoor irrigation while protecting local water quality and public health. Senator Alan Lowenthal's successful 2008 legislation launched this revision of the greywater standards.

Graywater provides a cost-effective and reliable source of water that can be implemented quickly and helps guard against water shortages in future drought years.

While the new standards are a great leap forward, they don't yet tap the full potential for graywater. Clean Water Action's Jennifer Clary notes that "the big missing piece is indoor reuse, specifically hooking systems up for toilet flushing or laundry." While using graywater for irrigation serves only seasonal demands in many parts of the state, expanding the standards to include indoor uses of graywater would provide year-round water savings across California.
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For more information on what a greywater system is:
www.humboldt.edu/~sej26/CCAT/grey.html

Grey Water Treatment Systems

Grey (gray) water is water that has been previously used for a primary purpose (washing dishes, laundry, showering), but is still clean enough to be used for a secondary purpose (landscape or agriculture watering).

Black water is water that you cannot use after its initial use, such as from toilets.

Grey water treatment systems have their differences when it comes to setup. There are various stages and paths the grey water must go through to be ready for reuse. The focal point of this page is to show you a few of the different setups.

A typical grey water system (pre-treatment needed) includes a pre-treatment filter. The main purpose of this filter is to catch larger objects that would block smaller pipes farther down in the treatment process.

After the pre-treatment process the water would go into a planter via pipes. There are many different ways to arrange and place these pipes depending on what would work best for the current site in which the system is being used.
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To keep current on legislation on this issue:
PCL INSIDER: News from the Capitol
1107 9th Street, Suite 360, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone (916) 444-8726 • Fax (916) 448-1789
www.pcl.org and www.pclfoundation.org
Copyright, 2008 The Planning and Conservation League. All rights reserved.

And on the Sonoma County front:
Sonoma County Conservation Action
540 Pacific Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
www.ConservationAction.org

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Sonoma County Creeks- Too Warm for Salmonids

Warm Streams – Warm Rivers
By Terrence Fleming, Program Coordinator
Community Clean Water Institute

The water is low, slow and probably warm. This is an observation that anyone can make if they even as much as glance at the Russian River and any streams that flow through Sonoma County. Now, we need to follow this conclusion with questions that ask whether these conditions are simply part of our climate’s seasonal changes, driven by drought and the warming of our planet, or whether there’s something deeper going on. No pun intended.

Community Clean Water Institute’s dedicated volunteers have been gathering water quality data for Sonoma County’s creeks and rivers since 2001. Recently, our water quality monitoring data is showing that many local streams are at temperatures far above what juvenile salmon can tolerate. Surely, we live in a Mediterranean climate and the hot summer months would warm the water and, along with a dry 2008-09 winter and spring, we might expect warmer streams that struggle to maintain minimum flow levels. What should make one curious is that folks who live on these waterways are reporting the lowest and slowest streams they’ve ever seen, as well as mortality rates in rearing steelhead reaching 100 percent.

These questions could, and definitely should, naturally meander to thoughts of global climate change and how this calamity is fueling our water issues. No surprise, the gradual warming of the planet is making our already dry climate even drier and we should deal with our trickling streams on a bigger scale. We can then use logic such as, “if we drive less and stop clear-cutting forests we’ll help conserve our streams and the salmon which depend on them.”

As with any environmental concern, there are many factors at play, and all of these thoughts have a place in the larger picture. We should drive less and we shouldn’t clear-cut, as these changes would lead to a reduction in carbon release, thus lessening the impact of global warming on our waterways. So once we’ve purchased a bike, obtained a bus schedule, and written a letter to our supervisor asking them to stop a proposed clear cut in their district we should then ask, “What can we do to keep the water flowing and as cool as possible during these dry times?”

Keeping the water in the streams is a very good answer! Shallow and stagnant streams are more susceptible to warmer temperatures and diverting water during dry times will further decrease stream quality. Pumping during shortages can even lead to fish kills such as the ones that occurred in April of 2008 on Felta Creek and the Russian River when local vineyards used stream water for frost protection. We also need to preserve groundwater, especially during this time of year when there is no storm runoff and the existing stream flow is made possible by groundwater baseflow.

Protecting riparian vegetation is another answer that may not be as widely acknowledged as it should be. Every stream in the county is currently experiencing low summer flows, and although warmer than in winter months, not all of them have temperatures that consistently exceed salmon survival limits. It seems that what are keeping these streams from coming to an ecological boil are the willows, alders, bays and other riparian plants that have been spared during land alterations.

Keeping trees around benefits a stream in so many ways besides just providing shade. They can also help minimize bank erosion, provide needed organic material and habitat to aquatic organisms, and reduce runoff, and increase groundwater recharge and storage for baseflow.
Blucher Creek, Santa Rosa Creek, Windsor Creek, and Austin Creek are some of the streams that currently have temperatures above documented salmon thresholds and we’re wondering where riparian shading plays into this tangled enviro-equation. If it is a huge role, can we protect existing corridors? Do we need to adopt a strong riparian ordinance? Will it be followed? Will this ordinance be enforced? These are all questions we should ask ourselves, but let’s make it snappy, for the water will only get warmer.

To learn more about the efforts of the Community Clean Water Institute - log on to their web site: http://www.ccwi.org/. They have many ways to keep informed as well as opportunities to participate.

First Saturday Clean-Up is an opportunity to volunteer your time to improve creeks in Santa Rosa. These are also educational opportunities as well as work experience for teens.

September 26 - Community Clean Water Institute and the City of Santa Rosa's Creek Stewardship Program will be co-hosting a Water Quality and Flow Monitoring Workshop and Training on Saturday, September 26th at 10am on Santa Rosa Creek! Great skills for Green Jobs! This event is free and open to the public. Meet at Pierson Street Bridge on Santa Rosa Creek at 10 am.

Contact Info:
Terrance Fleming
Community Clean Water Institute
Program Coordinator
707/824.4370 v
707/824.4372 f
terrance@ccwi.org

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Rainwater Harvesting and Graywater Use

Rainwater Harvesting and Graywater Use

Over the last three years our region has received significantly lower than average rainfall during the winter and spring months. These dry conditions coupled with regulatory constraints on our water supply have led to an increased interest in additional ways that homeowners and businesses can reduce water use. An option that is becoming more popular is the development of on-site water supply sources. Rainwater harvesting and graywater systems are two types of on-site sources that can be used to supplement your water supply and reduce your needs for potable water for landscape irrigation and potentially other non-potable uses.

Rainwater Harvesting is the collection and storage of rainwater from hard surfaces, such as rooftops, for later use. Rainwater harvesting varies from simple catchment devices, such as rain barrels, to more complex systems such as cisterns and storage tanks. Typically, rain barrels range from 50 to 100 gallons in size and the water collected is used to water plants and landscapes. Cisterns and storage tanks are larger than rain barrels, often storing several thousand gallons, and provide water for irrigation and other non-potable uses. Harvesting rainwater provides many benefits, including reducing the amount of storm water runoff, conserving water supply, and helping to reduce the amount of energy used and green house gas emissions produced to supply water.

When considering whether or not to install a rainwater harvesting system, it is important to take into account the size of your rooftop or catchment area, the amount of space available for rainwater storage, and how you plan to use the rainwater. For most types of catchment areas, for every inch of rain, an average of 600 gallons of rainwater can be collected per 1,000 square feet of catchment area. The amount of rainwater you collect and the length of time the rainwater is stored can add up quickly based on the amount of rainfall received and how the water is used. To prevent mosquito breeding and other stagnant water problems, rainwater harvesting systems should be inspected and cleaned routinely, and should include screens on all inlets and vents to keep out debris, an overflow pipe, a fully closed lid, and should be a dark enough color to block out sunlight to prevent algae growth. In addition, it is extremely important to check with your local City or County regarding any regulations or permits that apply to a rainwater harvesting system.

Graywater is untreated waste water from bathtubs, showers, bathroom sinks, and washing machines. Graywater does not include waste water from toilets, kitchen sinks, dishwashers or from loads of laundry that include diapers. The State of California has regulations that control how graywater systems must be designed, installed and operated, as well as restrictions on how graywater can be used. Graywater can only be used for subsurface irrigation. In response to the dry year conditions, the State updated the residential graywater regulations this August to allow certain single-fixture systems (like a clothes washer) to be installed without a permit if the local enforcing agency has not adopted more stringent standards. If you plan to use a graywater system in your home or business, check with your local City or County building department regarding current regulations and permit requirements.

Using graywater helps conserve water supply and reduces the amount of waste water that is produced. When deciding to use graywater, it is important to consider how much graywater your home or business produces, the amount of irrigation your landscape needs, and the permeability of the soil in your landscape.

As rainwater harvesting and graywater systems grow in popularity, some water providers have begun to offer rebates and incentives for installing these systems. For more information on requirements, possible incentives, or other water conservation programs, contact your local water provider.

This article was authored by Jennifer Burke of the City of Santa Rosa on behalf of RRWA. RRWA (www.rrwatershed.org) is an association of local public agencies in the Russian River Watershed that have come together to coordinate regional programs for clean water, fisheries restoration, and watershed enhancement

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Sonoma County Water offers FREE High Efficiency Fixtures

Free High Efficiency Fixtures and
Direct Installation Program Approved

Sonoma County sanitation district and zone customers will soon be able to receive installation of water and energy efficient fixtures in their homes or businesses for free. Under the High Efficiency Fixture Direct Installation Program, approved by the Sonoma County Water Agency Board of Directors on August 18, residential and commercial customers in the Sonoma Valley, Russian River and Occidental sanitation districts and the Airport/Larkfield/Wikiup, Geyserville, Sea Ranch and Penngrove sanitation zones are eligible for high efficiency toilets/urinals, low flow showerheads, and faucet aerators with 100 percent of the cost paid by the district/zone, for most installations.

Customers can choose from a list of participating plumbers to directly install the fixtures. A list of participating plumbers is available online at www.sonomacountywater.org. Participating plumbers are paid by the sanitation district for the cost of installation and a set amount for each fixture. Any other costs associated with the installation, such as, a high-end toilet upgrade or other repairs are not covered by the program.

“Our goal is to replace 100 percent of older fixtures in each of the sanitation service areas over the next 10 years with newer, more water efficient fixtures,” said SCWA Chairman Paul Kelley. “Achieving this goal will result in an annual indoor water savings of over 1,800 acre feet.” In Sonoma County, each household annually uses approximately 110,000 gallons of water - about one-third of an acre foot of water.

“Participation in the direct installation program is easy. Customers simply call a participating plumber, compare installation quotes, schedule their installation appointment, and watch their water and energy bills drop,” said SCWA Director Efren Carrillo.

“This is an exciting first step to providing financial assistance to sanitation district and zone customers in cooperation with local plumbing businesses. This will boost our local economy by providing jobs while also addressing our drought,” said SCWA Director Shirlee Zane.

The program will also quantify and acquire carbon reduction credits that will be used to help achieve a goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 25 percent by 2015 through the Sonoma County Community Climate Action Plan. About 1 pound of carbon dioxide is produced for each kWh. Customers participating in the program will allow the Agency to own these carbon reduction credits and count the savings toward the Climate Action Plan goals.

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Russian River Water Quality Monitoring

River Photography Project and Water Quality Studies Pass Half Way Point

(Please note: I'm having trouble getting this web site to download photos right now - so the article is up without them. Please check back on the future - this problem shouldn't last!)

By Brenda Adelman

The photo project…..
For the last two months, a group of volunteer photographers have been documenting conditions in the lower Russian River. The photo project was triggered as a result of the State Water Board’s May ruling authorizing the Sonoma County Water Agency to greatly diminish river flows in order to address drought conditions in Lake Mendocino.

The project’s goal has been to provide a summer “snapshot” of what happens to the river during ultra low flows. We have not only been taking pictures, but simultaneously tracking Lake Mendocino levels, reports on lower river flow levels, and water quality monitoring results for nutrients, bacteria, and conventional pollutants such as dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity, etc. This project will continue through September.

Water quality results….
Both the Sonoma County Water Agency and the North Coast Regional Board have been monitoring 15 locations along the Russian River in Sonoma County for three different types of bacteria, with enterococcus being the most problematic. This bacteria is the most sensitive indicator of mammal caused bacterial pollution. Testing began May 28th and continues weekly until early October. When a positive reading occurs, they return the following day (and sometimes a third day) until they get a clean reading. They do not test on weekends however, when recreational use is at its highest.

The monitoring results for enterococcus since May 28th (through August 1st) include the following: Camp Rose and Healdsburg Memorial Beach had 4 and 2 excursions over the limit respectively. Steelhead Beach had one. Mom’s Beach in Forestville had one. Hacienda Bridge at Sunset Beach had five. Johnson’s Beach had nine. Monte Rio kid’s beach had 5. Monte Rio’s downstream beach had none. In many cases, the health department put up notices warning people, but according to a conversation I had with a public health official, they did not consider the excursions serious enough to close the beaches.

There seemed to be some interesting patterns, although no final conclusions can be drawn from them. Testing started on May 28th, but excursions didn’t really show up in the lower river until June 18th. The beaches with highest use have had the most pollution. It could be partly because a bacterium resides in the sediments, which get stirred up during heavy recreational use. It could also be that people and/or animals sometimes use the river as a toilet causing contamination. Regional Board staff think that some high readings may be caused by failing septics, yet the most numerous readings occurred two miles downstream of the start of a sewered area, so it’s hard to draw that conclusion in this case.

Conventional pollutants have been monitored at about six beaches. The Water Agency has monitoring equipment in the river that takes and reports continuous readings, the most problematic being water temperature. The threatened and endangered salmonid species that are of most concern need cold-water temperatures ideally below 18 degrees Celsius. Water temperatures in the Guerneville area have been averaging between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius. The higher of these levels can be catastrophic to those species if they are sustained during the fall migration season. The lower levels can also have serious impacts.

Flow levels and water demands…..
Because of the relatively cool weather this summer, high water demands have not materialized and Lake Mendocino is very close to the same level it was this time last year. These moderate temperatures probably also explain why flows have averaged around 70 cubic feet per second (cfs) rather than the 35 cfs requested by the Water Agency. Water contractors have been claiming conservation savings up to 32% over 2004 use, but we have not seen much data to back this up. Truthfully, we don’t believe savings have been that high, since most contractors have been unwilling to implement mandatory conservation that prohibits such activities as lawn watering.

The Water Agency has been limiting total diversions for all contractors to 53 million gallons a day and contractors are worried that they will not have enough water available during a hot spell. They are demanding that more water be available on very hot days and have been told by the Water Agency that they need to conserve more instead. The Agency in the meantime had shut down some of their pumps and wells to save money. Because they are selling less water, they have fewer funds to provide services and need to cut back on operation and maintenance costs. We believe that contractors can do a lot more conservation and would much rather see that happen, than see flows diminish much lower than they are now.

River levels and Recreation….
From our perspective, at 70 cfs the canoes can still get through and people can swim in some deeper areas, and recreation survives. If flows go much below that level, it will get much harder to sustain. Many urban dwellers are trying hard to conserve, but many are still oblivious about the need until the word MANDATORY is used in relation to water savings. In the meantime, lower river beaches have been very crowded this summer in spite of limited flows. The hottest days have seen the biggest crowds. The heat definitely brings many people to our river shores.
As for the photographs, we have found that it’s difficult to see significant changes in river levels in a photograph. The water can be much shallower, but from a bridge, the only way you can assess depth is by photographing people traversing the river and showing it’s only up to their ankles. Occasionally we also see people pulling canoes and kayaks. Most of our pictures have been taken on weekends, to demonstrate very high recreational use.

Photographers have also seen a lot of algae in several different forms and the invasive Ludwegia indicating extensive nutrient pollution. Some algae float and some are attached to the banks or bottom. Some are a dark color and some we have seen are bright chartreuse green. The Ludwegia is very thick, but grows out into the water gradually. We are very concerned that if flows go much lower, this will change, and we will see the plant invade the river more aggressively.

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We invite the public to share their pictures of the river.
(Please send to Brenda at rrwpc@comcast.net and also send copies to Vesta@sonic.net)
Please make sure you provide us with dates and locations on each picture.

Also, we encourage you to get on Russian River Watershed Protection Committee’s mailing list. Just email Brenda at rrwpc@comcast.net and leave your name and mailing address and we will send you our latest mailer that contains a target letter to the State Board protesting low flows. Our mailers come out every other month. (We don’t sell or loan our list to anyone.)

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North Coast Water Board Approves Basin Plan Update

With a unanimous vote, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board approved the Basin Plan Amendment which establishes criteria for Wastewater Discharge, Storm Water Discharges and what they term. Low Threat Discharges. There was overall acceptance of every part of the Basin Plan except for issues concerning incidental runoff, which is primarily part of the Low Threat Discharge Action Plan.

There is so much documentation on this subject that is published on the Water Board web site, I'm going to link you there (below) for all the details.

Bottom line is, however, that objections to the use of recycled wastewater for irrigation, and the resultant runoff that ends up in our streams, wasn't enough to have the board hold off on passing this plan. The contention was that these chemicals, etc. in the recycled/treated water put our streams - and therefore our fish, etc., at risk because of the hormone interuptors and heavy metals that cannot be eliminated with our current treatment process.

But the board felt that there are enough monitoring systems and “BPs” (Best Practices-which are rules and regs that must be met) in place to mitigate problems. The rest of the plan is designed to protect waterways and asking the board to hold off on the whole plan for this section proved to be more than the board could do. So the Basin Plan is approved and there's more progress even if not enough progress in protecting our water.

Please learn about the details at the waterboard web site - there is much to know!

www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast for more information than your mind can handle - but take a look because there are some real gems of information in here! This is fascinating information, not just on water and wastewater, but you also learn how the people in charge create complex systems to monitor and potect water for all of us. We may not agree on everything, but much prohress has been made over the decades.There are peoole who care on both sides of this fence.

COMMENTS ARE WELCOME! Sens to vesta@sonic.net

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