San Andreas, CA…California is in the midst of a multi-year drought. The first three months of 2022 were the driest on record, and unfortunately there was not enough precipitation in the Spring to make up for the long stretch of dry weather. The California State Water Resources Control Board has adopted emergency regulations, which determined that all urban water suppliers in the State must adopt “Stage 2” of their Water Shortage Contingency Plans, with mandatory water conservation of 20%, regardless of their local water conditions. On June 8th, Calaveras County Water District (CCWD) followed the direction of the State and formally adopted the “Stage 2” of their water shortage contingency plan. As a result, CCWD is calling on all customers to reduce water usage by 20%.

In addition to the mandate for CCWD to reduce water usage by 20%, Stage 2 calls on all CCWD customers to adopt the following conservation practices:
Stage 2 | 20% Conservation
• Irrigation is prohibited between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• All leaks, breaks, or other malfunctions shall be repaired within 72 hours of being notified by the District.
• Use of water for cleaning driveways, walkways, parking lots and streets is prohibited, except to alleviate immediate safety or sanitation hazards.
• Restaurants may only serve water upon request.
• Lodging establishment must offer opt out of linen service.
• Customers must take actions to establish appropriate run-times for landscape irrigation to eliminate excessive water runoff extending beyond the customer property.

CCWD prioritizes initiatives aimed at water conservation practices to maintain the health and sustainability of our watersheds, including major leak reduction and pipeline replacement efforts in recent years.

Here are some water-saving ideas you can use at home:
• Limit outdoor water use.
• Establish appropriate run-times for landscape irrigation to eliminate excessive water runoff.
• Consider installing drought tolerant landscaping.
• Avoid watering during the hottest portion of the day. Otherwise, some of the water will be lost to evaporation.
• Use a broom or a leaf blower to clean sidewalks and pavements instead of a hose.
• Fix leaky faucets, toilets, appliances, and sprinklers. Leaks vary in amount, but they can account for a lot of wasted water over time.
• Operate your clothes and dishwashers with full loads only, even if the machine has an adjustable load setting.
• Take shorter showers with high-efficiency showerheads. Each minute you cut saves 2.5 gallons.

CCWD continues to track in-county water conditions using the Public Water Resources Data Packet. This data packet provides daily info on total precipitation, reservoir and lake storage levels, and state drought conditions. You can access the data packet here: https://ccwd.org/water-resources/public-data-packet/. For more info regarding current water conditions and CCWD’s conservation efforts, please visit CCWD’s water conservation webpage at https://ccwd.org/conservation/water-use-efficiency/. For additional information on tips for water conservation, visit the Calaveras Conserves webpage at https://ccwd.org/calaveras-conserves or https://saveourwater.com.