| What's Our Water Situation Now? |
A series of storms this spring have resulted in above average rainfall levels in Orange County; nearly 15 inches to-date, compared to last year's total of 10 inches. This has many questioning---what is our water supply situation now?
With all the rainfall, you would expect Anaheim's water supplies to return to normal levels next year, but this is not yet the case. Anaheim and the rest of Southern California will face a second consecutive year of mandatory water supply reductions by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) - the first in MWD's history. For Anaheim, this action results in a need to reduce our water use by 3.5% or enough water to serve 5,200 households for a year.
MWD's decision to reinstate these cuts is primarily driven by the fact that deliveries of imported water from Northern California are down 20% from previous years. This is attributed to the State's water supply recovering from three consecutive years of drought, and continuing restrictions on the amount of water that Southern California is permitted to export from the Sacramento Bay Delta.
At this time, we expect to continue our "Voluntary Conservation" program because of our access to local groundwater supplies, as well as our customers' good water stewardship. For example, in the last few months, your contributions in saving water have paid off. To date, we have already exceeded our annual goal to save over 1.2 billion gallons of water (July 1 through June 30) by 700 million gallons of water! It is this kind of commitment that we must sustain in order to insure we have adequate supplies in the near future.
In this issue we debut our new Water Conservation campaign "Because Every Drop Counts..." as well as provide information on our water saving programs and rebates and a brief look into the activities in the month of May as we celebrate Water Awareness Month.
Sincerely,
Marcie L. Edwards
Anaheim Public Utilities General Manager |
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May is Water Awarness Month! | |
Since 1989, May has been declared Water Awareness Month in California. During this time of the year, outdoor water use begins to increase and we like to remind customers about the importance of using water wisely.
Every year, Anaheim Public Utilities promotes the California Water Awareness Campaign to raise awareness on the importance of conserving and protecting our most precious resource. Listed below are events we participated in to educate our customers on the importance of water conservation:
Anaheim Advantage Services Booth at the Farmers Market
Date: May 13 and May 27
Place: Anaheim's Downtown Farmer's Market
California Friendly Landscape Workshop
Date: May 1, May 8, and May 15
Place: Anaheim's Downtown Farmer's Market
2010 Water Conservation Poster Contest Award Ceremony
Date: May 24
Place: Anaheim Angel Stadium of Anaheim
2010 Solar Cup Boat Races
Date: May 14-16
Place: Lake Skinner in Temecula, CA
Free Water Conservation Advertisements and Tip Cards
Date: Every Thursday
Place: Water saving tips will be advertised in the Anaheim Bulletin and Anaheim Hills News. Tip cards will also be available at City Hall, Anaheim Police Station, libraries, and community centers to encourage customers to use water efficiently.
For additional information about Water Awareness Month's events and activities, please contact Jarred Ross, Water Conservation Program Manager at (714) 765-4256 or email. |
| 2010 Water Conservation Poster Winners! | |
Janet Doan, a 6th grader at Fairmont Private School and Paul Hudson, a 5th grader at Acaciawood Private School joined 18 other Anaheim students as winners in the 2010 Water Conservation Poster Contest.
The contest drew around 144 entries from a number of different Anaheim public and private schools this year. The young artists, first through sixth-grade, will receive trophies on Monday, May 24th, during the Angels Baseball pre-game ceremony at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
First Place Winner-Janet Doan, 6th Grade
First Place Winner-Paul Hudson, 5th Grade
The winning posters will be exhibited in the lobby of Anaheim West Tower for the entire month of May. They may also be viewed by logging onto Anaheim's Website at www.anaheim.net.
Congratulations to all the winners! |
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Anaheim Steps Up to the Plate
Anaheim Public Utilities Self-Funds Rebate Programs | |
 On September 21, 2009, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) announced that their funds for providing business and multi-family customers with water conservation rebates had been depleted.
With the goal of always providing our customers with the best service and programs, Anaheim Public Utilities stepped up and self-funded these rebate programs. This enabled the Utility to continue their proactive efforts in promoting customer participation in our water conservation efforts.
Customer such as Lisa Jewett are thankful that Anaheim Public Utilities offers customers water conservation rebates. "I was extremely happy with the rebates that I was able to receive for the smartimer and rotating nozzles I purchased. Not only was I able to purchase water saving products, but I reduced my last water bill by 50 percent!" said Lisa. She also expressed her appreciation for the exceptional customer service from Utility staff.
If you'd like to learn more about our rebate programs or share your customer experience, click here. |
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Water Savings
Update | |
April 2010:
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Anaheim's Goal:
1.2 Billion Gallons
Good job Anaheim, we've already reached our water savings goal!
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| | Student Video Contest Winners Selected! | |
Congratulations to the three winners of Anaheim Public Utilities' 2nd Annual Water Conservation Video Contest.
1st Place: Animation Class of Canyon High School
2nd Place: Kasra Jafroodi and Harvey Higger of Oxford Academy
3rd Place: Uriel Flores of Savanna High School
APU will showcase the three winning videos on Anaheim's cable channel 3 and website.
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| Anaheim's Water Saving Tips for Kids |  | |
Look for Anaheim's water saving tips for kids in Kidsville Newspaper; the Nation's fastest growing children's newspaper and educational resource. |
| Getting Ready for Summer! | |
Plenty of rain in the last few months doesn't mean we are out of a drought. As warmer months are quickly approaching, please don't forget to water your landscape efficiently.
Turf:
3 days per week
2 cycles of 5 minutes each
Trees/Shrubs:
3 days per week
3 cycles of 2-3 minutes each
Turf:
3 days per week
3 cycles of 5 minutes each
Trees/Shrubs:
3 days per week
3 cycles of 2-3 minutes each | |
| Save Water and Money |
To learn more about our water conservation rebates and programs click here. | |
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