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Corte Madera, CA                                                                                                    February 2013 
The Inside Source is produced by Marin Municipal Water District to inform local decisionmakers and opinion leaders on issues affecting Marin's water, people and environment.

Features
New Dates for Board Meetings
Marin-Friendly Garden Tour this Spring
Think Blue Marin Blog
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MMWD Board of Directors 
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Upcoming Public Meetings
 
Tues., March 5, 7:30 pm
BOARD MEETING 
Board Room 


Tues., March 19, 7:30 pm
BOARD MEETING 
Board Room  

RECORD LOW RAINFALL AND ABOVE AVERAGE STORAGE 

Yes, that's right. We expect to set a low rainfall record this year for the January-February time frame even though our reservoir storage levels are above average. With only 2.07 inches of rain received at Lake Lagunitas since the first of the year, and no rain in the forecast for the remaining days of February, we are on track to set a new record low for January-February rainfall. The previous low of 3.43 inches dates back to 1920. Average rainfall for January and February combined is about 20 inches. 

 

Paradoxically, our reservoir storage levels are actually above average at 97 percent of capacity today compared to the average of 88 percent. Why? Two reasons: one, we entered the rainy season last fall with above-average storage and two, we had an extremely rainy November and December. We received 29.27 inches in the last two months of 2012, nearly double the average of 15 inches for that two-month period.

 

Here are the current water statistics:

  • Reservoir Levels - As of February 25 reservoir storage is 77,196 acre-feet,* or 97 percent of capacity. The average for this date is 70,074 acre-feet, or 88 percent of capacity. Total capacity is 79,566 acre-feet.  
  • Rainfall - Rainfall this year (July 1, 2012 to February 25, 2013) is 35.38 inches. Last year for the same period we had 18.45 inches; average is 38.45 inches.
  • Water Use - Water use for the week ending February 25 averaged 17.4 million gallons per day, compared to 17.1 million gallons per day for the same week last year.    
  • Creek Releases - During the month of January 2013 MMWD released 376 million gallons, or a total of 1,155 acre-feet, into Lagunitas and Walker creeks in west Marin. We release water throughout the year to maintain adequate flows for the fishery per our agreement with the State of California.
Current water use and reservoir figures can be found on the homepage of our website.

 

*One acre-foot is 325,851 gallons.


MMWD BOARD MEETINGS MOVE TO TUESDAYS

The MMWD Board of Directors recently voted to change the regular board meeting dates to the first and third Tuesday of each month from the first and third Wednesday. The new meeting schedule will more easily mesh with the schedules of the board members, all of whom are full-time professionals with other obligations. The meetings still begin at 7:30 PM and are still held in the MMWD Board Room, 220 Nellen Avenue, Corte Madera.

 

Click here for the complete meeting schedule for 2013.


SAVE THE DATE: FREE MARIN-FRIENDLY GARDEN TOUR ON SATURDAY, MAY 18
Whether you are a long-time gardener or a novice, you'll find inspiration Marin-Friendly Garden Tour logoand beauty in MMWD's free, Marin-friendly garden tour on Saturday, May 18. This self-guided tour showcases Marin gardens designed to protect our local environment. It goes without saying (but we'll say it anyway) that these gardens conserve water. They also include a variety of other special features, such as native plant selections, edibles, rainwater catchment, wildlife habitat creation, the use of recycled materials and composting systems.


Admission is free, but advance registration is required to obtain the map and the garden guide, which provides details on each garden and gardening tips.

 

Click here for more information.  


RECENT BLOG AND FACEBOOK NEWS
Check out these recent posts from MMWD's blog, Think Blue Marin, and our Facebook page:
  • Get a head start on your 2013 garden with some seed germination advice (click here).  
  • February's special tribute to the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act is a blog post about California's native frogs. They are still with us, but struggling (click here). 
  • Six science classes from Redwood High School recently toured MMWD's water quality lab. Click here to see the Facebook photo album.   

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
We welcome your comments and need your help raising awareness about water in Marin.  Please share this information with your colleagues and constituents. Thank you!
Libby Pischel, Public Information Officer
Marin Municipal Water District
lpischel@marinwater.org
(415) 945-1421