TIS bnr green water
Corte Madera, CA                                                                                                            May 2015
The Inside Source is produced by Marin Municipal Water District to inform local decision makers and opinion leaders on issues affecting Marin's water, people, and environment.
Features
Drought Regulations Finalized
Conservation Materials Available
MMWD Reduces Fluoride Levels in Water
Spread the Word

MMWD Board of Directors 

Jack Gibson
President

Cynthia Koehler
Vice President

Larry Bragman
Armando Quintero
Larry Russell

Regular meetings of the MMWD Board of Directors are held at 7:30 pm the first and third Tuesday of each month unless otherwise noticed in the District Board Room, 220 Nellen Avenue, Corte Madera. Additional meetings are scheduled as needed. All board meetings are open to the public.
(415) 945-1455

Krishna Kumar
General Manager


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Upcoming Public Meetings
 
Tues., June 2, 7:30 p.m. 
BOARD MEETING 
Board Room
 
Tues., June 16, 7:30 p.m. 
BOARD MEETING 
Board Room
CURRENT RESERVOIR LEVELS AND OTHER DATA
Reservoir levels, average daily water production over the past week, and rainfall figures to date are now updated daily instead of weekly on MMWD's website. In addition, we have added the following new data fields: average weekly water supply sources (reservoirs and Russian River), creek releases, and temperature.

 

Visit our Water Watch page for daily updates. 

 

Here are the latest water statistics:
  • Reservoir Levels - As of May 20, reservoir storage is 71,060 acre-feet,* or 89.3% of capacity. The average for this date is 70,669 acre-feet, or 88.8% of capacity.   
  • Rainfall - Rainfall this year to date (July 1, 2014 - May 20, 2015) is 39.62 inches. Average for the same period is 51.65 inches; last year on this date we had 33.40 inches.
  • Water Use - Water use for the week ending May 20 averaged 21.12 million gallons per day, down from 26.66 million gallons per day for the same week last year.
  • Creek Releases - During the month of April 2015 MMWD released 486 million gallons, or 1,491 acre-feet, into Lagunitas and Walker creeks in west Marin for habitat enhancement.  
*One acre-foot is 325,851 gallons

STATE WATER USE REGULATIONS FINALIZED 

On May 19 the MMWD Board of Directors received a report confirming the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board)'s previously announced emergency conservation regulations. MMWD is being asked to reduce water use by 20% for June 2015 through February 2016 compared to 2013.

On a statewide level, the State Board is calling for communities to reduce water use by 8 to 36% for the  
same period. This range of savings was determined depending on water use in July-September 2014. The more water saved in 2014, the lower the number for each community. The goal is to reach a statewide savings of 25% for the entire nine-month period. Within the 8-36% range, MMWD is being asked to reduce water use by 20% compared to 2013 based on our customers' effective efforts to conserve water in 2014.

Fortunately, MMWD customers have already been achieving an average savings of 13.5% monthly. But we need to achieve at least an additional 6.5% to reach our community's target of 20%. We ask customers to continue their successful conservation efforts and to observe the specific water use prohibitions listed below. If we all do a little more than we are doing now, we will achieve the additional savings requested by the State Board for June 2015 through February 2016.

Prohibited Water Uses Effective April 7, 2015

1. Irrigating between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., except for system testing & repair;
2. Irrigating ornamental landscape areas or turf areas more than three days per week*;
3. Irrigating ornamental landscape areas or turf areas during & 48 hours after rainfall;
4. Using a hose without a shut-off nozzle;
5. Allowing irrigation water to run off or overspray the irrigated area;
6. Hosing down sidewalks, driveways, & other hard-surfaced areas;
7. Using non-recirculating decorative fountains.

*Customers may choose which days of the week as long as the maximum is three days. (Most of the time, most plants will be happy with less.)

Thank you for conserving! For more information visit marinwater.org/drought. 
CONSERVATION MATERIALS FOR RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS
In addition to the specific prohibited water uses listed above, two new state regulations affect dining and lodging establishments. All California restaurants are only to serve drinking water upon request and all California hotels and motels must offer guests the option to decline daily laundering of towels and linens and prominently display notice of this option.

For businesses in MMWD's service area, this won't be a change, since we have had these regulations in place since 2011. In response to the state action, however, we are reaching out to our local businesses to remind them about these requirements. To help spread the word, MMWD is offering free table tents to restaurants and free room cards to hotels. To order, please visit  marinwater.org/drought-materials.

We've also launched a social media campaign to thank local restaurants for saving water by serving drinking water on request. Participating restaurants or their patrons can email a photo to publicinformation@marinwater.org, and we'll share it on Facebook and Twitter. Or, share your photo using #DrinkingWaterOnRequest.

Visit our conservation page for information about programs for all customers.
MMWD REDUCES LEVEL OF FLUORIDE IN DRINKING WATER
We recently made a significant change with regard to fluoridation of the drinking water. On May 1, 2015 we lowered the level of fluoride in the drinking water from 0.9 mg/L to 0.7 mg/L in response to new federal regulations. The new level is equivalent to one drop of fluoride in 18 gallons of water.

On April 27, 2015 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the final Public Health Service (PHS) recommendation for the optimal fluoride level in drinking water to prevent tooth decay. The new recommendation is for a single level of 0.7 mg/L, or milligrams per liter, of fluoride in the water. This new recommendation replaces the previous recommended range of 0.7 to 1.2 mg/L issued in 1962. PHS recommended the lower level because Americans now have access to more sources of fluoride, such as toothpaste and mouth rinses, than they did when water fluoridation was first introduced in the United States.

Upon release of the new federal recommendation for fluoride, the (California) State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, authorized California public water systems practicing fluoridation to immediately implement the new federal recommended level of 0.7 mg/L and the new recommended control range of 0.6 mg/L to 1.2 mg/L.

Visit our water quality page for more information.
NEW BLOG POSTS
  • While many of the water use restrictions don't apply to apartment dwellers, everyone's conservation efforts are needed to help preserve our limited supply for future use. Read on for the top 10 water-saving reminders for apartment dwellers. 
  • If you are lucky, you might see a native western pond turtle on one of your Mt. Tam watershed visits. Please observe the turtles from a distance and leave them where they are. Read on for more tips to being a good friend to the turtles.  
  • Growing herbs is an easy and fun gardening activity. And they don't use a lot of water, so please feel free to enjoy an herb garden this summer. Read on for tips on herb gardening from our favorite retired gardener.
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