You Should Keep Saving Water In The Winter

Even though we've been seen plenty of rain and snow this fall, CCWD's Drought Management Plan is still in place.

You need to continue to save water and remain below your water budget to avoid excess use charges.

Though the start of the rain season has been good, there is still a long way to go in the season. If the rain and snow in the Sierra stops or tapers off, we would be facing continuing drought conditions. So far, so good.

If you like sports analogies: "We're only in the First Quarter, anything thing can happen in the next three," or "It's still the first inning," or "We may be in the lead by the first pit stop, but we haven't won the race."

You get the picture, we'll keep you updated.

Five Ways To Save Water In The Winter:

1. Insulate your water pipes. Insulation saves water two ways, it will take less time to heat water in the house and also avoids water loss and expensive repairs if the pipes burst in freezing temperatures. Insulation helps save water all year long.

2. Plan your spring planting with our new gardening information site. Our site is geared to Contra Costa weather and soil conditions, and is a concise and fun way to pick plants for your water-tolerant garden. There are pictures, examples of drought-tolerant yards and more.

3. Continue to take a short shower, pick up one of our free timers to remind you to the showers short. We also have free water saving shower heads. You can get them both at our CCWD Main Office at 1331 Concord Ave. in Concord.

4. Remove your lawn and replace it with drought-tolerant plants. We'll pay you up to $500 to do it. You need to follow all the steps to qualify for the money.

5. Double-check to make sure your sprinklers are off. Since most timers are set to water in the early morning, you may not know if yours are running.
CCWD Customers Continue To Save Water

The statistics aren't changing much, and that's good. CCWD customers are continuing to save water. Between May 1 and Nov. 30, customers have saved 20 percent when compared to the historic average of the years 2005, 06 and 07.

That remains impressive, and customers are saving more than the goal of 15 percent.