CCWD Staff Recommends 15 Percent Water Use Reduction

CCWD’s staff is recommending to the District’s Board of Directors a Drought Management Program designed to reduce water consumption in the District by 15 percent.

The Board will hold a public hearing on the program at its April 1 meeting, and is expected to vote at that time.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at CCWD’s Main Offices at 1331 Concord Ave. in Concord. If approved, the program will begin May 1.

The Bureau of Reclamation has increased the CCWD allocation for Central Valley Project water from 50 percent to 55 percent. The 15 percent water use reduction target, coupled with available supplies, will allow customer demands to be met this year.

Under the program, all customers will be asked to conserve. Most customer classes are being asked to cut by 15 percent. Industrial users will be asked to cut by 5 percent and irrigation customers by 45 percent.

The focus of the 15 percent Drought Management Program is on reducing outside water use while minimizing impacts on jobs and the economy. The District’s Drought Management Program does not increase rates.

Any Single Family Residential customer who uses more than 1,000 gallons per day, and does not reduce water use by 15 percent – compared to their three-year (2005, 2006 and 2007) historical average -- will be charged an excess water use charge of four times the quantity charge.

In addition, Single Family Residential customers who increase their use when compared to their three-year average for the billing period will be charged an excess water charge of four times the quantity charge.

All customers will be sent their historical average and other program information in early April.

Here is more information on the program:

Read the amended Ordinance 0901:

Read the Board Agenda docket form:

Read the Staff Report:

The Agenda for the April 1 Board Meeting:

Please send an e-mail if you have questions on the program.

Welcome to CCWD's Water Conservation Blog

I'll update the blog regularly with news about the drought and how you can save water to help all of us get through what looks to be a difficult spring and summer.

As I write this first post on Feb. 12, it's raining in Concord.

That's good news, but we're way behind in rainfall and -- more importantly -- snowfall in the Sierra. We need a lot of precipitation to catch up after two years of drought that has left reservoirs throughout the state well-below their normal storage supplies.

Even thought it's raining today, water rationing may be unavoidable this spring.

We are committed to implementing a rationing plan that is fair. We are also assisting our customers by providing rebates on water-saving appliances like toilets and washing machines, free conservation devices and information from the professionals in our Water Conservation Department.

You can find out more on our water conservation web site at www.ccwater.com

Please send a comment or a question, and we'll get right back to you.