Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "water"

Swimmers at McKinley Park take the plunge for a good cause

2012-01-09T05:03:22Z

During the hot summer months, Clunie pool, located in McKinley Park in Midtown Sacramento, is the place to be. But this past Saturday, swimmers could be seen jumping off the diving board and swimming in water during cold winter temperatures.

Swimming during the winter months may seem crazy, but Sacramentans came out for a special cause.

The city Department of Parks and Recreation has been making cuts in the aquatics department for several years now, increasing shutdowns of city pools.

Sierra Voss, 27, who has been lifeguarding for 10 years, has seen firsthand the changes that have been happening recently.

"Last year we had black out days, where once a week each pool had to be closed down for the day. And the hours of recreational swim had to be altered, and a lot of people weren't happy with that."

Along with the cutback of hours, programs have also been altered or have completely subsided.

"Our hours have drastically been cut but also closing of the pools makes swim team and swim lessons limited,” explains Samantha Matranga, a lifeguard of six years.

During the 2011 aquatic season, there were only six pools open: Johnston, McClatchy Park, George Sim, Doyle, Clunie and Pannell Meadowview.

"There is a good possibility that this upcoming season there will only be three pools open and we wanted to do as much as we could to keep more pools open," explains Terri Matal, Recreation Supervisor of Aquatics and Adult Sports.

The aquatics department recently teamed up with giftstoshare.org, a non-profit organization that supports the City of Sacramento's park, recreation, cultural, educational and neighborhood improvement programs to help raise money for the department.

Along with giftstoshare.org, the idea of a polar plunge to help fundraise and raise awareness was mentioned.

"A lot of the polar plunges are timely with the start of the New Year. I thought it would be a great winter event for the community, but also to call attention to the current budget situation with the city pools," explains Matal.

With the pool at a crisp 48 degrees and the outside temperature only a few degrees higher at 51 degrees, participants were up for a challenge.

Residents of all sizes and ages came out to Clunie to show their support as well as participate.

The city made sure that safety came first with three lifeguards on deck, a warming station and the pool chlorinated and regulated.

Two cousins who came together had different views on jumping in the water.

"I'm not scared at all to jump in," said Bobby Goforth, although his older cousin Erin Horrell who is normally a park patron but not a regular at the pool confessed, "I'm a little scared to jump in."

The fist plunge took place at 10:20 a.m., with patrons having the choice of the diving board, slide or off the side of the pool to enter the chilling water. Many of the plungers jumped in several times, seeming invincible to the icy cold water.

Along with the plunge, participants were also able to enjoy refreshments, face painting and a fun polar bear walking around.

Besides the fun that the event brought, it is important to remember the reason for the occasion.

City pools in Sacramento are not only a great way to stay cool during the summer, but they help our residents with employment, swimming lessons and recreational events to help kids stay out of trouble when school isn’t in session.

"The one thing I love about my job is the camaraderie amongst my coworkers, but also that I'm able to provide a service that can help kids from wandering the streets and keeping them out of trouble," explains Matranga.

This polar plunge was started to raise money for the city, with hopes that it will continue as an event the community can participate in on an annual basis.

"I'd love to see this event happen every year. Regardless of whether people swim or just watch, I think it's a great idea," explains Voss.

For more information on the current aquatics budget, visit http://www.cityofsacramento.org/parksandrecreation/recreation/aquatics/pools.htm

To make a donation you can visit www.giftstoshare.org.

Disclosure: I worked for the Aquatics department of the CIty of Sacramento as a Senior Lifeguard for the 2004 and 2006 seasons.

Crocker Explores the Artful Side of Water on December 8

2011-12-07T01:26:18Z

The Crocker Art Museum will present a multi-media exploration of water on Thursday, Dec 8, from 5 to 9 p.m. Inspired by the community exhibition “Liquid Assets,” Art Mix: Flow in Flux will feature a mini-film festival curated by the Sundance Film Festival's associate programmer Mike Plante, special water-based tours led by artists Enid Baxter Blader, Jenny Stark, and Nicole Antebi, a performance by the Spillit Quikkers, a local old-time string band, and interactive water-themed art with iPads.

“Liquid Assets” is a unique installation exploring one of California’s most vital resources. Inspired by art from the Crocker's permanent collection, this exhibit features 21 works laid out as a spatial dictionary offering perspectives on how water defines life in the region. The community exhibit will be on view through January 12, 2012, and is presented in collaboration with the Water, CA project.

Art Mix is part of the Museum’s Thursdays ‘til 9 program series. The Crocker is open every Thursday until 9 p.m. for film screenings, social gatherings, concerts, and art happenings presented in collaboration with regional art groups. Tickets are available for purchase at crockerartmuseum.org, the Museum Admission Desk, or by calling (916) 808-1182.

The Crocker Art Museum was the first art museum in the Western U.S. and is now one of the leading art museums in California. Established in 1885, the Museum features one of the country’s finest collections of Californian art, exceptional holdings of master drawings, a comprehensive collection of international ceramics, as well as European, Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in Downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Tuesday–Sunday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Thursdays. Every Third Sunday of the month is “Pay What You Wish Sunday” sponsored by Bank of America. For more information, call (916) 808-7000 or visit crockerartmuseum.org.

Disclosure: Kathleen Richards has been a fan of the Crocker Art Museum since her very first visit in fourth grade, and she now serves as the Crocker's Marketing Coordinator.

City Opens Doors of Historic Water and Sewer Facilities

2011-10-18T20:39:24Z

Residents are invited to see firsthand the challenges of aging water, sewer pipes, pumps and treatment plants

As part of Your Utilities. Your Voice., The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities is throwing open the doors of two of its oldest pieces of infrastructure- the Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant (built in 1923) and Sump 2 (built in 1927) to help the citizens of Sacramento better understand the challenges of its aging water and sewer infrastructure. At each facility, tours will be offered that highlight the historic nature of these facilities and how modern technology is keeping them operating today, while protecting the environment and the health and safety of Sacramento residents. Tours will also share with participants the growing number of issues that they, the ratepayer and the City faces as these facilities face mounting repairs and needed upgrades.

Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant Tour
Saturday October 22, 2011
11- 1 p.m. (tours leave every half hour)
1 Water Street, Sacramento, CA

Sump 2 Tour
Saturday November 5, 2011
11-1 p.m. (tours leave every half hour)
3530 Riverside Blvd, Sacramento, CA

For more information about aging infrastructure tours, meetings or presentations, please visit YourUtilitiesYourVoice.com.

Disclosure: Jessica Hess is the Public Information Officer with the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities

Public Safety in the American River Parkway

2011-10-18T01:34:33Z

By David H. Lukenbill, senior policy director, American River Parkway Preservation Society

Recently there has been some attention from local media about public safety in the American River Parkway.
In the October 16, 2011 Sacramento Bee story “Ranger cutbacks prompt concerns about bike trail safety”, we read:

"Most of the stuff we deal with is quality of life stuff," said Chief Ranger Stan Lumsden, who took over the job last month just as an arsonist was setting 15 fires in two separate sprees near River Bend Park.
“Car break-ins, vandalism or dogs running off leash are the norm, he said, "unless you get down to the last six miles of the parkway."
“There, in the area starting near Discovery Park, a growing homeless population continues to pose challenges for the rangers and the army of bicycle commuters who pass through that stretch each weekday.
"We're starting to see a lot more violent crime down there, assaults, anything you can imagine that the transient population does," Lumsden said.”

While this is tragic news, it is certainly not new news, as witnessed by the story in the December 2, 2004 issue of the Sacramento News & Review, entitled, “Trail of fears: The American River Bike Trail is idyllic, as long as you don’t get maced, mugged or beaten with a rock”, wherein we read:

“Between May 10 and June 30 this year, there were six robberies, assaults or combinations of the two reported on the trail in the Northgate and Del Paso Heights areas. In one incident, the victim was stabbed before the assailant took money; in two, the assailants pointed a gun or what appeared to be a firearm; and in another, a victim was hit with a stick.
“According to reports filed by the Sacramento Police Department, in all cases, the suspect descriptions were different, as was the method of operation.
“In addition to those, since 2002, there have been 11 other reported cases of assault or battery on the trail, two robberies, one rape and one attempted rape. In one case, a bicyclist was seriously injured after riding into a head-high length of what may have been fishing line strung across the path.”

In another story from the Sacramento News & Review from November 6, 2008, “Hell’s half-acre, Sacramento’s homeless weigh in: Tent Town’s top 25 tips for surviving the economic downturn”, notes:

“14. Stay away from the river
“It’s a half-mile from Tent Town to the American River, where the hard-core, chronically homeless hole up in the dense foliage leading up to its banks. The level of depravity increases the nearer you get to the water, which is why the American River Parkway is heavily patrolled by park rangers from Discovery Park to Cal Expo. “We heard screams coming from there last night,” says Kim. She’d be pretty if all of her front teeth hadn’t been knocked out. “They hauled another body out of there the other day, some mummified dude,” Ace adds. Kim shivers.”

The residents of Woodlake and North Sacramento bear the major burdens of this long term influx of illegal camping and the subsequent problems of crime, aggressive panhandling, habitat degradation, vandalism, and corrosion of the level of public safety residents rightfully expect to receive.

The situation is one stemming from a familiar source, the historic lack of attention Sacramento—and many other river cities unfortunately—have devoted to cultivating their river banks for public use and public safety.

It is especially troublesome in our area due to the history attached to our two major rivers, just in their naming.

William Holden, in his wonderful book, Sacramento: Excursions into its History and Natural World, wrote:

“One October morning in 1808 when Spanish sea captain Gabriel Moraga, 39, trekking up the big river in a horseback expedition, was struck by the lovely scene. Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current… the Spaniards …drank in the beauty around them. ‘Es como el sagrado Sacramento!’ …This is like the Holy Sacrament! So the river got its name …” (p. 9)

The American river was given its permanent name in 1837, according to Peter Hayes in his book, The Lower American River: Prehistory to Parkway, “by Governor Alvarado who called it the “Rio do los Americanos” because the area was frequented by “trappers of revolutionary proclivities.” (p.17)

These are two wonderful rivers, which are dearly loved by residents and we, as a community, can do so much more to ensure safe and easy access to their beauty, history, and majesty.

As far as the public safety issue along the lower section of the American, it must be of equal concern to community leaders to helping the homeless. Crimes from major to minor occur regularly in the Woodlake/North Sacramento area of the Parkway, and many in those neighborhoods are justifiably fearful about venturing into it.

As a community, we can never give up on the vision that public compassion and public safety are compatible concepts.

Disclosure: The author is the founder of the Parkway advocacy nonprofit organization, American River Parkway Preservation Society

The Time is now for Your Input about Utilities

2011-09-14T22:36:07Z

City Utilities is looking for customer input as it faces challenges with aging pipes, increasing regulations

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities, the City’s water, sewer, drainage and solid waste service provider, is seeking residential and commercial customer input on a set of guiding principles that will guide the department’s future services, programs and priorities.

Through the initiative called Your Utilities. Your Voice., the department is educating customers about the challenges it faces as well as gathering their opinions about how the department moves forward.

“Choices have to be made as we look to the future of the department,” said Dave Brent, Interim Director of the Department of Utilities. “We are facing challenges. Our sewer and water system, pipes and water treatment facilities have been around for nearly 100 years. Maintenance, repairs and replacement costs are increasing. We need our stakeholders and customers, the real owners of our utility system, to be a part of this important discussion and decision making process.”

Customer feedback will help Utilities prioritize a set of guiding principles. These principles focus on the department’s goals which include responding to customer needs, balancing those needs with departmental mandates and services, and, ultimately will be used to analyze rates.

If you are a Sacramento city business or residential customer, complete the survey by visiting YourUtilitiesYourVoice.com by October 3, 2011. Utilities will also make presentations to community groups upon request. Customers can email info@yourutilitiesyourvoice.com.

Disclosure: This story was written by the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities

Utilities audit promises big savings, questions linger

2011-08-06T00:48:08Z

The utilities department will be able to save more than $40 million over the next four years, according to an audit presented to the City Council Thursday, but some debate the accuracy of those numbers.

According tho the audit, which can be read here, six main areas of the utilities department can be run more efficiently.

The savings in the 2012 fiscal year would amount to approximately $8.6 million. The audit was requested by Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilman Kevin McCarty last October, partially in response to a ballot measure that dealt with utilities rates, with McCarty saying it should be on the audit schedule ahead of other audits.

City Auditor Jorge Oseguera said that when talking to the utilities department, officials told him the department is in support of most of the findings and has plans to take action on them.

The report suggests that the city not replace backyard water mains before the end of their useful life, as it has been doing, since new meter-reading technology makes it unnecessary, Oseguera said, adding that the technology makes their moves redundant.

According to the report, that savings alone would amount to more than $31 million over four years.

New vehicle routing software could save approximately $1 million through fiscal year 2015, and more public education about recycling bins could streamline the process, saving more than $2 million in the same timeframe, according to the report.

Oseguera added that water treatment plants are staffed 24 hours per day with multiple people, but if two or three full-time equivalent employees could be reduced, that would save more than $2 million over four years.

Marcia Mooney, a spokeswoman for the Local 39 union, which represents the plant workers, said Sacramento’s drinking water is the best in the state and 18th-best in the country, according to a report released last year.

“If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” she said, adding that there is a shortage of skilled plant operators, and laying off two or three would jeopardize the safety of the drinking water, and replacing the plant workers would be difficult.

“People generally don’t like change,” she said, referring to the morale dip she expects if plant workers are laid off. “If you make things uncomfortable (for those not laid off), they can find other jobs.”

Another point in the audit report recommends changing the city’s two-vehicle loose-in-the-street garbage pickup to a single vehicle of a different type.

Currently, the city uses a garbage truck followed by a tractor with a claw that picks up loose-in-the-street garbage and deposits it into the truck. The report points out that the city could save as much as $5.5 million by switching to a single “boom truck” that has a crane-like claw device to pick up garbage.

Councilman Steve Cohn said Thursday he questions the amount of savings the report anticipates from stopping the water meter relocation and changing the loose-in-the-street garbage pickup.

“It’s not clear that the boom truck is the best solution for Sacramento,” he said, adding that the report “gave some great ideas.”

Councilman Darrell Fong said the Department of Utilities has done tests with the boom truck for garbage pickup and has not found it to be efficient.

Mayor Kevin Johnson addressed the audit in his Tuesday press conference, saying he was looking forward to receiving it, but he also had some criticisms.

“I think (the audit) is long overdue,” he said. “I’ve been talking about it for two and half years. I felt that we should have done a top-to-bottom audit much sooner, and here we are, two or three years down the road. Money literally is going down the drain."

He added that the utilities department will be having some “tough conversations” as a result of the audit.

“I think we need more accountability,” Johnson said. “I think the public deserves to know that issues are being addressed in a timely manner, not (that they are) something that we’ll get to ‘eventually.’ ”

Since the utilities department is an enterprise fund – meaning the services must be fully self-supporting and cannot charge more than the service costs – the money saved as a result of actions taken after the audit could not go into the general fund to pay for things such as police, fire, and parks and recreation. Any savings would result in lower utilities rates to residents.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell Staff Reporter Melissa Corker contributed to this report.

Wetlands field sampling taking place in Sacramento County

2011-06-03T13:12:43Z

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hosted a press availability June 2nd to highlight a national effort to assess the health of the nation’s wetlands, and an opportunity to provide input on proposed changes to how the government protects wetlands. The event was held at the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Elk Grove, California where scientists were simultaneously sampling nearby wetlands in support of the National Wetlands Condition Assessment (NWCA).

The NWCA is a collaboration between EPA and its state, tribal, and federal partners representing the first-ever national field survey on the health of the nation’s wetlands. More than 1,000 sites across the country—including 43 in California—are being surveyed to assess indicators of wetland health, including water quality and flow, vegetation, and soils. NCWA sampling locations during the next two months will include wetlands in the following California counties: San Mateo, San Diego, Orange, Solano, Contra Costa, Ventura, Marin, Monterey, Humboldt, Sacramento, Inyo, Merced, and Mendocino.

EPA officials also answered questions regarding recent draft guidance on federal wetlands protection. The draft Guidance, developed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, aims to clarify which waters are subject to protection under the Clean Water Act, and is open to public input until July 1st. Formal regulations clarifying when the CWA applies may follow the guidance, a process which would again involve public input.

“Wetlands filter pollution, and protect communities from flooding while providing habitat for fish, fowl and flora,” said Alexis Strauss, EPA’s water division director for the Pacific Southwest. “The draft Clean Water Act guidance will reaffirm our intent to protect these vital and vanishing resources to the fullest extent of the law, while providing greater clarity to the regulated public.”

Between 80 and 95 percent of California’s original wetlands and stream-side (“riparian”) habitats have been destroyed or modified. For nearly 40 years, the Clean Water Act has been a cornerstone of EPA’s effort to ensure that Americans have clean and healthy waters. The draft guidance, part of the Obama administration's national clean water framework, implements recent Supreme Court decisions addressing what types of waters could be subject to traditional CWA protections. The framework outlines a series of actions across federal agencies to ensure the integrity of the waters Americans rely on every day for drinking, swimming, and fishing, and that support farming, recreation, tourism and economic growth.

The National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) survey was designed by EPA’s Office of Research and Development and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It will use a probability-based model to estimate the health of aquatic resources consistently nation-wide to ensure that the results can be compared across the country.

Used along with similar surveys on the nation’s coastal waters, wadeable streams, rivers, and lakes, the NWCA results will help us to better protect, maintain, and restore our nation’s water quality and vanishing aquatic habitat.

To read the draft Waters of the United States" guidance and for information on how to submit a comment, visit: http://www.water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/CWAwaters.cfm.

To learn more about the National Wetlands Conditions Assessment please visit: http://water.epa.gov/type/wetlands/assessment/survey/index.cfm
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Disclosure: Mary Simms is a spokeswoman with US Enivornmental Protection Agency.

Pet Waste Can Leave More than Just a Stink

2011-06-02T17:39:06Z

Picking Up After Pets Makes Your Neighbors and Mother Nature Happier!

It may seem like a little thing, but leaving pet waste behind when walking your pet adds up to a big issue. Pet waste is responsible for up to 90% of all bacterial watershed pollution in urban areas of the U.S. When left behind, bacteria on pet waste can be washed away with rain, water from irrigation and other urban run-off and introduced to local waterways, degrading water quality and putting people and the environment at risk. E. coli is a bacterium found in dog waste, it has been linked to causing ear, eye, and stomach infections. Other pet waste bacteria are the sources of “staph” infections, salmonella, and parasites.

Help prevent pollution and bacterial contamination of waterways! Do not leave pet waste on the street, yard, or in yard waste piles or containers. Use these simple tips to properly dispose of pet waste:

• At home, always pick up after your animal making sure to bag and throw away waste in the garbage can.

• Be prepared before taking your dog out by attaching collection bags to your dog’s leash or storing them in your car.

• Consider a digester as another disposal option. Instead of bagging waste and throwing it away; pet waste is dumped into the digester, which breaks down waste into simple organic compounds which don’t harm the land or pollute waterways.

• When walking your dog at a park or on a trail, make sure to toss pet waste in the trash or at a pet waste disposal station.

Remember, most cities require you to pick up after your pets! Doing so not only eliminates the nuisance of stepping in pet waste, but protects our local water ways and environment. For information about pet waste and its impacts on our waterways, please call the Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership at (916) 808-4H2O or check out BeRiverFriendly.net.

Man on the Street: Beverages or foods used to cool-off in the summer heat.

2011-05-28T05:58:02Z

Despite the intermittent rain and chilly winds of the past weeks, summer is ahead, and cold beverages and fresh foods are at their best.

The Sacramento Press asked locals what favorite drink or food they turn to to cool off in the summer heat.

Zuleyma Hercules is a law student who recently moved from Modesto to Rancho Cordova.

Hercules said she loves ice-cold Pepsi with three cubes of ice. “I’m very specific,” she said.

Hercules also enjoys cherry Icees from Chevron and Haagen Dazs chocolate ice cream.

Wincie Pierce, a construction worker from the Fair Oaks area, said, “I always drink water.” Pierce added that he enjoys eating fresh melons and barbecues in the summer.

“We barbecue tri-tip, chicken and hamburgers,” Pierce said.

Ala Reel-Mullins, a stay-at-home military wife sitting next to Pierce, said that her favorite beverage to cool off with is Arizona Southern Style Sweet Tea.

“Bam!” she said as she pointed to the bottle. “It's healthy and refreshing.”

“I like strawberries and fruit salads,” continued Reel-Mullins, “and fresh home-grown veggies.”

Melma Thompson, a student, and Alicia Canady, a music writer, are both from the South Sacramento area and said that fresh fruits are some of their favorite summer foods.

Thompson cheerfully listed a few: watermelon, grapes, strawberries and plums. She said she likes her fruit cut up in pieces and mixed in fruit cups.

Thompson’s favorite beverage is Sunkist lemonade and water.

“Hydrating liquids-not too much corn syrup or starches,” she said.

Alicia Canady said her favorite summer drink is, “Minute Maid Lemonade,” and “pure vanilla ice cream.”

Strawberry Icees were also among their favorite beverages.

Zavid Haroon, a student from the Meadowview area, said that fruit punch Kool-Aid is his favorite summer beverage.

“I’m addicted to Kool-Aid. That’s all I drink,” Haroon said.

A summer dish that Haroon enjoys is shrimp tacos wrapped in flour tortillas with fresh lettuce, tomato and sometimes ranch dressing.

“I make them myself,” he said.

What favorite beverages or foods do you use to cool off during the summer heat? Share your responses with the community in the comment section below.

New spillway increases Folsom Dam flood protection

2011-05-28T00:59:56Z

Floods in 1986 and 1997, as well as a levee break in 2004, costing lives and billions in damage, contributed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring a state of emergency due to the threat of major flooding in northern California and San Joaquin Valley in 2006, and current work on Folsom Dam is helping alleviate that threat.

The construction of an auxiliary spillway at the Folsom Dam will provide the Sacramento region a greater level of flood protection than it has now. More specifically, it will provide a 200-year level of protection, meaning a one-in-200 chance for flooding in any given year.

Friday morning, 25 state and federal workers and even a few spectators gathered at the Folsom Dam for a presentation and tour of the ongoing work known as the Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project (JFP).

The JFP is a cooperative effort between the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB), Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA), Department of Water Resources (DWR), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

The $962 million project involves the construction of an auxiliary spillway consisting of a control structure, spillway chute, stilling basin and approaching channel. Beth Salyers, lead project manager on JFP for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the new control structure will operate in conjunction with existing spillway gates on Folsom Dam to manage flood flows from the Folsom Reservoir.

“The solicitation on the original modifications to the dam had been canceled in January 2006 due to funding issues. At the same time, the Bureau of Reclamation recognized that there were some dam safety issues, such as to prevent overtopping, that needed to be addressed,” said David L. Neff, the technical lead on the JFP for phase three from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “That served as the impetus to combine the two single-purpose projects into one.”

Salyers said the JFP consisted of five phases. The first two phases included extensive excavation at the site, which was recently completed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Phase three is the construction of the control structure, and phase four is construction of the chute and stilling basin. Phase five involves construction of the approach channel. The project is currently in phase three.

The new control structure will be similar to the current dam, but built with the gates built 50 feet lower than the existing gates.

“What this means is that now we don’t have to wait for the reservoir to fill up in order to release water. Water can be released sooner to provide more efficient use of the storage space and, consequently, free up capacity in the reservoir,” Neff said.

During the tour, Mark Curney, chief of project integration for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation , pointed out other construction and modifications being done on the main dam, which include gate and pier modifications.

Curney said the parties involved have done their best to ensure that construction does not interfere too much, if at all, with current public access or current operations (such as bike trails and jogging trails). For example, in the event of an emergency, all the scaffolding present can be taken down within six hours. Salyers added that since the dam itself is a secure site, public access should not be too much of an issue regardless.

The new auxiliary spillway will require 3.5 million cubic yards of soil excavation, 350,000 cubic yards of concrete and 26 million pounds of steel. But more importantly, it will be able to safely pass 312,000 cubic feet of water per second into the river, which according to Salyers, can be likened to 312,000 basketballs rushing past you per second.

At the moment, construction of phase three is expected to take 45 months and constructions schedules for the other phases are still in the works.

While the process will take a lot of time and money, according to Neff and Salyers, by working together as opposed to separately, the agencies will be able to complete the project faster and more cost-effectively, saving about three or four years and as much as half a billion dollars.

Memorial Day Weekend water safety

2011-05-28T00:20:24Z

River conditions this Memorial Day weekend are more dangerous than usual, and Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials are urging people to be aware of those dangers and where to borrow free life jackets.

“Based on the heavy winter and the high volume of snow, the runoff is a little bit colder than usual,” said Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum, adding that the water is about 53 degrees in the American River – 6 to 8 degrees colder than normal.

Also, the river is flowing about twice as fast as previous years.

Cockrum added that everyone in a boat or raft should have a life jacket available, and he recommended wearing it at all times.

“Kids under 13, by county ordinance, are required to wear life jackets,” he said. “We have jacket loaner boards on the river and at Discovery Park, as well as at six fire stations. Just grab them off the board and use them, then put them back afterward.”

Life jackets available for loan are sized based on weight – for kids and adults – and Cockrum said people can check to see if a vest fits on their children with an easy test.

“Once they get it tightened down, grab the vest by the top of the arm area and pull up. It shouldn’t slip over their head,” he said.

The 2,000 life jackets were funded by a $10,800 grant from the GenCorp Foundation, Cockrum said.

A common contributor to drownings is alcohol and drug intoxication, and alcohol is not allowed on the river over the holiday weekend.

Cockrum said the majority of deaths on the river in the 16 counties closest to Sacramento can be attributed to intoxication.

If you are on the river and there is an emergency, Cockrum said to look for landmarks such as bridges as well as mile markers printed on the bike trail and mile marker signs on the river, which are red triangles with numbers in them.

For a listing of life jacket loaning locations, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Water, Auburn Dam, Floods & the Economy

2011-04-06T17:56:51Z

There has been a lot of criticism in the media lately, in response to the supporters of building the Auburn Dam to store the vast amounts of water that are now, instead, flowing out to sea.

The critics say, as today’s Sacramento Bee editorial did,

“It never fails that, during wet years or dry ones, the water buffaloes resume their stampede for more taxpayer-subsidized water projects. During a single year of drought, they purchase billboards warning of "dust bowls" if someone else doesn't help them build a new reservoir. And now that California has been blessed with a prodigious snowpack and plentiful rainfall, the same crowd is bemoaning all the water in the Sacramento River that "is just washing out to sea."

What critics forget is that the primary need for the Auburn Dam—much more important than water storage—is protection from life and property threatening floods.

They should remember that Sacramento is the most flood prone major river city in the country.

The Sacramento Bee did a story January 14, 2011 reporting on the results of a recent US Geological Survey Report and wrote:

“In the study, researchers used computer models and a composite of three historical storms to estimate a worst-case event: a torrent of tropical rain for nine straight days. It amounts to a 500-year storm. In the lingo of disaster managers, that does not mean it happens only once every 500 years, but that it has two-tenths percent chance of occurring in any given year. The Central Valley and the Sacramento region are likely to suffer the worst effects because they lie within a funnel for the state's biggest rivers.”

In the same story, the Bee notes some of the impacts in Sacramento County include 527,885 evacuations, 200 days before waters recede from the Pocket area, and $29.1 billion property loss.

There is a graph on our blog site which says it all.

The print is small, but the cities listed, from the left are, Tacoma, St. Louis, Dallas, & Kansas City, who all have met the gold standard of a 500 year level of protection.

While New Orleans has, after their recent improvements, met a 250 year level of protection and Sacramento, in the red at a 100 year level, will have a 200 year level after the Folsom Dam improvements.

The numbers on the left representing the level of coverage, starting from the bottom, are 85, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 & 600.

When a flood control system provides 100 year flood protection, it means there is a one in 100 chance that a storm will occur that is beyond the capacity of levees and reservoirs to contain. Therefore, 200 year flood protection means there is a 1 in 200 chance that a storm may occur which the system couldn’t handle, and 500 year protection means there is only a one in 500 chance that a storm will overwhelm a system.

Giving Sacramento a 500 year level of flood protection will more than compensate for the construction costs of the Auburn Dam, estimated at between 5 - 10 billion dollars.

The water storage, hydroelectric power, and the economic benefit that will arise from the recreational usage of the new lake created behind Auburn Dam, are supplemental benefits.

So, of course, during rich rain years, Auburn Dam advocates will remind the public of the water storage capability of the dam, but we know that the primary reason for building Auburn Dam is to save the lives and property of those who might lose both when a 500 year flood hits Sacramento.

The major concern of the American River Parkway Preservation Society about this issue, beyond being Sacramento residents and wanting adequate flood protection for our community, is that the Auburn Dam will provide enhanced protection for the land and habitat of the American River Parkway and provide greater control maintaining the optimal level of water flow and water temperature for the salmon in the Lower American River.

David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director
American River Parkway Preservation Society

Author to Discuss New Book on Water Fluoridation Dangers

2011-02-21T19:09:52Z

Paul Connett PhD will be in Sacramento Febuary 23~24th to discuss his new book The Case Against Fluoride: How Hazardous Waste Ended Up in Our Drinking Water and the Bad Science and Powerful Politics That Keep It There. Learn how this relates to Sacramento, as new found dangers of water fluoridation continue coming to light.

There will be two events in Sacramento:

ARCADE LIBRARY - Wednesday Feb 23rd 7:00-9:00pm 2443 Marconi Ave Sacramento. It is a free event. For more info go to FluorideFreeSsacramento.org
WHOLE FOODS - Thurs. Feb. 24th 7:00-9:00pm 4315 Arden Way (Eastern and Arden Way) Seating is limited at this event. For reservations at Whole Food call (916) 483-1155 For more info go to FluorideFreeSsacramento.org

Over the past 23 years Dr. Paul Connett's research on waste management has taken him to 49 US states and 50 other countries, where he has given approximately 2000 pro bono public presentations. He has co-authored 6 peer reviewed articles on dioxin and numerous other articles on waste management. He is the main author of the new book The Case Against Fluoride: How Hazardous Waste Ended Up in Our Drinking Water and the Bad Science and Powerful Politics That Keep It There

Ralph Nader said "He is the only person I know who can make waste interesting."

Dr. Connett has researched the literature on fluoride¹s toxicity for 12 years. He helped found the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) http://www.fluoridealert.org for which he is the Executive Director. He has given presentations at the International Society for Fluoride Research conferences in New Zealand, Germany and China; the Japanese Society for Fluoride Research; the American College of Toxicology; the US EPA; the US National Research Council; the CDC in Nanjing, China; the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Health and Children in Ireland, a parliamentary committee in the Knesset, Israel as well as to many citizens¹ groups in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, the UK and the US.

Of particular concern is a growing body of research indicating fluoride's ability to damage the developing brain, including 24 studies associating fluoride exposure with reduced IQ in children, 6 studies linking fluoride to other neurotoxic effects in children, and over 100 animal studies reporting that fluoride directly damages the brain.

Drinking Water Fluoridation - A Roadblock to Greenness?

2011-02-14T22:38:28Z

We keep hearing about our greenness. Here in Sacramento we have a tree program, various recycling programs, and other earth friendly initiatives. But can one policy trump all this? Can a city be truly green when it knowingly adds toxic chemicals imported from China to its drinking water? And to top it all, 99.99% of it is wasted. Lets look at the facts as the Sacramento Department of Utilities has presented them.

Questions came up at a June 22, 2010 Sacramento City Council budget hearing. This resulted in a request for additional information regarding the city's water fluoridation program. On July 1st Marty Hanneman, Director of Utilities sent the Mayor & City Council members a memorandum. It detailed the costs, chemicals used in, and ongoing maintenance related costs among other things, of the Sacramento Water Fluoridation program. This memorandum also highlighted the vast waste inherent in the delivery of the fluoride drug. Members of Fluoride Free Sacramento obtained a copy of this memo.< 1 >

The memorandum detailed the approximately $1 million annual cost to the department. Part of this cost is purchasing is the chemicals use, namely Sodium Fluoride & Fluorosilicic Acid. Another aspect is how the corrosive nature of the fluoridation chemicals are literally dissolving away very expensive equipment. This necessitates ongoing costly equipment repairs and replacement of the drug dosing equipment. For example, the E.A Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant currently required a $450 million infrastructure upgrade, and the Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant's fluoridation system will be due for replacement as well in 2014.

Now about those chemicals. The California Code of Regulations, title 22 < 2 > lists 791 chemicals as "Hazardous Waste," 39 of these are fluoride compounds. The memo lists two of these chemicals that are used for drinking water fluoridation in Sacramento; Hydrofluosilicic Acid and Sodium Fluoride. These are also not to be confused with the pharmaceutical quality fluoride in products, such as toothpaste, and mouthwash. Fluorosilicic Acid is a byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer industry. It contains levels of lead, arsenic and other heavy metals.< 3 > This is very toxic stuff by any standard.< 4 > Recent studies of fluoride use indicate a link to bone cancer, bone fractures, thyroid disorder, lowered IQ and more.< 5 >

With regards to the waste factors involved, consider where the drug ends up. The sole intended target group is defined as children under five years of age. Parents please see note below. According to city calculations, less than 0.009% of fluoridated water produced is potentially consumed by this target group. In other words, over 99.99% of the fluoride is not even used by those that are supposed to need it, but is wasted by watering the lawn, dish washing, flushed down the drain, etc. In the memo, the Mr. Hanneman makes the analogy of taking one gallon of milk, using six drops of it and pouring the rest of the gallon in the sink. This waste process has also been shown to negatively effect life downstream.< 6 >

The sourcing of the chemicals is also not green at all, as in they are routinely shipped in from China and Japan.

To recap the whole process: Ship in toxic chemicals from outside the country, then dump down the drain. This is water fluoridation in a nutshell. Is there a green option? You tell me.

Note to parents; For health reasons, babies one year and under are to avoid all fluoride as recommended by the the American Dental Association and the Center for Disease Control.< 7 > This would mean avoiding all processed food and juices, as these are commonly made with fluoridated water.

<1> http://fluoridefreesacramento.org/JULY_1_MEMO.pdf
<2> http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/LawsRegsPolicies/Title22/upload/Appendix-X_Ch11_ready-to-post.pdf - & - http://www.keepers-of-the-well.org/product_pdfs/Fluorides_Classified.pdf
<3> http://www.fluoridealert.org/phosphate/overview.htm
<4> http://www.fluoridation.com/poison.htm
<5>http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/
<6> http://www.earthislandprojects.org/eijournal/fluoride/fluoride_salmon.html
<7> http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/infant/
< * > http://FluorideFreeSacramento.org

Measure B going down to defeat

2010-11-03T07:16:54Z

Sacramento residents won't see monthly utility rates drop next summer after voters overwhelmingly rejected Measure B at the polls Tuesday.

The initiative to roll back the city's rates for water, garbage and sewer services was failing by more than two to one late Tuesday night. With 287 out of 355 precincts counted, 41,328 – or 68 percent – of voters chose to stick with higher fees as of 10:55 p.m.

More than 19,000 voters, or nearly 32 percent, had voted for the Utilities Rate Hike Roll Back Act of 2010 sponsored by the Sacramento County Taxpayers League, according to Sacramento County's elections department.

The measure's opponents believe a rate decrease would have been a "risky approach" that ultimately would have led to the neglect of utility infrastructure, Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn said. He led a "No on Measure B" campaign with Councilman Kevin McCarty and local union leaders.

Sacramento voters know they have other avenues to bring about change in the city, he added.

"I think the tea party sort of anti-government, anti-tax (movement) – it doesn't have as strong an appeal in the city of Sacramento. Or, for that matter, it doesn't seem to have that much appeal in the state of California," Cohn said. "I think people realize they don't have to resort to a drastic measure like Measure B to have an impact on local politics."

In June 2009, the City Council had approved two rate increases totaling more than 18 percent.

The league filed the ballot initiative in February, a month after a Sacramento County Grand Jury issued a report saying the city and the utilities department may have diverted more than $21 million in utility revenues to other city programs supported by the city's general fund. The report also said utilities ratepayers may have paid for more than the cost of the utility services provided.

Measure B sought to revoke a 9.2 percent rate increase approved by the council. The measure also required voters to approve future rate increases that are higher than annual Consumer Price Index increases. The rate decrease would have taken effect in July.

Supporters blamed confusing ballot language and heavily financed opposition by city employee unions, contractors and city officials. Exit polls indicated voters were confused about whether a "yes" or "no" vote would roll back rates, Yes on Measure B Chairman Craig Powell said Tuesday night at an election night party in Curtis Park.

"Measure B was severely handicapped by ballot language approved by the City Council that was incomprehensible to voters," said Powell, who is also the league's attorney. "It was a cynical attempt to manipulate the electoral process. From early returns, it looks like that attempt was successful."

The taxpayers league raised about $60,000 to support the initiative. The No on Measure B campaign raised at least $170,000, Cohn said.

Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447, led by Harry Rotz, and the California Building and Trades Council each contributed at least $50,000. Other unions and contractors also contributed to a fund that paid for mass mailings, radio ads and campaign signs against the measure in the final weeks of the campaign, Powell said.

Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Kevin Johnson said he opposed the measure. The Utilities Rate Advisory Commission, a citizen’s group that advises the City Council on utilities rates, also opposed Measure B.

Supporters believe their campaign for Measure B convinced other City Council members to join Johnson in calling for an audit of the department. Supporters also believe the campaign will encourage city officials to be more conservative when considering future rate hikes, he said.

"That's the beginning of reform," Powell said, promising to hold city leaders accountable for fixing the utility department's problems. "We're not walking away from this issue."

Sacramento's drinking water in good shape

2010-08-18T22:14:40Z

Sacramento’s drinking water meets or surpasses all state and federal health requirements, according to the city’s report on water quality relative to public health goals.

It does not, however, meet every public health goal as set by the state.

“We may not meet all those goals,” said Jessica Hess, spokeswoman for the Department of Utilities. “We probably never have met all those goals, since they’re set at a level so high to encourage jurisdictions to do better.”

Hess said the city’s water facilities don’t all have the technology to even measure the levels set forth in the state public health goals.

“The goals are set for levels that are very difficult for folks to attain, and there are some challenges for that,” Hess said. “It requires testing that our current facilities are incapable of reaching.”

The state report is mandated every three years by law, and it measures samples taken from the city’s water supply with acceptable levels of contaminants in reaching the state goals.

Those contaminants include arsenic, bacteria and fluoride, among others.

According to the report, the goals are not enforceable.

The federal and state requirements, however, are enforceable, and the results are sent to city water users every year.

“The city’s drinking water is excellent...passing all state and federal standards,” said Mike Yee, plant services manager for the Department of Utilities, at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

No one spoke on the matter at the required public hearing Tuesday night, and the council accepted the report, which can be viewed online here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City considers large water user permits

2010-08-06T05:17:36Z

Sacramento officials should consider requiring special use permits for large water users, including water and beverage bottling companies such as Nestlé, a City Council committee decided Thursday.

The council's Law & Legislation Committee passed a recommendation that the City Council approve a working group to explore whether the city's biggest water users should be subject to conditional use permits that would help give the city more ability to monitor and regulate their water use.

The recommendation was approved unanimously Thursday afternoon by the committee's three present members, Chair Sandy Sheedy and councilmen Steve Cohn and Robbie Waters.

"We have a scarce resource that we don't seem to have any regulation on, other than you pay for the amount you use," Cohn said. "It almost sounds like we need to think about if you use above a certain amount of water...there ought to be a permit. The city ought to have some way to review that, rather than just be forced to sell it at whatever our rate is."

The committee also heard about the city's plans to consider creating tiered water rates that could take effect in 2012 or sooner. The city "may actually be subsidizing" water consumption by the biggest users, Cohn said, adding that water use should also be regulated to encourage conservation and sustainability.

The committee's decision was made despite a recommendation by the city's Community Development Department against requiring special use permits for water and beverage bottling companies. Bottling plants are permitted industrial land uses in zones approved for light industrial, heavy commercial and heavy industrial businesses in Sacramento.

However, the committee's proposal would not be limited to such companies.

The fourth committee member, Lauren Hammond, was absent. Last fall, Councilman Kevin McCarty, who is not a committee member, proposed an emergency ordinance to amend the city's zoning code to immediately require a special permit, and thus, environmental review and City Council oversight, for bottling companies to operate in the city. He made the proposal after city staff approved Nestlé Waters North America opening a water-bottling plant in his South Sacramento district.

Nestlé bottles and sells the most bottled water in this country. Globally, the Swiss multinational company used 10.82 billion gallons of water in 2006 and sold $10 billion of water under different brand names in 2007, according to a report from Food and Water Watch in Washington, D.C.

Nestlé told the city about 250 acre feet — or nearly 82 million gallons — of city-treated American River water would be bottled each year. Nestlé Project Manager Chris Kemp also said the company expected to bottle 30 million gallons of Sacramento tap water in 2010, while future use would be determined by sales. Existing water pipes could bring 250 acre feet of water to the warehouse if operations were run 24 hours a day all year, but that was only expected during peak months, he said.

The city did not seek public input or perform an environmental analysis of the plant's expected impact before it began operation last winter after a failed, six-year battle to bottle spring water in McCloud near Mt. Shasta.

The city does not regulate how much water industrial water customers use except to impose drought restrictions at times. There are no current drought restrictions on industrial users, although there are drought restrictions for outdoor irrigation use by residential users.

On Thursday, Sheedy agreed with Cohn's proposal, including the need to look at all of the biggest water consumers, regardless of whether the water is bottled and sold, used to make soup or to crush cement. Nestlé shouldn't be "singled out," she said.

"I think we have to look at what else is coming here," Sheedy said. "We are going to be losing that commodity if we don't start looking at it."

No more than 20 people turned out for the meeting. Some said they only found out about the meeting this week.

Representatives from Nestlé, Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and the Sacramento Metro Chamber spoke out against requiring a special permit for bottling companies. After the meeting, Dave Palais, Nestlé Water's natural resource manager for Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, said the company wouldn't oppose an "overall evaluation" of water use by all users.

Sacramento Coca-Cola, which has been operating since 1927, "would be very disappointed if there would be new hurdles that were put in our way" for opening a big, new plant in North Natomas, the company's executive vice president, Bob Brown, said.

Several people spoke out in support of a special permit, including members of grassroots group Save Our Water Sacramento, which brought Nestlé's plans to open a Sacramento plant to light.

"I'm wondering what our children will do for water — and our grandchildren — once it's all contractually committed to others?" said Maxine Clark, a member of the Save the American River Association. "The word is out now: Nestlé got their way. When will we say no? Will we say no, ever?"

Bill Allayud, California Director of Government Affairs for the Environmental Working Group, said other cities held public forums so people could weigh in before water bottling plants were opened. Large water consumption by such plants can have "multiple impacts," he said.

"Water is not scarce in the city right now," he said. "But in the future, it could well become scarce."

McCarty later applauded the committee's decision.

"This is an important step toward going where we're trying to go," he said. "This issue isn't going away."

Photo by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Water Conservation Ambassadors Wanted!

2010-06-18T21:29:59Z

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities is seeking volunteers to assist in the City’s water conservation efforts. Water Conservation Ambassadors will be trained to assist residents in finding leaks on their property, present conservation information at community events and how to spot and report water waste. The first training session for Water Conservation Ambassadors will take place on June 29, 2010 at 6 p.m. at the Department of Utilities Water Conservation Office, 2260 Glen Ellen Circle.

“Over the past year, we have seen a huge increase in the numbers of calls for service and a desire by the community to have water conservation information shared with their organizations or neighborhoods. We can’t think of a better way to share this information than neighbor to neighbor,” says Marty Hanneman, Director of the Department of Utilities. “These Water Conservation Ambassadors will be a huge asset to our department and allow our staff to focus on meeting Best Management Practices and reaching our goal of a 20% reduction in per capita water use by 2020.”

To become a City of Sacramento Water Conservation Ambassador, volunteers must be 18 years of age or older, sign a volunteer agreement and attend a training session. While all activities are voluntary, it is estimated that the time commitment will be approximately 2-4 hours per month. Bilingual volunteers are especially needed.

“We believe this is a great opportunity for all Sacramentans, from all walks of life to become more involved in their City, do something great for the environment, and make a difference in their neighborhood” says Marty Hanneman.

For more information about this program or about becoming an Ambassador, please visit http://www.cityofsacramento.org/utilities/water/water-conservation.cfm or call 916-808-8260.

Drinking Water from Rancho Cordova to Elk Grove Becoming Questionable

2010-05-06T21:31:17Z

The city supplied drinking water in the areas of southern Rancho Cordova to Elk Grove is about to become unsafe for babies if it has not already. The plan by City of Sacramento "First 5" is to add an unnamed "Fluoridating" agent to your drinking water by 2010. As the parents of babies and anyone else interested health should know; Fluoride is a highly toxic poison. As we are not told all the facts, we only assume the city is using the standard common Fluoridating chemicals to treat the water. No test results for the actual substances used to fluoridate most drinking water have ever been provided or are even claimed to exist. On top of this are numerous reports that the supposed dental claims are dubious at best.

The commonly used chemicals; fluorosilicic acid, sodium silicofluoride, and sodium fluoride - used to fluoridate drinking water are industrial waste products from the phosphate fertilizer industry. These substances contain small amounts of lead and arsenic, among other things.

According to the American Dental Association (ADA), children under 1 year of age should not receive infant formula made with fluoridated water. Babies exposed to fluoridated water are at high risk of developing dental fluorosis - a tooth defect caused by fluoride-induced cell damage within the teeth. Other harm is also likely. According, for example, to the US National Research Council, “it is apparent that fluorides can interfere with the functions of the brain.” The danger that fluoride poses to the brain is likely greatest during fetal and infant development, as during this time the barrier which protects the child’s brain from environmental toxins is not yet fully formed. Thus, chemicals that find their way into a baby’s bloodstream can penetrate into the brain. I found it odd the First 5 literature did not mention this.

Recent studies in peer-reviewed medical literature indicate that fluoridated water can have detrimental side effects. Health risks associated with low-to-moderate doses of fluoride include: dental fluorosis; bone fracture; bone cancer; joint pain; skin rash, reduced thyroid activity; and IQ deficits.

Add to all this a possible China Factor. This so called safe and benign service surprised the residents of Amsbury, Mass. On March 11th. The Amesbury Water Department pulled fluoride from its system amid concerns about its supply from China. The Department of Public Works Director said he mixes the white powder with water, 40 percent of it will not dissolve - we are not quite sure what it is."

With budget cuts coming left and right, we wonder why is the city spending money on a wasteful program like this? The only group proven to benefit are the dentists repairing the damage from Dental Fluorosis. Dental Fluorosis describes the white spots, and in severe cases, brown stains or pitting or mottling of enamel when a young person is overexposed to fluoride.

It seems one thing that fluoride proponents don't realize is, since so many of our processed foods and drinks are made with fluoridated water, we are now overexposed to it. For example; a bowl of Wheaties, a glass of milk, and a Coke or orange juice contains twice the amount of fluoride as the "optimal" daily dose of fluoridated water.

By the way, all the above has applied to the greater Sacramento area since 2000. Now that we are all depressed, maybe we can get the city to add antidepressants to our drinking water.

Reference Links:
www.fluoridealert.org/fluoride-facts.htm
www.garynull.com/storage/pdfs/UpdatedFluoride.pdf
www.keepers-of-the-well.org/Introduction.html
www.fluoridedebate.com/index.html
www.fluoride-history.de/

City Link:
www.first5sacramento.net/Programs/fluoridation/default.htm

City of Sacramento Warns Residents and Businesses about People Impersonating Utilities Employees

2010-03-19T22:26:09Z

The Sacramento Police Department and the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities are warning residents and businesses about a man, claiming to be a City employee approaching homes in a recent water meter retrofit area and trying gain access.

Residents and businesses are warned that the City does not need to get into a home to test the water or conduct further plumbing work inside the home after a meter retrofit. Typically, City utilities employees do not need to enter into homes and if they do, they will schedule an appointment in advance.

City employees wear City of Sacramento uniforms, ID badges and drive City vehicles. Residents or businesses with questions regarding whether someone is a City employee can call the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities at 3-1-1 or 264-5011.

Residents or businesses who see anything suspicious or who are approached by someone impersonating a City employee should call the City of Sacramento Police Department at 264-5471.

Change your clocks, Change your Sprinkler Timer!

2010-03-12T19:28:26Z

When clocks are turned forward on Saturday night, the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities reminds residents and businesses to change their irrigation schedules as well.

The City’s current irrigation rules, found in the Water Conservation ordinance state that at the beginning of daylight savings time, residents and businesses may water up to three days a week, based on their address. Addresses ending in odd numbers may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday only and even-numbered addresses may water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. There is no watering allowed on Mondays. Watering of landscapes must be completed before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m.

“While the ordinance allows customers to water their yards up to three days a week, we remind customers to continue to water with the weather. Do not water when it is raining and remember not to over-water and limit run-off from your property,” Utilities Director Marty Hanneman reminded Sacramento water customers.

Customers can call 3-1-1 or (916) 264-5011 to request a free Water Wise House call to help find ways to conserve water around their home and yard or to anonymously report water waste in their neighborhood.

Local Non-Profit to Host World Water Day Fundraiser

2010-02-10T21:35:22Z

The local Sacramento Water for People Committee is hosting a fundraising event on Thursday, March 11th at 6pm at the Urban Hive (http://theurbanhive.squarespace.com/) located at 1931 H Street in the heart of midtown Sacramento. The purpose of the event is to raise money to help bring clean drinking water and sanitation services to thousands of people in the developing world. At the same time, the event is in celebration of World Water Day 2010 – the theme of which is: Communicating Water Quality Challenges and Opportunities. The theme of World Water Day hits close to home, given our State's current water supply and quality challenges. Whether in California or the developing world, managing water resources continue to present challeges at many levels.

Our Keynote Speaker will be the CEO of Water For People, Ned Breslin, who is coming from Denver to share inspirational stories of his experiences with several NGOs in the water and sanitation sector since the 1980s. Through generous sponsors, the event will include free appetizers and non-alcoholic refreshments, live music, and short films on water issues in developing countries. Beer and wine will be sold at the event. Event tickets are $10 per person.

We are also requesting donations for a raffle to be held at the fundraiser. Raffle items may include: gift cards or certificates, artwork, movie tickets, sporting event tickets, bottles of wine, gift baskets and other great items. Any donors will receive recognition as a sponsor for the event for your generous contribution via event flyers, newsletter blurbs, our committee website, and posters and announcements at the event. Your contributions may also be tax-deductable and tax information will be provided to any donors.

Water For People helps people in developing countries improve their quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities and health and hygiene education programs. Our vision is a world where all people have access to safe drinking water and sanitation; a world where no one suffers or dies from a water- or sanitation-related disease. The Sacramento Committee holds events throughout the year to support these initiatives. For more information about the event or raffle, please send an inquiry to erica.bishop@mwhglobal.com.

www.waterforpeople.org

City and RWA Seeks Water-Efficient Gardeners to Star in Regional Advertising Campaign

2010-01-29T17:42:50Z

Do you have a beautiful water-efficient garden?

If so, the City of Sacramento, the Regional Water Authority (RWA) and its partner agencies are looking for you!

The Regional Water Authority (RWA), City of Sacramento Department of Utilities and other local water providers invite Sacramento-area residents to show off their “Blue Thumb” by staring in its new television and radio advertising campaign promoting water efficiency.

“We’ve all heard of ‘Green Thumb,’ which is often used to describe someone who has a natural skill for gardening,” said RWA Water Efficiency Program Manager Linda Higgins. “Our campaign will showcase people who have a ‘Blue Thumb’—a talent for creating a beautiful water-efficient landscape.”

The campaign will feature residents in their own garden talking about how they earned their Blue Thumb by using water efficiently outdoors through every-day tasks such as making sure sprinklers water the lawn instead of the sidewalk, adjusting their irrigation system according to the season or using a shut-off valve on their hose.

“In the Sacramento region, more than half of the urban water used is for landscape irrigation,” Higgins said. “Making sure landscape irrigation is efficient and eliminating water waste outdoors are two of the most cost-effective ways to stretch our limited water supplies and ensure that we continue to have sufficient water for the Sacramento region to prosper.”

RWA invites residents to nominate themselves, a neighbor or someone they know who has a beautiful, water-efficient landscape to be showcased in the public service campaign. A water-wise landscape uses efficient irrigation, seasonal scheduling and efficient design to ensure water is not wasted.

“We know through research that Sacramento-area residents care about water efficiency—even when our local rivers, streams and creeks appear full,” Higgins said. “We are looking for people who are ready take a stand and say, ‘We care about the Sacramento region. We know water efficiency is important to the health of our community, as well as the health of our local rivers creeks and streams. We take care to water our landscape as efficiently as possible, and you can too.’”

While a garden full of native or drought-tolerant plants is a plus, the campaign will highlight the every-day best practices people use to keep their landscape both water wise and beautiful. Examples include:

• Making sure sprinkler timers are set according to the season and local watering guidelines.
• Adjusting sprinklers and watering times to prevent overspray and runoff.
• Fixing water-wasting problems in the irrigation system quickly.
• Using a shut-off valve on a hose nozzle.
• Using a broom instead of water to clean driveways, patios and sidewalks.
• Checking the irrigation system every month for leaks and broken sprinkler heads.

To qualify to participate in the campaign, residents must receive water from one of the local water providers who participate in the RWA Water Efficiency Program (see list below). For more information and to download a nomination form, please visit www.rwah2o.org

Nomination/entry forms will be accepted through February 22, 2010. RWA’s water efficiency campaign will launch in April and run through August 2010.

RWA is a joint powers authority representing 19 water providers in the greater Sacramento area. Its primary mission is to help its members protect and enhance the reliability, availability, affordability and quality of water resources.
RWA Water Efficiency Program Participants:

California American Water
Carmichael Water District
Citrus Heights Water District
City of Folsom
City of Lincoln
City of Roseville
City of Sacramento Department of Utilities
City of West Sacramento
El Dorado County Irrigation District
Elk Grove Water Service
Fair Oaks Water District
Golden State Water Company
Orange Vale Water Company
Placer County Water Agency
Rio Linda/Elverta Community Water District
Sacramento County Water Agency
Sacramento Suburban Water District
San Juan Water District

Solar Cookers International to Help Haitian Families

2010-01-25T17:41:13Z

Solar Cookers International (SCI), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1987, announced the launch of the Haiti Project, which aims to send one complete solar cooking kit to at least 200 Haitian families that were devastated by the recent earthquake. The initial fundraising goal for this project is $8,000.

Even before the disaster, SCI ranked Haiti as one of the top twenty countries in the world where solar cooking is poised to be very successful and tremendously beneficial. The recent earthquake, in combination with the country’s already scarce fuel and power resources, spells an immediate need for solar cooking training and supplies. Forty dollars is enough to provide one family with a solar cooker, a cooking pot, and a water pasteurization indicator (WAPI), a device that shows when solar-heated water has been rid of pathogens and is safe to drink. “With Haiti’s abundant sunshine, each solar cooker will provide a fuel-free means of cooking many meals, reducing the burden to buy charcoal or fuel-wood in this heavily deforested country, both now and into the future,” said Bev Blum, SCI’s interim Executive Director.

Solar cooking projects have been ongoing in Haiti for decades, so local groups who can facilitate training and distribution are already in place. Unfortunately, at least one confirmed death among SCI’s network was the leader of a solar cooking program and one warehouse filled with much-needed solar cooking supplies was destroyed. SCI is working with Sun Ovens International and Friends of Haiti Organization (FOHO) to send as many solar cookers as possible to Haiti in a shipping container in the coming weeks. Once again, the goal of the Haiti Project is to send enough supplies for at least 200 families. Additional solar cooking supplies will be distributed if surplus funds are collected.

Solar Cookers International (SCI) is widely considered the world pioneer in advancing solar cooking through its product development and field training experience. SCI has improved the lives of tens of thousands through the development, distribution and training of solar cooking systems in Africa. SCI helped invent an innovative “water pasteurization indicator,” a simple, life-saving device that measures when solar-heated water is clear of all disease-causing microbes.

Changes to Sacramento Water Conservation Ordinance Go Into Effect Today

2009-12-09T17:50:25Z

Changes to the City of Sacramento Water Conservation Ordinance go into effect on December 9, 2009. The changes to the ordinance include:
□ After daylight savings time ends, watering landscapes and car washing is permitted one day a week, Saturday or Sunday only. Customers may choose which day to water or car wash on.
□ Customers who utilize drip irrigation are permitted to water their landscapes using the drip irrigation system at any time during the day, on any day of the week, including during summer months.
□ Limitations to how many times a violator may take the Water Conservation Class within a 24 month period to waive fines.

“The City of Sacramento reminds all of its customers that cooler weather means that landscapes do not need to be watered as frequently. Our ordinance specifies that after Daylight Savings Time ends each year, that customers cut back their watering to one day a week. Customers should consider turning systems off completely as rainy and foggy weather often provide all the moisture needed to keep a healthy landscape in the winter months,” said Marty Hanneman, Director, City of Sacramento Department of Utilities. “Customers are also reminded that even if this winter is a wet one, the City’s conservation ordinance will continue to be in effect next spring and we will continue to only permit watering of lawns three days a week.”

The changes to the ordinance were approved by the City Council on November 10, 2009.

Organic Capital Sustainability Celebration

2009-12-09T03:40:43Z

"Water, water everywhere" will be the theme for the fourth annual Organic Capital Sustainability Celebration Dec. 10.

Organic Sacramento will be hosting the awareness event that highlights Northern California water issues.

"Each year different local issues are addressed and the individuals and groups that have worked with these issues are acknowledged and honored," said William Brooks, Central Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council

The event will include food, live music and a silent auction as well as guest speakers.

"I'm looking forward to hearing more from the individuals that are personally involved with the issues, and those that have solutions to our current problems," Brooks said. "Twenty percent of California's energy is currently used in water pumping and treatment. The ramifications of this in times of high cost, non-sustainable energy sources is also of concern to me."

The funds raised will go to "Restore the Delta" to support education about upcoming water challenges, Delta farmers and agriculture and furthering other food and water causes, according to Brooks.

Restore the Delta is a grassroots campaign committed to making the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable and farmable to benefit all, Brooks said.

The event will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. at Beatnik Studios, 2421 17th St. Admission is free but donations of $10 to $25 or more is suggested. For more information, visit the Sacramento for Democracy website.

City Reminds Residents of Metered Water Bill Switch

2009-12-04T00:37:15Z

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities reminds its residential water customers that customers who have a water meter and who have received a comparative bill for at least one year will be converting to a metered rate in January 2010. Residents who have a meter, but who have not had a year of comparative billing will remain on a flat rate until they have received a year of comparative billing. Customers who do not currently have a water meter will receive a year of comparative billing once a water meter is installed before being switched to a metered rate.

The City is installing water meters on more than 110,000 homes by 2025 and converting customers with a water meter to metered billing in compliance with State law.

When being billed on a metered rate, customers will be billed a monthly service fee based on the size of their water meter as well as a volumetric charge for the water that they use. A customer who uses the median amount of water each month will have nearly the same annual water bill as their current annual flat rate bill. In general, customers who use more water than the median each month will pay more, and those who use less water will pay less than the current flat rate bill.

Customers are reminded that the City offers free water conservation consultations. Customers can call (916) 264-5011 or 311 to schedule a free Water Wise House Call. During the House Call, a water conservation specialist will help property owners with free conservation tips and tools and will assist the owner with an irrigation evaluation.

Once-a-week watering starts Sunday

2009-10-30T02:56:07Z

Sacramento's newest watering restriction goes into effect Sunday.

Coinciding with the end of daylight-saving time on Sunday, residents and businesses will be limited to irrigating once a week, according to a city Department of Utilities press release late Thursday afternoon.

Residents and businesses can't water on weekdays under the restriction. Those with odd-numbered addresses may water on Saturdays only and even-numbered addresses may water on Sundays.

The Sacramento City Council approved the restriction in May as part of an irrigation ordinance restricting summer watering to certain hours every other day. California is in its third year of drought.

Watering restrictions will return to every other day at the start of daylight-saving time next year, she said Jessica Hess, utilities department spokeswoman.

"When the weather gets cooler, they really don't need to water more than once a week," Hess said. "Or even not at all when we're having rain."

The council will consider changing the ordinance to restrict watering between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. during daylight-saving time, lift limits for drip irrigation and make other adjustments at its Nov. 3 meeting, according to Hess. Landscape watering is currently banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

City halts Nestlé work

2009-10-27T02:48:16Z

A $14 million retrofit of a proposed Nestlé water-bottling plant has ground to a halt after the city of Sacramento issued a stop-work order while investigating whether the work began before the company had legal authorization from the city.

Late Friday afternoon, the city's Community Development Department issued a stop-work order for Phases II and III shortly before an interim or "urgency" ordinance request was added to the City Council's agenda for Tuesday night. The council is being asked to consider amending the city's zoning code to immediately require special permits for beverage bottling plants. The meeting starts at 6 p.m.

On Monday, City Councilman Kevin McCarty and officials from the city's Community Development Department were trying to determine when Nestlé Waters North America began interior renovation of an industrial warehouse being leased for a new water-bottling operation.

"We're still assessing all the facts," said David Kwong, acting director of the city's Community Development Department. "We're trying to make sure there's nothing being done out of the ordinary."

Legally, construction cannot begin before a start-work authorization or building permit is issued, he said.

A building permit for Phase I was issued Oct. 7, but no start-work authorization has been found, Kwong said, adding that a start-work authorization was issued for Phase II the same day.

"I don't know if there was an authorization to work for Phase I," he said.

Phase I included foundation work and moving walls, Kwong said. Phase II involves work on water and drainage lines and other operational needs. However, the company's description of the work to be done appears to overlap in the two documents.

Nestlé maintains the company has not done anything illegal.

"Nestlé Waters is in compliance with the city's building and permitting laws," Brendan O'Rourke, the company's supply chain director and national director of natural resources, said in a written statement. He arrived in Sacramento on Monday to help respond to the unfolding situation.

Phase I construction is complete, the company said. Nestlé began work two months ago and is halfway through renovation of the plant at 8670 Younger Creek Drive, Chris Kemp, Nestlé's Sacramento plant manager, said Wednesday.

"To date, the company has invested more than $3.7 million into this plant in form of permitting fees, construction costs, due diligence payments and costs associated with the movement of equipment from other Nestle Waters plants to Sacramento," read an e-mail from Nestlé on Monday.

The stop-work order may be temporary. A draft ordinance was still being finalized by the city attorney's office late Monday afternoon. The draft goes to council members before being made public, said Amy Williams, spokeswoman for the city manager's office.

The council ought to carefully consider commercial requests to bottle and sell city water, said City Councilman Kevin McCarty, who requested the item be placed on the agenda and later posted a story about his decision.

"Water is increasingly one of more most precious and valuable resources," McCarty said Monday. "My proposal would mandate a further dialogue on all future water-bottling facilities. I think it's an important discussion to have."

Changing the process now would be "troubling," O'Rourke said.

"We have followed the city and state laws throughout this process, invested more than $3.8 million into this facility and hired people to work, all based on the the current law and it would appear that this is an attempt to change those laws midstream," he said. "We find that prospect troubling not only for this plant, but for any business looking for certainty in the siting process."

Nestlé also questioned the legality of the stop-work order. The company said the stop-work order may not be legal because the city already had issued a start-work authorization for Phase II.

"The city has not provided any evidence to support this stop-work order despite the rules that require they do so within 24 hours," said O'Rourke.

The city gave Nestlé preliminary authority to start work on Phase II, but that doesn't give the company the right to continue the work. In addition, no building permit was issued for Phases II and III, said Sheryl Patterson, senior deputy city attorney.

"We do have the right to issue a stop-work order when no building permit has been issued," she said.

An interim ordinance, which would not require review under the California Environmental Quality Act, would give the city time to consider a formal amendment to the zoning code. An interim ordinance requires a super majority or two-thirds vote of the council, to pass, Patterson said.

Nestlé has paid the city $65,000 in permitting and application fees. The company also agreed to hire local contractors and has committed to paying them $600,000 for their work.

Nestlé applied for a building permit through the city's Facility Permit Program in order to make tenant improvements, including underslab plumbing, demolition of existing partition walls and construction of new ones.

Questions also are being raised over whether it was correct to use the Facility Permit Program in this instance. "The Facility Permit Program facilitates a rapid approval process for tenant alterations and improvements of commercial and industrial facilities: minor tenant improvements, including maintenance, repair and minor alterations; and major interior tenant improvements and remodels. This includes tenant improvements to new and existing structures," according to the city's Web site.

"I'm not sure if it all adds up," McCarty said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Let's Make Smart Decisions Regarding the Commercial Use of Our City Water

2009-10-26T20:42:08Z

By Kevin McCarty, Sacramento City Council, District 6

With California in its third year of drought, the City of Sacramento’s water conservation strategy includes busting people who flood sidewalks.

Since June, we’ve been telling residents they can water landscaping on only three specific days per week and there is to be no watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Last year, the City Council decided to ban bottled water at its meetings. We did so in recognition that plastic water bottles are littering the world and the precious water they once contained is often wasted.

That’s why I was surprised to learn that the Nestle Waters North America Co. is moving forward with plans for a water bottling plant in my council district at the Florin/Fruitridge Industrial Park – a plant with the potential to intake more than 81 million gallons of city water yearly. Another 20 million gallons would be trucked in to the plant from springs in El Dorado, Placer, Tuolumne and Napa Counties.

Tomorrow night, Tuesday October 27th, the city council will discuss whether we need an urgency ordinance requiring special permits for water bottling facilities.

These plants pay a flat rate for city water. We also need to discuss whether there should be a tiered water rate for commercial facilities.

Across the nation, attempts to site water bottling plants have been dogged with controversy. In Glenn County, residents in the Orland area are fighting plans for a Crystal Geyser plant. In the Shingletown area of Shasta County, a San Francisco investor has been attempting to acquire water for a bottling plant. He refuses to say who his client is. In Flagstaff, Ariz., the city rejected plans for a Nestle plant last July.

In 2003, Nestle announced plans for a bottling plant in McCloud on the flank of Mount Shasta. McCloud residents once again proved Mark Twain’s adage: “Whiskey is for drinkin’. Water is for fightin’.” The fight raged for six years before Nestle finally gave up.

We owe it not only to Sacramentans -- but to residents of our Central Valley where fields are fallow for lack of water -- to have a thorough public airing of the issues involved in the siting of a water bottling plant here.

Among the issues is the basic question of whether this product necessary? Shouldn’t people who feel the need to carry around a water bottle have one that is refillable?

We also need to explore:

Whether there are better uses for our water?
Whether we need ordinances to prevent Nestle from taking even more than the projected 81 million gallons annually if they find a market for it?
Why the city has not developed an environmental analysis of the plant’s impact on water supplies.
The extent of the water bottle litter problem in our community.
A request by a group of citizens called Save our Water Sacramento to impose a moratorium on beverage bottling plants in the city.

Nestle would make extreme profits with Sacramento water at a time when we are trying to preserve it. At current rates, they would pay the city about 65 cents per 100 cubic feet of water, or 750 gallons. That works out to a payment to the city of $186 for the 215,000 gallons of water taken on an average day. By the time that water is bottled and put on a grocer’s shelf, the consumers would pay more than $2.1 million for those 215,000 gallons—a profit margin of roughly 10,000 percent!

And we would still be busting people for flooding sidewalks.

Discussion grows over Nestle water bottling plant

2009-10-26T04:53:25Z

Discussion over a Nestlé water-bottling plant appears to be growing in Sacramento, as the Swiss multinational prepares a facility for operation and new hires begin work.

The Sacramento City Council, which was not involved in the decision to approve the plant, will discuss the issue publicly for the first time after a request two weeks ago by council members Kevin McCarty and Lauren Hammond. They asked the council to consider an emergency ordinance requiring a special permit before Nestlé Waters North America begins bottling city tap water and spring water at a plant in South Sacramento.

Such a permit could "trigger" an environmental analysis of this and future facilities, McCarty said Wednesday night at Crest Theatre, where he and 165 others watched "Tapped," a documentary on the bottled water industry.

Save Our Water Sacramento, a group formed last month to oppose the plant, also is seeking a temporary City Council moratorium on beverage bottling plants in Sacramento.

"Ultimately, Save Our Water wants to see the Nestlé plant stopped," said Midtown resident Jenny Esquivel, a leader of the organization.

That group and others have begun raising questions and concerns about the plant and the bottled water industry. Primary concerns include the lack of an environmental impact study and information about the operation, impacts of extracting and bottling a potentially unlimited amount of water, and the commercialization of a natural resource, representatives said.

"Nestlé just got kicked out of McCloud. The final nail in the coffin was when the attorney general sent them that letter demanding they do a proper, more rigorous environmental review," Esquivel said. "Rather than do that, what Nestlé did was pick up that project and move to Sacramento.

"It's not like those environmental issues disappear," she said.

Attorney General Jerry Brown threatened to sue the company in 2008 over an inadequate environmental review of its plan to bottle spring water in McCloud, near Mount Shasta. On Sept. 10, Nestlé Waters Chief Executive Officer Kim Jeffery sent a letter to the McCloud community announcing that the company was abandoning the project.

"Earlier this summer, we were able to secure a new facility in Sacramento to serve our customers in Northern California," he wrote. "As a result, and after conducting a thorough analysis of our business operations in the region, we have determined that the Sacramento plant production will replace the production we expected in McCloud and therefore we do not have a need to build a new facility in McCloud.”

Several companies bottle water in Sacramento, where water is "ridiculously cheaper" than other areas of the country because of the city's location at the confluence of two rivers, McCarty said.

Nestlé continues retrofit, hiring

Supporters point to the financial and economic benefits the plant could bring. Nestlé plans to spend $14 million to retrofit an industrial facility at 8670 Younger Creek Road and to create 40 new jobs, said Jim Rinehart, the city's economic development manager. That doesn't include equipment costs, he added.

In addition, Nestlé is using about 16 construction workers to modify the 214,000-square-foot building and install equipment for two production lines, plus contractors and skilled tradespeople to make the facility operational, according to Rinehart and a company Web site.

The warehouse was nothing more than four walls, a ceiling and a floor when Nestlé's lease began two months ago. Crews are halfway through building warehouse docks, reinforcing concrete flooring to support heavy equipment, and building a front office, lab, and areas for manufacturing, chemical storage and shipping, said Chris Kemp, a project manager who has overseen manufacturing and quality assurance at Nestlé facilities since 2002.

The amount of tap water bottled by Nestlé would not be limited by the city. Nestlé has reported different figures for the amount of water that would be bottled each year. The company has told the city's utilities department that it would "consume" 250 acre feet — nearly 82 million gallons — as well as 78 million to 117 million gallons a year, and bottle that under its Pure Life brand. Consumers would pay about $111 million to $166 million for that amount of Pure Life water.

Nestlé expects to bottle 30 million gallons of Sacramento tap water in 2010, Kemp said. Existing water pipes could bring 250 acre feet of water to the warehouse if operations were run 24 hours a day all year, he said, adding that's expected during peak months, but not the rest of the year.

Nestlé can't say how much Sacramento water it'd use annually after the first year, Kemp said, adding only sales will determine that.

In this state, water isn't just critical to all life. It's also big business.

"California runs on three things: energy, information and water," said Richard Howitt, a UC Davis water economist who said the amount of city water Nestlé wants isn't considered large. "A million gallons sounds like a lot, but in the grand scheme, it's really not."

Globally, the company used 10.82 billion gallons of water in 2006 and sold $10 billion of water under different brand names in 2007, according to a report from Food and Water Watch in Washington, D.C. Nestlé sold at least $997 million of water in this country in 2007, making it the top bottled water company here.

Groups Oppose Water's Commercialization

Food and Water Watch and other organizations are fighting the commercialization of drinking water, which occurs when water that is free or accessible at a very low cost through a government treatment system is instead bottled and sold at market price.

"It's not just happening in Sacramento and California. It's happening all over the country and all over the world: A corporation like Nestlé is beginning to get a stranglehold by setting the price for water," said Ruth Caplan, past chairwoman of the Sierra Club's water privatization task force. "So people who can afford the price will get the water. And people who can't afford the price will have to choose between water and food, and that's really about life and death.

"Many of us believe water is a fundamental right for people and nature," she said.

When asked for Nestlé's response to the concern that access to water is a human right, Kemp said the company doesn't have any water rights in Sacramento.

"The city plans for the growth of residents and businesses. We feel we're part of that growth in the city of Sacramento," he said.

Concerned residents such as the people who formed Save Our Water Sacramento have sought information about the plant since the city and the Sacramento Area Commerce & Trade Organization announced Nestlé's plans in July. Group members said they were given the runaround after asking for specifics about jobs and other logistics, so they began requesting public documents, Esquivel said.

The company has filled 11 of the 40 jobs expected to be created by the plant. Seven hires are local residents, including two plant managers and a lead mechanic, and the other four transferred here, Rinehart said.

The four who already worked for Nestlé include Kemp, who plans to move here permanently to manage the plant; a logistics manager; a controller; and a mechanic with ties to Northern California. Two others on the plant management team — a technical operations manager and a female quality assurance manager — come from cities 30 minutes north or 60 minutes south of Sacramento, Kemp said.

"We can't restrict our hiring search to candidates in a given Zip code or a given city," he said.

The 11 hires will have started working by Monday and will help set up the facility. Nestlé will hire an additional 29 people, whose permanent positions will begin Nov. 30 or Dec. 7.

The plant is targeted to begin operation by January and is expected to require 100 trucks per day in the peak season, generally May through Labor Day. Fifty trucks a day will suffice when there's less demand. Seven to 10 seasonal workers are expected to be hired during peak times, Kemp said.

Neither Nestlé nor the city's Economic Development Department would disclose the rate paid to lease the building from Buzz Oates Real Estate Co. Taxpayers will benefit from possessory interest taxes, a tenant's equivalent to property taxes, and sales tax on the water, because Sacramento is considered the point of sale, Rinehart said.

Groups concerned about the plant and the bottled water industry say the lack of information from Nestlé is one of the company's and industry's primary problems. City Department of Utilities staff did not respond to requests for information about the city's water sources.

But according to the department's Web site, 85 percent of the city's water supply comes from the American and Sacramento rivers. The other 15 percent comes from underground aquifers.

Food and Water Watch is sponsoring a California bottled water bill, AB 301, recently re-introduced by state Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes. The measure would require water-bottling businesses to report the amount of water bottled each year, the source of the water and the location of each extraction point, and for the information to be available to the public through the state Department of Public Health.

Bottling water raises concerns

Water is a natural resource that should be managed sustainably, said Mark Schlosberg, western regional director for Food and Water Watch. Water from aquifers, where rainwater is stored underground, can recharge some streams during dry spells. Aquifers also provide water for springs and wetlands. A limited amount of water can be pumped from aquifers before their levels drop, he said.

Pumping systems take water that falls to the ground in Northern California and distribute that to the Central Valley and Southern California, Schlosberg said.

"In California, water's very connected," he said. "If you have a lot of these little straws coming in and sucking up water, it can add up to a lot. Also, this is a time when we're asking everyone in California to conserve water."

People have a right to know how the extraction of that much water during a continued drought may impact the Sacramento River Valley, Sacramento residents and wildlife, as well as the water rate residents will pay, said Schlosberg and Caplan.

"There has to be CEQA review of these sites," Caplan said, referring to the California Environmental Quality Act.

Nestlé's plans were announced in July. Last week, Mayor Kevin Johnson said he'd prefer to have information on such facilities before they're approved by city staff.

"When Nestlé can take water -- our water -- and sell it at a price, that’s a little bit concerning to me, just in general. What are those parameters in what they can and cannot do?" he asked at a press conference. "And... do they have caps in terms of what their limitations may or may not be? Those are two concerns that the public is bringing forward, and I think they’re very valid."

Nestlé has followed all Sacramento regulations, gotten the required permits and provided the city with requested information, said Kemp, adding that a full environmental impact report was not required.

Mass production of the water bottles that would be required to hold even 50 million gallons of water, transportation of those bottles and the trash they'd create also troubles people alarmed by the growing industry.

Save Our Water Sacramento estimates that 800 million half-litre water bottles would need to be produced to hold 50 million gallons. Kemp and another Nestlé spokesperson disputed that number. After agreeing to provide the company's estimate, they later said that wasn't possible.

More than 400,000 barrels of oil would go into making that many bottles, according to Save Our Water Sacramento. Americans drinking bottled water in 2006 disposed of more than 30 billion bottles in 2006, 86 percent of which go to landfills rather than being recycled, according to Food and Water Watch. That group estimated that 7.86 billion bottles could have come from Nestlé.

The safety of drinking bottled water also is a growing concern, according to these groups.

Tap water is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state and local governments, and is rigorously tested in government-certified labs. There is little to no government testing of bottled water, which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, according to Food and Water Watch.

Researchers are studying chemicals used to make water bottles and other products. Phthalate, often used in soft plastic bottles, has been shown to leach into bottle contents and to increase the risk of cancer and to cause liver and reproductive problems, according to these groups. Often used in hard plastics to make five-gallon water jugs for offices, Bisphenol-A, or BPA, is an estrogenlike chemical which studies are linking to a host of problems in children and adults, including decreased sperm counts, accelerated puberty, aggression, hyperactivity, and increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Bottled water consumption has increased in the last decade but there hasn't been the political pressure to ensure enough federal funding to maintain municipal water treatment systems, said Caplan and Schlosberg. Nestlé executives have said projected problems with the breakdown of the water infrastructure have led to a very positive climate for bottled water, Caplan said.

"They're banking on people not wanting to drink tap water. That's their whole business plan, as far as I can tell," Caplan said. "People have been brainwashed into thinking bottled water is safer."

Photo by Eric Whalen. Sacramento Press reporter Kathleen Haley contributed to this report. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Action news capsule: for the night of Wednesday, September 16, 2009

2009-09-17T20:48:11Z

#1. WEST SAC- West Sacramento police and Davis SWAT served warrants on several locations in West Sacramento related to recent
gang activity occurring in the city including the fatal shooting at the Ortega's Night Club. Two people were arrested and a medium sized
marijuana grow was located during the operation.

#2. SOUTH SAC- A shooting occurred in an apartment on 44th Ave near 39th St in south Sacramento. The victim was shot once in the
leg and transported to Kaiser South Trauma Center. Further details were unavailable at the time.

#3. SAC COUNTY- A shooting occurred at an apartment complex on Tuolumne Dr near La Riviera Dr in Sacramento County. One victim was shot in the arm while standing outside the apartment and another victim holding a small child was shot in the arm when a stray bullet
came through the wall of the building. The first victim was self transported to UCDMC before officials arrived and the second victim
holding the child was transported by ambulance to UCDMC, the child was not injured.

#4. RIO LINDA: A shooting occurred in the area of Rio Linda Blvd and Rivera Dr in the Del Paso Heights area. The victim was shot
five times in the upper body and transported to UCDMC. (No Photos)

#5. SOUTH SAC- A hit and run crash involved a vehicle and a sheered off fire hydrant that caused a geyser of water to shoot high
into the air on 65th St and 53rd Ave in south Sacramento. The driver of the vehicle ran on foot from the scene and was found at his home by
CHP and arrested.

#6. FAB 40's- A large play structure was burned in the backyard of a home on 44th St in Sacramento. The structure was a total loss and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

MEDIA SOURCES: Full photos, video and write-ups available by emailing media@maverickphotography.us or calling 916.340.1926
Photography by MaverickPhotography.us, Available Video by Andrus Media
Incident briefs by Calvin Andrus

Elk Grove man dies at Discovery Park

2009-07-20T08:34:07Z

18 year old George Ho went under the water and never surfaced at Tiscornia Beach in Discovery Park Sunday afternoon at the confluence.

Jim Doucette of the Sacramento Fire Department,stated "at 2:54 PM, we responded to the beach at Discovery Park for an 18 year old male that went under and never surfaced."

"Ho and his friends were swimming about 25 yards off shore. Some boats came by, created a wake, he went under and never came up" said Doucette.

This occurred right where the Sacramento River and American River meet, the area known as The Confluence. Doucette stated that it is very deep there with a lot of logs and rocks. He further stated that in the past an abandon car had been found there.

After about an hour of surface searching, the fire department pulled their swimmers out of the water and went into a recovery mode, per Doucette.

Doucette noted that even as the recovery of Ho was taking place, there were many children in the water without life vests. "It's kind of ironic; you see what just happened here and people are still in the water. The big deal is, they just don't think it could happen to them."

The young man was identified as George Ho of Elk Grove. Per Doucette, Ho had just graduated from Monterey Trails High School in Elk Grove.

Doucette spoke with Ho's friends who were at Discovery with him. They stated that Ho did know how to swim and Doucette believed that alcohol was not a factor in this incident.

With Ho's father, family and friends looking on, a few hours later, the dive team was still unable to locate him and called off the recovery efforts.

Capt Doucette states, "This is a sad reminder of just how dangerous our rivers and waterways are. The victim’s friends reported that he knew how to swim. These waters do not discriminate against anyone, whether they are good swimmers or not. These waters will 'kill' you."

The Sacramento Fire Department also received assistance from the Sacramento Police Department, Sacramento County Park Rangers, the California Highway Patrol, the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department, and the Yolo County Sheriffs Department.

Firefighters rescue injured transient from water channel

2009-06-30T02:52:23Z

Sacramento, CA- Firefighters called to rescue an injured transient on the steep slope of a water channel

William Lockwood and his girlfriend, Angel Love have been residing under the overpass, that spans the water channel, on 88th Street off of Fruitridge Blvd. Monday morning Lockwood lost his footing at the top of the channel and tumbled down the steep cement side coming to a stop just before the water. Injured and unable to climb back up the steep cement slope, Angel summoned for help.

Sacramento Fire Truck 10 and Paramedics received the call near 11:30 a.m. The truck crew had to commence a rope rescue with the stokes litter to safely bring Lockwood to the top.

Lockwood was transported to the hospital by paramedics with minor injuries.

Green Sol water serves up more than H20

2009-06-26T06:02:57Z

Executive Partner of Green Sol Water Dominic Carini pauses halfway through our phone interview to take a business call. Two minutes later he’s back, in slight disbelief.

“I guess I’m one of the officials that’s supposed to water the BET awards, so I’m flying down to Hollywood. It’s crazy what’s going on. I can’t believe this is my life right now,” says Carini.

Carini’s impromptu invite qualifies the kind of splash Green Sol’s movement has had in its first four months of existence. Green Sol Water offers an alternative to petroleum-based plastic through their product's polylactic acid water bottles. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable plastic derived from corn starch.

The movement got its start when longtime friends Carini, a Sacramento native, and Micheal Lacy pitched the idea of an educational approach to spread the word about the patented product to their bottle's manufacturers.

“We asked, 'what would you guys say if we told you we would be willing to divide the team to do events, to do education, to start working on curriculum, and create more of a grassroots motion through schools, through city parks, and hydration of city workers? What if we went that route and you allowed us to privatize this?' And after a couple of months [of seeing] our numbers of proving what we were doing, and literally not stopping, they agreed. That’s now why you’re seeing Green Sol. Now that they’ve given us the ball there’s no way we can stop,” said Carini.

Lacy and Carini brought in financier Steed Hustrulid, whom Carini refers to as "a tremendous add to the team." The three wunderkinds of water set their unique business model in motion, using the product to communicate their message of awareness with educational programs; community and business sponsorships; local- and territory-based wholesale distribution; custom labeling; and bottle recovery logistics.

"We are not just a water bottle company. We are actually promoting the overall conversion, but the most important ingredient is recovery because California state does not have redemption for these bottles; no one is putting anything together for them to get to the composter," said Carini. "Right now, the recovery process is not done curbside or in receptacles. Green Sol developed first bioplastic-only receptilces. If you were to go to the park downtown, you would see Green Sol cans."

The lack of state-provided recovery is the obstacle preventing Green Sol from going retail.

"The plan is to make sure that people understand that the recovery is not in place. We are already talking at the Capitol to make sure that our message with the bottle is that bio-products are still available, but until it's curbside, it’s not going to be readily available,” Carini said.

With the bigger picture in mind, Green Sol is currently shouldering the process of recovery. Two weeks ago at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, Green Sol was the sole source of redemption for the entire festival.

"We took all of the bioplastic waste, we took all of the forks and spoons, we chose to become the recovery process that was left short by all the other retailers that were bringing compost to the event," said Carini.

The movement's positive message and dedicated team members leave sizable impressions on event goers. Chris Morrow, who witnessed Green Sol in action at Sacramento's Concerts in the Park, says he was "feeling the Green Sol vibe."

"They’re not promoting a water bottle, a lot of their attention is turned to what’s going in on respect to the environment.." Morrow said.
Green Sol's objectives extend beyond that of making money from selling water, says Carini. It is part of what what he believes will be the total conversion of petroleum-based plastics into materials that are biodegradable. Carini, like his fellow team members, is in it for the long haul.

“I would hope Green Sol to be synonymous with the transition into households, in composts, and as a form of education. Also, that Green Sol's vision would be so everyday that it's not a surprise anymore. It’s a long way off, but I just see it becoming completely mainstream,” said Carini.

To learn more about Green Sol, visit their website at ourgreensol.org.

Green Sol Water will be hydrating and educating at the Sacramento News & Review Music Fest at Cesar Chavez Park, Saturday from 3 - 9 p.m.

Will the waterways and pools bring tragedy into your life this holiday weekend?

2009-05-23T07:30:23Z

"Drownings in Sacramento have become a problem. They occur way too much and it is very frustrating for us, because it seems like there is not much more we can do to help prevent them" said Capt. Doucette, Public Information Officer for the Sacramento Fire Department in an article a few weeks ago. see article

"More than one in four fatal drowning victims are children 14 and younger. For every child who dies from drowning, another four received emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries" says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention CDCR Site

For myself, as a former lifeguard, paramedic and firefighter, nothing challenges your professionalism more than getting the call across the radio for a child related drowning; while in route the dispatcher updates you stating "be advised, CPR is in progress". While you see so much and most 911 responses you handle as routine, your heart beats a little faster for these calls, especially if you yourself are a parent.

Depending on the body of water, even a few inches of water can be surprisingly dangerous.

Sacramento Fire Department is just one agency that has partnered with Cal Boating and CSUS Aquatic Center to bring local boaters and waterway recreation enthusiasts a lifesaving program by making life jackets available on loan to children and adults.

"The Department has supplied each location with life jackets for children and adults. An individual or family can check out life jackets for a day or a weekend simply by completing a loan form. Look for the sign, 'Life Jacket Loan Station,' at participating locations" says Cal Boating.

In a press release today, Capt. Doucette, Public Information Officer for the Sacramento Fire Department issued this reminder: "The Sacramento Fire Department is reminding you that this holiday weekend our beaches and waterways will be very busy. It is extremely important that a responsible adult take the responsibility and supervise all children who are in or near the water. It is also the law that all persons under the age of 13 must wear a properly fitting life jacket while in our natural water ways."

The following local fire stations have "Life Jacket Loan Stations":

El Dorado Hills Fire Dept.
Station 84 2180 Francisco Dr.

Folsom City Fire Dept.
Station 35 535 Glenn Dr.

Roseville Fire Dept.
Station 1 401 Oak St, Ste 402

Sacramento Fire Dept.
Station 5 731 Broadway
Station 8 5990 H Street
Station 11 785 Florin Rd.
Station 15 1591 Newborough Dr.
Station 60 3301 Julliard Dr.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District
Station 31 7950 California Ave.
Station 59 7210 Murieta Dr.
Station 61 10595 Folsom Blvd
Station 63 12395 Folsom Blvd.
Station 65 11201 Coloma Rd.
Station 110 1432 Eastern Ave.

See the Cal Boating web page for more information on this program

FLOW: For Love of Water

2008-10-28T22:24:12Z

This past weekend at The Crest theater, the Environmental Council of Sacramento, or ECOS, hosted a special screening of an incredible film called FLOW: For Love of Water. The film was directed by Irena Salina and has won a slew of awards including Best Documentary at the United Nations Association Film Festival and was an official selection at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. One of the executive producers for the film is Stephen Nemeth, who also produced Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Why Do Fools Fall in Love and Dogtown and Z-boys among others.

The film discusses the current worldwide water crisis as well as the issue of water privatization. The engaging narrative, which characterizes the film, effectively captivates the viewer by appealing to both their intellect and their innate sense of what is right. One of the key questions that Salina addresses is water ownership. Can anyone really own the water supply? Water - the ultimate source of life - is being transformed into a commodity to which only the people who can afford to buy it have access. Images and stories from around the world, particularly in the poorest regions of the world, expose the tremendous threat that all humans, and all life for that matter, are facing in the 21st century.

I was struck in particular by the scenes in Bolivia and South Africa. FLOW shows how the poorest people in the world are being exploited by the water industry and their executives. Two of the major water corporations that had the misfortune of being discussed in the Film are Suez and Vivendi Water. The projects of both corporations act independently to demonstrate the questionable ethics of their business, but officials also managed to be caught on camera with their feet in their mouths. One official even said, "People should want to pay [for their water]." When the customers they speak of are so poor that they are forced to drink contaminated river water, resulting in thousands of infant and toddler deaths each years, that statement is ill advised at best.

FLOW does not only deal with the effects of the water crisis in developing countries and poor communities. In perhaps the most effective argument in appealing to American viewers, FLOW addresses the issue of water in the United States. Interviews with scientists and activists provide an alarming picture of what we are dealing with right here, at home. Much of the problem we face seems to be our own contamination of our precious potable water supply. Pesticides and chemical byproducts are invading our water supplies and confronting us with a disastrous set of problems. These contaminants are more difficult to treat than the microbials that make untreated water in places like South Africa, Bolivia and India dangerous.

The contaminants present in our water are carcinogens like perchlorate (rocket fuel) and the pesticide atrazine. The effects of such contaminants is discussed and detailed in FLOW, so if you are curious why the most used pesticide in the US is one that is banned throughout the European Union, despite its Swiss origins, you should definitely go see FLOW.

The screening hosted by ECOS on Friday night also featured a panel and discussion after the film. The panel included Jonas Minton, Senior Water Policy Advisor for the Planning and Conservation League, Bill Craven, Chief Consultant for the California State Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, and Dale and Gale Stocking, long-time water advocates from the Stockton area.

This was really great because it provided a forum for people who were already concerned about the water crisis or people who had just learned some disturbing facts from the film to ask questions, get some answers and learn about where Sacramento stands on the water crisis. Another great thing that happened was that after the panel discussion had ended, people from the audience began talking with one another and discussing what they know and what they share: a concern about water.

FLOW has been playing at The Crest theater since last Friday. The last day to see it there is this Thursday, October 30. Hurry! Don't miss this great film. To learn more about the film, its creation, and its message, visit the official movie Web site. Have you seen the movie? Did you get to see and participate in the panel discussion? Have you been personally effected by the issues discussed here? Leave your comments in the conversation space below. I'll leave you with the quote that kicked off the movie:

"Thousands have lived without love, but not one without water."

- W.H. Auden

Drought-resistant landscaping

2008-10-16T19:54:50Z

In my first article for this storyline I discussed several simple steps that individuals can implement to reduce their water consumptions. To read more about simple conservation tips, please click on the green storyline tab and select the article titled, "The Crisis." However, in this time of crisis immediate action is a necessary step, so it is also useful to consider the more drastic methods of conservation, such as drought-resistant landscaping.

Outdoor residential water use accounts for 21 percent of all urban water use, according to the Pacific Institute, an environmental research group located in the East Bay. Activities included under this umbrella term of "Residential Outdoor" water use are landscaping, hosing down walkways and driveways (though this is discouraged by city water officials), and recreational use like swimming pools.

Landscaping is the most water demanding among these activities. It accounts for over 50 percent of residential water expenditure, according to a brochure published by the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities. That luscious green is beautiful, but it demands an immense amount of our valuable, and dwindling, supply of water. In fact, a traditional lawn of 1,000 square feet requires about 2 inches of water per week, amounting to 100,000 gallons of water per year.

An increasingly popular alternative to the traditional lawn-centered landscape is dry landscaping, or "xeriscaping." By using drought-resistant and native plants, groundcovers, rocks and smart landscape design, xeriscaping aims to drastically reduce the amount of water needed for landscapes. Many people have misinterpreted the term "xeriscape" to mean "zero-scape", where use of greenery is limited, leaving landscapes looking barren. This is not an accurate interpretation of the goals of xeriscaping. Dry landscapes can be very aesthetically pleasing when executed properly. Other benefits of xeriscaping include pesticide freedom, supporting native eco-systems, and reducing the amount of maintenance required.

In addition to native plants, there are some other landscaping options that will help save water. For example, Eco-Lawn is a blend of organic, wild meadow grasses that requires little water and infrequent mowing. The company that produces Eco-Lawn, Wildflower Farm, claims that it uses 75 percent less water than a traditional lawn and needs to be mowed only once a month to maintain a neat appearance. An Eco-Lawn of 1,000 square feet uses only 25,600 gallons a year, which is 1/4 of the water needed for the traditional lawn.

On the Wildflower Farm Web site, there is a chart that compares total costs for installing and maintaining a traditional lawn compared to an Eco-Lawn over 10 years. If their claims are accurate, consumers could save about $1,900 in the first year and about $6,500 over the full 10 years.

Tom Larson, a former member of the Nursury Growers Association of California, created a list of ideas for a California-friendly landscape that can be easily implemented. Larson points out that it is the soil and the microorganisms in the soil that are responsible for a healthy plant, not the fertilizers that we put into the soil. Larson advises gardeners to avoid chemical fertilizers, which often kill these organisms, and to feed their soil with compost, fish emolsion, and organic fertilizers.

Two other suggestions he offers are adding mulch between plants to keep the ground cool and limit evaporation, and to compost. Composting reduces green waste and feeds your soil at the same time!

Going lawnless or using alternative breeds like the wild grasses of Eco-Lawn requires considerably less labor for maintenance, saves water and money, and helps to reduce the damage of drought on our earth. The California Department of Water Resources and the University of California Cooperative Extension have put out a 160-page document that describes, at great length, how to calculate water needs for specific landscapes and how to plan a landscape with a particular water-use goal in mind. A quick internet search also turns up hundreds of great articles about how to get started on converting your yard to drought-friendly species and design.

Do you have a dry landscape? How much water do you save? Are you pleased with the appearance of your yard? Do you compost your green waste? I want to hear about your experience with xeriscaping. Please add your comments and questions in the conversation space below.

The Crisis

2008-10-14T20:25:43Z

So you've heard, or in case you haven't, California is in a drought. Governor Schwarzenegger has declared a State of Emergency for Sacramento County, among others, because water levels are so low. The water year that ended on September 30, 2008, was classified by officials at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as "critically dry."

In fact, the months of March to September 2008 were the driest on record for the Northern Sierra, which only received 3.5 inches of rainfall, a mere 23 percent of the average. Also, the major state reservoirs are only holding about 1/3 of their capacity when a normal year would fill them to about 2/3 of capacity. Most significant for Sacramento residents, the Sacramento River system, as well as the San Joaquin River system, are classified as "Critical" for this water year.

This is a crisis that is affecting the whole world, but the signs are especially clear in Sacramento, California. This means that we all need to reassess our water consumption habits and aspire to use and waste less. Already, consumers who receive their water from the Central Valley Project, including many regions in the Sacramento area, have seen cuts to their water supply of 25 percent, and contracts for agricultural water customers were cut by 60 percent. The City of Sacramento owns senior rights on the water obtained from both the Sacramento and American rivers, so residents don't have to worry about the immediate threat of enforced water restrictions like those recently imposed on the residents of Folsom and Roseville.

Jessica Hess, a city spokeswoman with the Department of Utilities, has said, "The city of Sacramento is in a very fortunate position because of our senior rights. The folks who have junior rights are the first to lose their water in a dry year." Despite this fortunate position, there is a city code,13.04.860, active during all years, wet and dry alike, which demands socialresponsibilityby specifying appropriate and inappropriate uses of water.

There are so many ways that you can conserve water just by adjusting your simple day-to-day habits. Notletting the sink runwhile you brush your teeth, only running a full load of clothes in the washing machineand reducing shower times are alleasy ways to conserve water. If you don't know how much water you are using, try calculating your water-footprint using the free water calculator! Below is a complete list of conservation tips for both indoor and outdoor activities. Try implementing just a few at a time as a way to ween yourself off the wasteful water practices that are so pervasive in our society. Old habits die hard, but the stakes are high and the costs of extreme drought are sure to be higher, so we must all work together to conserve our precious water.

Outside Water Use

(from Regional Water Authority - RWA)

- Use a shut-off nozzle instead of letting the hose run.

- Avoid water-wasting run-off - don't water sidewalks, driveways or gutters.

- Maintain your irrigation system - frequently check for leaks, clogs or misdirected sprinklers and emitters.

* Check for leaks by shutting off all faucets, spigots and other water fixtures. If the triangular-shaped leak detector on your water meter is still turning, you probably have a leak.

- Water outdoors between midnight and 10 a.m. to avoid peak energy hours and minimize the sun's evaporating effect. Avoid peak water use hours between the hours of 5 and 8:00 a.m.

- Water with the weather - turn off your sprinkler system during the rainy season or install a rain sensor to automatically shut off your sprinklers when it is raining.

- Group plants with similar water, soil and sun exposure needs.

- Put a layer of mulch around trees and plants to reduce evaporation and water-stealing weeds.

- Reduce lawn size, and incorporate water efficient plants into your landscape. (For a list of drought tolerant plants native to the Sacramento area visit the following: Drought Tolerant California Native Shrubs)

(from Sacramento County Water Agency - SCWA)

- Sweep it, don't wash it away - when cleaning up dead leaves, dirt and debris, use a broom rake or leaf blower on sidewalks, driveways and patios rather than a hose. Wash down paved surfaces only to alleviate immediate fire or sanitation hazards.

- Stat: One leaky drip per second wastes 6,000 gallons of water per year.

Inside Water Use

(from RWA)

- Install a low-flow showerhead (save up to 800 gallons a month)

- Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth (save up to 10 gallons/day)

- Install ultra-low flush toilets (save 10-40 gallons a day)

- Run only full loads of laundry and dishes (save up to 800 gallons/month)

- Use high-efficiency washing machines (save more than 16 gallons/load)

- Repair a leaky faucet (save up to 429 gallons/month) (According to Pacific Institute, approximately 12% of indoor water use is actually the result of waste from leaks.)

- Install a low-flow faucet aerator (save more than 140 gallons/month)

- Fix toilet leaks (save up to 500 gallons/day!!)

(from SCWA)

- Turn off the water while soaping up in the shower.