Water restrictions move to Stage 2

Here's the latest addition to the I Told You So file.  B'game is joining the movement to Stage 2 water restrictions while simultaneously approving ever more new construction--residential and commercial.  The DJ reports that

The City Council adopted the restrictions following a call from state water regulators for local suppliers to enact plans preparing for impending water shortages.  The rules, effective June 10, prohibit “residential and commercial landscapes” from being watered more than two days per week, and between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Washing vehicles is also banned, except for with recycled water.

I'm not sure where you are going to get "recycled water" with enough pressure behind it to actually wash a car, but good luck.  Here's the big red flag for future restrictions

Meanwhile, Hetch Hetchy, the reservoir that supplies water to 2.7 million people in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties, is expected to be full heading into the dry season next year despite below-average snowpack levels, according to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the agency that owns and operates the system. The question is how much of the water will be available, as negotiations continue that could partially divert it to ecosystems and fisheries in the Bay-Delta, among other uses.

Burlingame Public Works Director Syed Murtuza noted “There will be a lot of staff time dedicated to this effort to conduct inspection, do outreach and respond to complaints.”

It might be good to come up with an answer to the question "Why are we building all this new 'stuff'?" as staff conducts inspections and does outreach.  And we probably should understand why we are going to underwater our trees when the city Urban Water Management Plan tells us there isn't going to be much of a problem even in a five-year drought.

June 17 update.  You probably got a postcard from the city yesterday about the annual water quality report:  www.burlingame.org/waterquality.  Did you notice the license plate on the sweet '68 Camaro?  SAVEH2O   LOL.

Comments

[Handle Bard]

When do us little people get told about this? Hardly anyone I know reads the paper which is a shame but true. I can just see Nextdoor ratfinks sharpening their little claws.

[Spurinna]

Snitchdoor

[Joe]

It turns out that the City did make the announcement of the restrictions on NextDoor. When asked what improvements the City has made on water management, this is the response:

Great question, the City of Burlingame is in its 17th year of its 20-year Routine Meter Maintenance Program which includes replacing water meters at their end of life expectancy. The City is also a member agency of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency which manages a Regional Water Conservation Program to augment our efforts to use water more efficiently. In the past year, we have partnered with organizations to conduct school education programs such as providing WaterWise Kits for children and teachers as well as assemblies. We also provide a rain barrel rebate program, host free online gardening workshops, conduct an annual water loss audit, and implement a permanent water waste prevention ordinance.
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The good news is there are a number of people who can connect the dots between killing our plants and taking short showers with the building, building, building going on in town.

[Joe]

We have the cart firmly attached in front of the horse:

SITES, Colusa County — Deep in California’s farm country, this dusty valley ringed by brown hills and sunny skies is seen by many as the state’s answer to drought.

Here, about 70 miles north of Sacramento, a coalition of water agencies is setting out to build the first major reservoir in California in nearly half a century. The $4 billion plan calls for flooding miles of ranchlands with flows from the nearby Sacramento River and sending the water to cities and irrigation districts as far away as the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

Much of the money is already lined up, and as state water shortages have intensified, the project has won increasing bipartisan support, including from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

But there’s a problem: There may not be enough water to fill the new reservoir.

In a letter sent out by state regulators Friday, project officials were told that their application for a water right is incomplete because they failed to show that there’s sufficient flow to draw from in the Sacramento River.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/climate/article/California-s-largest-reservoir-in-nearly-50-17400937.php

[Joe]

And yet.................

A proposed biotech campus and a research and development campus nearby on the Burlingame Bayfront are moving through the development process, with the Planning Commissioner satisfied with most project aspects.

The 12-acre biotech site from 1200 to 1340 Bayshore Highway on either side of Easton Creek calls for three 11-story buildings at nearly 1.5 million square feet and two 10-story parking structures to provide 3,500 parking spaces. The buildings would all be more than 200 feet, nearly double the height of the nearby Hyatt hotel and adjacent One Bay Plaza building. The project, known as Peninsula Crossing.

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/burlingame-bayfront-office-developments-advance/article_0d6bc608-277a-11ed-85ce-a71f672d16c5.html?utm_source=smdailyjournal.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1661781609&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline

Up next, more taxpayer-funded subsidized housing...it'll be "required"

[Cassandra]

“Reach code” reaching into your pockets.

[Joe]

As we ponder where to get more sandbags and whether PG&E will continue to keep the power on (so far, so good--oh, why did I say that?)-- here's the numbers behind the atmospheric rivers:

Statewide reservoir storage is up to 78% of average for this time of year, as of Jan. 5. By comparison, about a month ago, California’s reservoirs across the state were 68% of average.

While the state’s largest reservoirs are still below historical averages, all increased over the past month. Lake Shasta, the state’s largest reservoir by storage volume, rose from 31% to 35% of its total capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet.

Despite significant recent rainfall, one week of storms isn’t enough to dramatically improve California’s water supplies, said Jeanine Jones, drought manager for the California Department of Water Resources.

“We need to see sustained accumulation of precipitation throughout the season,” Jones said. “It's great that we're having some storms and getting precip, but we need that to continue.”

“We're in the flood season and that means that reservoirs have to hold down their elevations,” Jones said. “They won't start storing water for water supply until the March, April timeframe, when the flood control requirements come off.”

Flood control requirements keep reservoirs well below their total capacity to leave space for precipitation during California’s wet season, between November and March, when the state typically receives about half of its yearly precipitation.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/Here-s-where-California-reservoirs-stand-after-17700534.php
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One cannot ask for a clearer statement of The Problem. When we get rain "too early" in the water year, we are hesitant to store it because we need to save capacity for later to prevent flooding. Got it?