Though Benicia has led many cities in saving, it needs to do more

Benicia Water Quality Supervisor Dan Jackson said the community-wide achievement of cutting water consumption by it 20 percent goal is “a real accomplishment.”

But now, he said, residents, businesses and municipal operations must do more.

Gov. Jerry Brown has issued the first statewide water restrictions in California’s history in response to a severe, multi-year drought that has shown no signs of ending. Under his executive order, Benicia must extend its conservation to a 25-percent reduction of urban potable water use compared to 2013 numbers.

Jackson praised the reduction he said “has been embraced by the whole community,” but advised, “We have new challenges ahead.”

The governor’s executive order will require a 25-percent aggregate reduction in water consumption compared to 2013, but individual water suppliers will see requirements of 10, 20, 25 and 35 percent, based on per-capita daily consumption that range from less than 55 gallons a day to more than 165.

Benicia falls in the 110- to 165-gallons-a-day range, according to information Jackson received just before Tuesday’s meeting.

He called California’s water situation “dire,” pointing out that this year’s measurements indicate the water content of the Sierra snowpack, the source of nearly a third of the state’s water, is the lowest it’s been since measurements began.

Other reservoirs are low, too, he said. Lake Oroville has 66 percent of its historic average, and Lake Berryessa is at its lowest level in 20 years at 76 percent of its average.

This year’s “rainy season” precipitation rivals lows of 1930 and the late 1970s, other times of drought, Jackson said.

California is unlike many parts of the country that can receive rain at any time of the year, he said. Most of its precipitation comes in October to March, and usually the rest of the year is dry. That classifies the state as one with greater variability of rainfall.

That variability is expected to increase with climate change, Jackson warned.

The current drought is in its fourth year. How long will it last? Jackson said the drought of 1976 and 1977 was severe but short. From 1929 to 1934 and again from 1987 to 1993, California experienced seven-year droughts.

What may happen has perhaps been illustrated across the Pacific. Australia has had some serious 10-year droughts in recent years. From 1995 to 2009 — with some areas experiencing dry conditions through 2012 — the country had what it called “the Millennium Drought,” which has been described as the worst in recorded history.

Before the rest of that country was affected, the state of Queensland, in Australia’s northeast, had one of its worst droughts on record from 1991 to 1995. Part of the Darling River system collapsed and wouldn’t resume flowing until 2007. Another, the Condamine, quit flowing and became a group of ponds. Half of the state’s wheat and barley crops died.

The drought spread, and by 2003 it was being called the worst on record. The state of South Australia experienced the least rain since 1900, recording just 4.28 inches compared to the normal precipitation of 14.83 inches. Other states issued similar reports, complicated by some of the highest temperatures recorded in the country. By 2006, some of the dams were at 27 percent of capacity. Water restrictions were imposed; farmers cut back planting or didn’t plant at all, and livestock owners struggled to feed their beef and dairy cattle.

Conditions didn’t begin easing nation-wide until 2009, when rain fell to help many of the states. However, Tasmania and the farming areas of South Australia remained drought-stricken, and some cities came close to running out of water. Other places found their water and farming land quality was reduced by saltwater intrusion and other drought-related conditions. The drought wasn’t declared ended until 2012, after a series of heavy rains, though some impacts of the drought remained through 2014, such as acidity in soils and groundwater and increased salinity of certain lakes.

The experience changed how Australia relies on water. It increased graywater recycling and promoted building water tanks. Several desalination plants were built.

Jackson said there is no way to determine how long California’s drought will last.

However, the State Water Resources Control Board has banned wasting water; told restaurants to serve water only by request and hotels to ask guests’ cooperation about less linen laundering; imposed outdoor water restrictions; and increased reports on water use, compliance and enforcement from water agencies.

Brown’s order also streamlines permits for water-related projects, Jackson said.

Benicia began 2014 using more water than in 2013, but within a month consumption had declined and it remained below 2013 levels for the rest of the year, Jackson said. Communitywide, Benicia has started 2015 below last year’s marks, he said.

He said residential use accounts for 55 percent of Benicia’s water consumption, with commercial and industrial use, excluding Valero Benicia Refinery, using 15 percent, and municipal operations 4 percent.

Jackson pointed to another category the city is addressing: “unallocated” and “unbilled” water. It accounts for 26 percent of water use, and is blamed on leaks city employees are trying to find and inaccuracies in meters.

“We need to get our arms around that,” Councilmember Alan Schwartzman said, agreeing that the city needs to step up leak detection.

Valero Benicia Refinery has a contract with Benicia for water required for its operations, but predominantly uses untreated water rather than potable water. The refinery usually needs less than is available through the contract, and has made changes that are reducing the total amount of water it needs, the Council was told. Valero also has reduced landscape watering and vehicle washing and has installed low-flow toilets.

Chris Howe, Valero director of health, safety, environment and government affairs, said the refinery has reduced its raw water use by 15 percent and is examining ways to improve upon that.

Beyond that, Jackson said, there isn’t much more the refinery can do and remain a safe operation. Because Brown’s directive involves potable water, Valero’s numbers won’t affect Benicia’s efforts to achieve the 25-percent cutback.

Plus, the refinery is fiscally important to Benicia, Mayor Elizabeth Patterson said. “Like it or not, Valero is a big component to the economy,” she said, adding that the company provides a “better return on the investment than other crops.”

Benicia has adopted its own water restrictions, and from April 1 through Oct. 15 residents may irrigate only at night and are limited either to even- or odd-numbered dates, based on their addresses. No one may water on Sundays. Outdoor watering is targeted because half of residential water consumption is from watering lawns and landscapes, Jackson said.

In addition, the city has imposed a surcharge that is based on water usage.

With new restrictions comes greater enforcement, Jackson said, which is expected to increase this year. Last year six informal warnings, in the form of door hangers, were issued. By comparison, 13 have been placed so far this year, he said.

So far no formal warnings or official notices of violations — with accompanying fines — have been given, though one formal warning was issued last year.

City officials and employees have been distributing reminders of water restrictions, from table messages in restaurants to outdoor signs, and they’ll be distributing more information weekly once the Benicia Certified Farmers Market opens this month, Jackson said.

In addition, Benicia is participating in the April-long Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, a contest to see which city can become the most “water wise.” Residents pledge to cut back their consumption of water, energy and other natural resources and compete for a total of $50,000 in prizes, including a Toyota Prius Plug-In hybrid car.

Public Works Director Graham Wadsworth said that as of the Tuesday Council meeting, Benicia was ranked in the top 10 nationally and was fourth in the state in the contest in the category of cities with populations smaller than 30,000.

In addition, he said, city efforts have reduced water consumption by 24.7 percent since January. “I believe we can make 25 percent,” he said of the statewide goal.

Rebates for water-efficient appliances and irrigation controllers as well as lawn replacements, in which Benicia has the highest per-capita participation in Solano County, have helped the city and community reduce water consumption, Jackson said. So have several city and county programs that assess water use in homes and businesses and make recommendations for changes that can improve those numbers and costs.

Benicia counts on the State Water Project for up to 80 percent of its water supply, but last year was allocated only 5 percent of the water for which it contracted.

As of March 7, State Water Project Deputy Director Carl A Torgersen wrote that the Department of Water Resources would increase the statewide allocation of 2015 State Water project to 20 percent, up from the 15 percent announced earlier this year.

Solano County, which has a slightly better allocation rate, requested 76,781 acre-feet of water, of which 19,195 acre-feet have been approved.

In the future, Jackson said, Benicia as a city is anticipating a seven-year drought and staying on course to reduce consumption this year by 25 percent. Other plans include banking water in Lake Berryessa and buying water when it’s economically feasible. In addition, he said, the city will work with Valero on a project that would let the company use the city’s treated wastewater for cooling during the refining process.

Vice Mayor Mark Hughes said the city has bought enough water “to carry us through 2017,” but urged city employees to keep monitoring its use.

Patterson, who has praised the community as a whole for achieving reduction goals, said that on the other hand, “Our average is not good. We need to focus on gallons per person per day.”