■ Conservation campaign unveiled before Council; mayor: ‘Time is of the essence’; measures ‘with teeth’ mulled

Benicians’ consumption of treated water is tracking about the way it did in 2012, which is an improvement over last year, Benicia City Council during a city staff update on how the city is coping during California’s drought.

But residents need to cut back even more if they’re to meet the 20-percent voluntary reduction goal set by both the Council and Gov. Jerry Brown.

Since January, Benicia as a whole has used 1,865 acre-feet of State Water Project it had left over from previous years, Scott Rovanpera, water treatment plant superintendent, told the Council Tuesday night.

The source of 85 percent of the city’s water, SWP won’t supply Benicia with any water until at least September, when it may provide 5 percent of the city’s contract with the state agency.

Benicia uses about 10,800 acre-feet of water annually, he said.

The community has used 883 acre-feet so far from Lake Berryessa through the Solano Project, and 373 acre-feet from Lake Herman, which Rovanpera said fortunately is near capacity.

Through April, the city has consumed 3,121 acre-feet of water. Historically, this and November-December are the times when water use is lower, Rovanpera said — it usually begins rising in May, peaking about July and starting a decline as the year winds down.

But 2013 was an exception, he said, with two peaks — one in May and a longer but lower increase in June and July.

After Rovanpera gave the Council Benicia’s consumption numbers, city employees and consultant Christine Kohn rolled out the new outreach campaign, “Benicia, Saving Water Starts With You.”

The campaign recommends property owners dial back sprinklers by two minutes, water early in the morning or late at night to reduce evaporation, adjust sprinklers so they don’t cause runoff or spray onto streets or sidewalks, check sprinkler timers every month and adjust them based on the weather, and replace lawns with low-water-use plants, Kohn said.

The campaign has more tips for reducing outdoor water consumption, Kohn said, because half the treated water used goes to irrigation. Of that, she said, 30 percent is lost to overwatering and evaporation.

Indoor tips are to limit showers to five minutes or less, check plumbing and appliances for leaks and fix them within 48 hours, and replace older fixtures and appliances with high-efficiency toilets, showerheads, faucets, dishwashers and clothes washers.

Rebates are available for those upgrading appliances and replacing their lawns, Kohn said.

Residents will see banners with some of those tips posted around town, especially at local ball fields, she said, and soon they can post lawn signs encouraging neighbors to save water.

More tips will be posted on the campaign’s website, BeniciaSavesWater.org.

However, one resident and business owner, who looked at the banners, magnetic signs that will go on utility trucks, Facebook advertisements and other promotional materials, noticed one element was missing in the designs.

“If you want to meet a goal, you’ve got to tell them what the goal is,” Jasmin Powell told the Council.

The designs don’t mention how much residents are expected to cut back, Powell noted, though it was part of Tuesday’s discussion and a resolution that passed unanimously and urged residents to participate in the voluntary conservation effort.

“The goal is to increase knowledge about using water wisely, especially outdoors where most water use occurs, and to motivate customers to reduce water use by 20 percent or more,” City Manager Brad Kilger wrote the Council prior to Tuesday’s meeting.

In his report on the city’s water situation, Kilger wrote that the city’s Public Works Department had been collaborating with Kohn’s firm, IN Communications, to promote water conservation. He described the company as an award-winning public outreach firm that builds “creative and innovative outreach strategies, programs and materials designed to change behavior, inform, educate and engage the public.”

“Time is of the essence,” Mayor Elizabeth Patterson said.

She said residents should watch for runoff when they water their yards, but didn’t recommend replacing lawns with artificial turf. That material, she said, is better used on athletic fields.

She urged the use of soil probes, perhaps as a reward for residents’ pledges to conserve, because those devices tell property owners when their landscaping needs watering — and when it doesn’t.

Kohn said those who promise to do at least four of the city’s water cutback tips would get a reward, and soil monitors might be included as one of the gifts.

Patterson also was concerned that voluntary efforts might not help achive the 20-percent goal.

Kohn said, “It depends on the jurisdiction. Outreach is just one part of the program. Our goal is to make those numbers (water consumption) go down.”

She said the campaign would let residents see how the drought affects Benicia, and how Benicia is different from other cities. She expressed hope that residents would respond by cutting back enough so other measures wouldn’t have to be taken.

If voluntary efforts aren’t enough, “sometimes you need teeth,” she said.
Kilger said the Council wasn’t considering any “teeth” — that is, mandatory measures — that night, but could see those options as early as its May 6 meeting.

Vice Mayor Tom Campbell called the campaign “a good start,” but asked about the city’s biggest consumer, Valero Benicia Refinery, which accounts for about half of the city’s water use.

The refinery doesn’t use treated water for its refining process. It uses raw water from Lake Herman, Kilger said.

While the refinery can cut back 20 percent in some areas, it can’t make the 20-percent reduction goal in its manufacturing process and function economically, he said.

He said Valero officials and city staff are continuing to talk about the situation.

“We don’t have an answer yet,” Kilger said, but added that refinery officials are cooperating. “They’re willing to meet at the drop of a hat.”

Patterson said the state has recognized the hardship of some industries in meeting the 20-percent voluntary cutback, and said some steps Valero has been taking “make a lot of sense,” and could serve as guides for other industries to follow.

Constance Beutel, chairperson of the Community Sustainability Commission, said, “I’m glad to see Benicia take water efficiency seriously.”

She urged Benicians to consider that California has “a semi-arid climate,” and urged residents to consider water conservation as a long-haul practice, doing such things as modifying their landscapes to plantings that can withstand drought.

Mary Frances Kelly Poh, vice president of the Willis Linn Jepson chapter of the California Native Plant Society, said the group would have a drought-tolerant native plant sale May 10 at the city’s Community Garden, and while new plants would need some watering for two months until they settle into their new gardens, they’d be the type appropriate for planting now.

A fall sale would give residents a chance to pick up native trees and plants that would benefit from anticipated winter rains, Kelly Poh said.

Once established, native plants need little water, she said: “My native plant garden needs to be watered once a month.”