05-22-2017 BPU RPT 27 - Laserfiche WebLink

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P U B L I C U T I L I T I E S BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES Board Memorandum DATE: MAY 22, 2017 GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT ITEM NO: 27 Riverside Public Utilities Drought and Conservation Efforts / Groundwater Level Update As of March 2017 On April 7, 2017 Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-40-17 that lifts the drought emergency in all California counties except Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Tuolumne. This order rescinds previous emergency proclamations and drought -related executive orders issued in 2014 and 2015. The current executive order (EO B-40-17) builds on actions taken in the 2016 EO B-37-16 which calls for making water conservation a way of life in California. These ongoing actions include monthly reporting on urban water use to the State Water Resources Control Board, and prohibitions on wasteful practices such as watering during or after rainfall, hosing off sidewalks and irrigating ornamental turf on public street medians. For the month of March 2017, Riverside resident's conservation efforts reached 14% and cumulatively it is at 17% since June 2016 (Figure 1). This translates to about 10,000 Acre-feet (3,256 million gallons) of potable water being conserved. On a Regional scale, Riverside resident's water consumption measured in gallons per capita per day (Residential-GPCD) is comparable to the aggregate consumption within the surrounding ten water agencies (Figure 2); and in the last quarter RPU's Residential-GPCD was lower than the regional Residential-GPCD Basin Groundwater Levels Groundwater levels are usually at their peak during the spring season, having time to recover from the reduced demands typical of the winter season. While this year's rainfall provided recharge to our groundwater basins, it will take years to decades before the recharge actually reaches most of our wells. In addition, the prolonged drought took a heavy toll on our basins and it will take many wet winters for levels to fully recover. Comparing March 2017 to March 2016, water levels were higher in Bunker Hill Basin by 4 ft, lower in the Rialto -Colton Basin by 3 ft, lower in the Riverside North Basin by 7.5 ft, and remained neutral in the Riverside South basin.