06-12-2017 BPU RPT 22 - 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: JUNE 12, 2017 GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT ITEM NO: 22 Riverside Public Utilities Drought and Conservation Efforts / Groundwater Level Update As of April 2017 Conservation Efforts For the month of April 2017, Riverside resident's water conservation reached 10%, cumulatively it is at 16% from June 2016 to April 2017 (Figure 1). This translates to 10,556 Acre-feet (3,440 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). In the last quarter RPU's Residential-GPCD was lower than the regional Residential-GPCD. Basin Groundwater Levels Groundwater levels peaked in March of this year, and are beginning their gradual seasonal decline as demands start increasing. While this year's rainfall provided recharge to our groundwater basins, it will take years or 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 additional wet winters for water levels to recover. Comparing April 2017 to April 2016, water levels were about the same in Bunker Hill Basin, higher in the Rialto -Colton Basin by 0.4 ft, lower in the Riverside North Basin by 6.1 ft, and higher in the Riverside South basin by 1 ft. Overall, the basins remain stressed and this year's average rainfall has had only a marginal impact on the basins.