4-15-2019
By Michael Raffety
March rainfall was nothing to brag about but it was reasonable. With a total of 5.9 inches of rain, March’s total came within 92 percent of the 144-year average of 6.44 inches.
But that put the season total to date of 35.35 inches at 128 percent of the cumulative season average through March.
The average daytime temperature in March was 58.3 degrees compared to the 17-year average of 63.6 degrees. Overnight temperatures were slightly warmer than average at 44.4 degrees Fahrenheit compared to the 17-year average of 41.9 degrees.
What can we expect from April? The 144-year average rainfall in April is 3.47 inches. Already 1 inch has been recorded for April and two or three days of rain are due as this column is being written April 5.
The most April rain was 17.52 inches in 1880. The least was zero precipitation in 1946. Cumulative rainfall through April should total 37.18 inches to hit the 144-year average.
The real story of this winter has been the snow, with 3 to 4 feet of snow hitting Pollock Pines twice. Most of that is gone but it is deep in the high country, with Squaw Valley ski resort staying open through July 7 and Heavenly staying open weekends in May, according to a Tahoe Tribune story in the April 5 Mountain Democrat.
Dawn Hodson’s story in that same issue reports the snow and water content at Phillips Station add up to 200 percent of normal.
. . .
March 15 the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association sponsored a workshop at El Dorado Irrigation District headquarters. The sole presenter was Peter Brostrom of the California Department of Water Resources. He leads the Water Use and Efficiency Branch of that department.
Before joining DWR he managed a grain farm in Sutter County. By “grain,” I am guessing it was rice, which is the predominant crop in Sutter County. Rice cakes are manufactured in Sutter County. He also conducted cropping systems research for the University of California at Davis. With a BS and in Plant Science and an MS in Soil Science he must have been a real benefit to Burkina Faso when he served there in the Peace Corps.
He also has owned a cabin at Echo Lake for 25 years.
As a speaker he was ideal. He would talk awhile and take questions in the middle of his presentation. He generated a lot of information for the group of more than a couple dozen who came from throughout the Mountain Counties area.
His reference point was the conservation legislation that calls for 55 gallons per capita per day of indoor use. That consumption will be measured by the amount of water a district’s water treatment plant puts out annually. It won’t be measured by each person’s meter, though individually we’ll all have a stake in trying meet that goal.
Brostrom said, “It’s not about limiting water use but limiting overuse.”
His department will be conducting water use studies, including variances such as evaporative coolers, horses and livestock, seasonal peaks, high salinity areas, soil compaction and dust control, sustaining wildlife, fire protection and ag use.
Three pilot studies will take place in South Lake Tahoe, Folsom and Calaveras County.
“If a district can show 90-95 percent of the customers are under budget (that’s close enough),” he said.
The key takeaway is water efficiency formula, which is the sum of all four of the following:
Indoor Residential Use
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Outdoor Residential Use
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Commercial/Industrial Dedicated Irrigation Account
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Distribution System Water Loss
Districts will begin submitting water supply and demand assessments in 2022 to DWR, which will submit a report to the State Water Resources Control Board.
‘We didn’t have that information across the state from 400 suppliers. This will avoid a broad brush against all. Specific legislation directs the state board to follow (the assessments). This provision allows greater local control,” Brostrom said.
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