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A California town squeezes water from a drought

Posted by: Maven on May 26, 2009 at 8:20 am

From NPR’s Morning Edition:

California is in the third year of a drought, and many cities and towns are calling for various forms of water rations. But the northern California coastal community of Bolinas had to learn water conservation the really hard way. That’s because the town almost dried up earlier this year.

The beginning of the rainy season turned into one of the driest winter periods on record for Bolinas. Every day, Bill Pierce, a 25-year veteran of the Bolinas Community Public Utility District, checked the town’s main water source, the Arroyo Hondo Creek. But all he could do was pray for rain.

It’s not easy finding the creek that slakes the village thirst. You drive up a narrow Jeep trail, then walk through dense stands of old growth Douglas fir until you stop in a clearing. It looks like an old swimming hole, 20 feet wide, about 28 feet long and 3 feet deep. It was created in the 1920s by a dam, only 15 feet wide.

During those dry months, Pierce watched the creek flow dwindle to a trickle, when it should have been roaring. By the end of January, the town had completely drained one of its two emergency reservoirs. “We’re in deep trouble here,” Pierce finally realized. “Basically we were out of water, we just hadn’t consumed it all yet.”

Find out how Bolinas pulled together to conserve water from NPR’s Morning Edition by clicking here.

May 26, 2009 · Filed Under Bay Area, Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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