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Ukiah water crisis looms

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 6, 2009 at 10:44 pm

From the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:

Ukiah’s water supply could be crippled when Russian River water levels begin dropping in coming weeks, city officials say.

Water flowing from Lake Mendocino into the Russian River can be reduced starting Monday from 75 cubic feet per second to 25 cfs to save water for fall salmon runs. Officials at the Sonoma County Water Agency, which controls the summer releases, said Thursday they would try to delay the reductions as long as possible.

When the river level drops, the sub-surface flows that supply two of Ukiah’s major wells could all but disappear, according to city officials. The wells supply 4.9 million gallons of the 5.2 million gallons the city currently can supply each day.

The city Thursday asked customers to cut their water use in half in preparation for potentially dramatic declines in the water supply. But they stopped short of mandatory rationing, for now. The city already prohibits washing cars, sidewalks or other hard surfaces in a manner that allows runoff.

“If everyone will conserve over these next few weeks, we think we probably can get through it,” City Manager Jane Chambers said. The goal is to limit water use to 50 gallons per person per day, she said.

Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat by clicking here.

July 6, 2009 · Filed Under Northern California

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