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MARIN COUNTY'S NEWS
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(415)868-0502(fax) - P.O. Box 31, Bolinas, CA, 94924
March, 2009
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Death Star Water Rationing In Bolinas May Be Cancelled
By Don Deane
The prospect for draconian water-use limitations in Bolinas seems to be fading as rainfall has doubled over the last six weeks. The town's stand-alone water system with just under 600 water meters faced a crisis in the beginning for February. Water storage had been reduced to half because of an ongoing drought, and the possibility of running out of water with the coming summer was a real possibility.
The Bolinas Community Public Utility District board took action in February to limit daily water consumption to 150 gallons per day per meter regardless of the number of people in a household.
BCPUD General Manager Jennifer Blackmam observed, "We've received a good amount of rain and both of our reservoirs have been filled. We are in an exponentially better place than in February. The board passed an ordinance for rationing but deferred enforcement because of rain. We have a limited water supply in the community which is why we have a long-standing water hookup moratorium."
No new water meters have been issued in Bolinas since 1972 because of limited water in the coastal community. A Pacific Legal Foundation lawsuit challenging the "Water Moratorium" was beaten back after a protracted legal struggle in federal court. The legal ruling endorsed BCPUD's justification for the moratorium declaration.
Some 98 percent of the community has stayed within the 150-gallon use limitation for the last month. "Dozens of people have found leaks on their property. And people have gone to great lengths to save water," Blackman said.
"Bolinas was already conserving water with one of the lowest use levels in the state," she continued. "What surprised me the most was the community's response to the emergency by conserving even more. Changing out toilets, flushing less, five-minute showers, and using low-use washing machines at home and in the Laundromat made a big difference."
In a letter published in the town's Hearsay News, Blackman wrote:
"At the end of January, when the BCPUD Board passed Resolution 575 and instituted mandatory water rationing, we had received less than 8 inches of rain to date; in contrast, as of today (March 6th), the district has received over 20 inches. While this is still only about 2/3 of normal rainfall, our community is in a much better position heading into the spring and summer months than we were just a few short weeks ago."
The emergency has been a "dry run" for the community and Blackman hopes many of the conservation steps learned will stick. "A lot of people felt very empowered by successfully controlling their water use including water catchments for watering gardens. Our staff has really appreciated the incredible support and understanding about the water shortage. We had in the high 90% compliance."
