Are water restrictions in store for SJ County?

EBMUD already asking customers to voluntarily reduce water use by 10%

This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared 41 counties in California are now under extreme drought conditions, and one of those is San Joaquin County.

What that means for residents in terms of conservation and restrictions remains to be seen.

When the governor declared an emergency in Sonoma and Mendocino counties last month, the East Bay Municipal Utilities District board of directors held a meeting to discuss its water supply and decide how to conserve it.

At an April 27 meeting, the board approved asking EBMUD customers districtwide to voluntarily reduce water use by 10%.

Andrea Pook, EBMUD spokeswoman, said the district is planning on securing supplemental water supplies through the Unites States Bureau of Reclamation and a Central Valley Projects contract later this summer.

“We know that not every customer can reduce their usage by exactly 10%,” she said. “It’s really difficult for each individual, household or business, because it depends on how much is done with the water they need or use. We’re just asking people to look at a variety of ways to conserve.”

The district controls the Camanche and Pardee reservoirs along the Mokelumne River, the former of which provides water to Woodbridge Irrigation District, which in turn provides a portion of water to the City of Lodi.

Pook said that when conditions are as dry as they are now, WID’s regulated base supply is 39,000 acre feet of water, or 12.7 trillion gallons. In a normal year, the district receives 60,000 acre feet, or 19.5 trillion gallons.

The last time EBMUD was under a water emergency and WID allotment was reduced was 2014-2016. During that time, allotment to Lodi was reduced from 6,000 acre feet to 3,500 acre feet, and the city implemented water conservation restrictions on residents.

Those included limiting the watering of lawns to specific days of the week depending on address, and prohibiting watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Even-numbered addresses could water on Tuesdays and Saturday, while oddnumbered addresses could water on Wednesdays and Sundays.

As of Tuesday, Camanche Reservoir was at 52% capacity with 215,390 acre feet of water, down from 55% on April 22 when Newsom declared emergencies in Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

Pardee Reservoir was at 87% capacity Tuesday, with 177,250 acre feet of water. That was down from 88% capacity on April 22.

Pook said EBMUD will continue to monitor expected run-off and storage in its reservoirs, and adjust conservation efforts as needed.

She said efforts could result in mandatory cutbacks, fines or penalties if the 10% reduction is not met.