Bolinas approves rationing of water

Mandatory rule kicks in based on customer use

The Bolinas water agency became the first in Marin County to approve water rationing in response to the dismal rainfall this winter.

The Bolinas Community Public Utility District adopted the water rationing plan on Wednesday. The plan is the first it has approved since 2009 and is meant to avoid depleting its water supply before the end of the year.

Under the plan, mandatory rationing will be automatically triggered if the district’s customers use more than 76,000 gallons per day, or 125 gallons per household, on average for seven consecutive days. If that occurs, households will be mandated to limit water use to 125 gallons per day or face having their water turned off.

While the more than 1,600 Bolinas residents have kept their collective water use to less than 61,000 gallons per day in February, or about 103 gallons per household, district staffers weren’t optimistic that will last into the spring.

“I’d like to think that’s possible, but our historic water use records would indicate that that’s a tough ask of the community,” Jennifer Blackman, the district’s general manager, told the board of directors on Tuesday. “We are likely to have the mandatory restrictions kick in. But people are a bit in control of their own destiny on that.”

Without continued conservation, the district projects it could deplete the 8.8 million gallons of water at its two reservoirs as soon as July if no significant rainfall occurs, according to Blackman.

Certain businesses and agencies will be given their own water rationing limits larger than the 125 gallons per day. Mark Sheff of the Coast Cafe said the 800-gallon-per-day limit they would face wouldn’t be a hardship now, but that could change if the coronavirus pandemic’s strain on business lessens in the coming months.

“We have been doing everything we can to save water,” Sheff said. “Because of COVID, we are able to stay well below that number.”

If the rationing takes effect, the water use of Bolinas households will be monitored on a weekly basis. If a household’s average daily water use during those seven days exceeds 125 gallons, it will be issued a warning. After two warnings, subsequent violations would trigger a water shutoff, which can be appealed to the district board.

State and regional water officials say they are unaware of any other Bay Area water agencies or suppliers that have adopted mandatory water rationing or conservation rules this year.

“But that doesn’t mean that might not occur a month or two out,” said Max Gomberg, climate and conservation manager with the State Water Resources Control Board. “We’re in a second dry year. This year is particularly dry in terms of rainfall, and rainfall-dependent areas of the state are going to be hurting.”

Marin County relies heavily on rainfall for water supplies, as opposed to other regional water agencies fed by the snowpack. Bolinas receives its water from Arroyo Hondo Creek and can store up to 56 acre-feet of water in its reservoirs.

The district has a long history of limited water supply. It has had a moratorium on new water connections since the 1970s.

The district, which covers nearly 3 square miles, has not had to use water rationing since January 2009. However, a deluge of 10.5 inches of rain in the following month allowed it to rescind the rationing order that March.

No such rescuing downpour is in the forecast, and just 13.7 inches of rain have fallen in Bolinas since July. Only 10 years in the district’s 68 years of records show rainfall below that amount as of this time of year, Blackman said, including the 1976-1977 drought.

The district is hoping to receive about 20 inches of rainfall in total by the end of June, which is what it typically received during these drier years. The district normally records an average of 32.5 inches of rain annually.

While Bolinas is a relatively small water agency with a history of limited supply, its decision might be a harbinger for what larger suppliers could face if the dry weather persists in the coming months.

The Marin Municipal Water District, which serves 191,000 people in central and southern Marin, called for voluntary water conservation this month and signaled mandatory conservation could be needed this summer. The North Marin Water District, which serves the greater Novato area and parts of West Marin, plans to discuss water conservation measures at its board meeting on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Bolinas was considering rationing water to 100 gallons per day per household beginning Monday. However, it revised the plan based on public feedback and updated rainfall totals. District board member Don Smith said he was concerned with increasing the limit to 125 gallons.

“It increases the chances that we are going to use up the reservoirs before we get more rain next winter,” Smith said. “We’re counting on getting a total of 20 inches, but if we don’t do that then we’re going to be in a tighter situation.”

If residents adhere to the 125-gallon daily limit, the district anticipates having 5.3 million gallons remaining in its reservoirs by the end of the year. A 100-gallon daily limit would have increased that year-end supply to an estimated 9 million gallons.