SOQUEL, Calif. -- Officials with the Soquel Creek Water District are asking customers to voluntarily reduce water use by five percent through October. It equates to saving roughly five gallons per person per day -- or spending as little as two minutes less in the shower.
The district declared a Stage 1 Water Shortage Alert after rainfall was only 70 percent of normal by April 1. But customer water usage rose slightly in May and June, and district officials want to spread the word about how residents can save water.
"Our customers use some of the lowest per capita water in the state already," said Leigh Ann Gessner, conservation outreach coordinator for the Soquel Creek Water District. "Unfortunately, we still need to conserve further to find a solution to our short-term and long-term water shortage."
The district relies solely on groundwater to supply its roughly 38,000 customers from Capitola to La Selva Beach. Its immediate issue is the lack of rain, but its aquifers are also over-drafted, "meaning more water has been pumped out by the district and other well owners than is naturally replenished," according to its July/August newsletter.
The district's 18 wells pump about 60 percent of water from the mid-county basin, while others, like private well owners, pump the rest, according to the district. With overdrawn aquifers, the worry is that seawater could seep in and contaminate the water supply.
Rich Phillips, a Soquel Creek Water District customer, said he has already taken advantage of the free items offered by the district, like a low-flow shower head or aerators for faucets.
"I have gone down to the nursery and said, 'What can I do? We have a five percent reduction in water.' They told me the bare minimum is turn your sprinklers down every other day for three minutes," explained Phillips. "If we all chip in and cooperate with them, we'll get through this. Hopefully we're going to have a good winter."
Customers can contact the Soquel Creek Water District for a free water-wise house call at (831) 475-8500 or they can come by its offices at 5180 Soquel Dr. in Soquel to pick up free water-saving devices. For more information, log on to www.soquelcreekwater.org.
