Soquel Creek Water District votes against stage 4 water emergency

UPDATE 4/21/2015: The Soquel Creek Water District voted Tuesday to stay at a stage 3 water emergency, or a 25 percent water reduction.

PREVIOUS STORY: The Soquel Creek Water District’s Board of Directors is taking a look at water use restrictions. The board will take one of three actions — continue its Stage 3 restrictions of 25 percent water cuts, modify those restrictions, or call for stronger Stage 4 restrictions. The most severe Stage 4 restrictions would mean a 35 percent water usage cut for the area. The board is going to look at the lack of rainfall this season, and how it is impacting the long-term water shortage in Soquel. But, the board also wants to think about the people who live and work within its district.

“They look through the customer lens what impact this might have on the customer, trying to balance out all those interests — the customer, the aquifer, that sort of thing,” conservation manager Ron Duncan explained.

During the same meeting, the results of a community survey will be released. Some of the statistics have already been given out, such as 79 percent of people surveyed believe that the shortage is the most serious issue facing Santa Cruz County right now. Also, 71 percent said they did more to cut back their water use over the past year, with 85 percent of those customers saying those reductions are permanent. One business that has made permanent changes is Michael’s on Main. Chef/owner Michael Clark has taken some of his own steps to conserve from the bathroom, where low-flow toilets and faucets help conserve water to the dining room, where customers are asked to request water.

“We make sure that somebody asks for water,” Clark said. “We just don’t bring them water, because then the water sits there and we waste water. We can’t afford to waste it.”

And the kitchen, where dishwashers only run when they’re full.

“We’re making sure that thing is full and we are getting 100% usage out it so we aren’t using one glass because it would be a huge waste of water,” Clark said.

Conservation specialists from the Soquel Creek Water District did a walk-through at the restaurant, finding ways that Clark can save even more water. For example, leftover ice doesn’t go down the drain. Once it melts, it ends up in the garden to help vegetables and herbs grow.

Michael’s on Main is one of about 30 businesses that have taken advantage of the walk-through program, where businesses find out how to save money.

“I’m seeing a big embrace of our program,” conservation specialist Tera Curren said. “The restaurants in our area want to save water, they want to save money. And they let us come in and retrofit anything that will let them save water. We’re saving sometimes 60 percent, 75 percent of the water that was coming out of their tap after just 20 minutes in there, so, they’re going to see a considerable savings.”

Even though he’s a businessman, Clark said it’s not all about saving money. In fact, he says he’ll do more to save more.

“I’d jump on it,” Clark said. “If it was brought to my attention that there was something else we could do to save water, I’d jump on it right away.”

He knows that the drought isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

“Water is precious,” Clark said. “I mean, that summarizes everything.”

The water district also has specialists who will go into a person’s home for a walk through, looking at new ways to save water.

“We’re changing out shower heads,” conservation specialist Roy Sikes said. “We are seeing quite a few older fixtures that are wasting a lot of water. So we provide free shower heads, free faucet aerator. We can even go into your irrigation timer and reprogram that properly and provide information on how you are using your water in addition to the hardware.”

Sikes said the district is getting about 15 calls a week.