Water and Drought in San Mateo and the Bay Area

Drought

We are in a drought.  Drought means not enough water.  It is a serious and complicated emergency. 

We get some of our water from melted snow.  In a good year, we get 60% of our water from snow.

And we get some of our water from under the ground (groundwater or aquifer).  In a dry year, we get 60% of our water from under the ground.

You can read more about the drought and water in California here.

 


San Mateo and the Bay Area



Water comes from the Sierra Nevada mountains
to San Mateo and San Francisco

San Mateo, San Francisco, and the cities in between get their water from high up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from Hetch Hetchy - up by Yosemite. The snow melts into rivers and comes down in pipes to Crystal Springs Reservoir.   For several years, we do not have enough snow.  So we do not have enough water.

San Mateo is considering building a desalination plant.  It would take the salt out of water from underground.  You can read about this idea here.


Everyone Must Save Water



Governor Brown announces water cuts.


Recently, Governor Brown said everyone must cut their water use.  This is called "mandatory water cuts."  Mandatory means from a command.  You must do it.

It is the first time in the history of California that the governor said the whole state must cut water.



Cal Water in San Mateo

The Water Company for San Mateo is California Water Service.  The office is very close to the San Mateo Adult School, on Delaware Avenue.  Cal Water is the short name for California Water Service.

Cal Water buys its water from the SFPUC - the San Francisco Water Utility.  "Utility" means company for electricity or water or gas.



New Rules and Prices for Water

The prices and rules for Cal Water follow the prices and rules for SFPUC.  There are many new rules, guidelines and prices. You can find information about them here.

Some of the new rules are:
* you cannot wash your driveway or sidewalk with water.
* you must follow a schedule for watering your yard based on your address - even or odd.

The new prices are based on the water you used two years ago.  Utility company use the word, "rate" for price.

You must use 16% less than you used two years ago.

The rate is a tier system.  Tier means level.

There are 3 tiers.  The bottom tier is the lowest price.  The middle tier is the middle price.  The top tier is the highest price.

It is like if you drink cups of tea.  The first cup is one dollar.  The second cup is two dollars.   The third cup is three dollars.  The idea is to motivate people to use less water.

You can look up how much water you used to use here.

You can learn more about the new rate system here.

You must pay extra money if you use more than the amount of water you used 2 years ago minus 16%.

If you didn't live here 2 years ago, you can find your base here.


Difficulty and Appeals

If you have been careful with water for a long time or you live in a careful area, things are more difficult.  Some people and some cities wasted a lot of water.  If they cut back, they still have a lot of water.  If you or your city was careful, now it is more difficult.

If you are sick or have new family members, you can file an appeal to change the amount of water you are allowed.  You can find out more about appeals here.



Rebates and Programs



Some cities will give you money
 to help you remove your grass lawn
and put in drought resistant plants.

The government and the water companies understand many people might not follow the plan.  So they created rebates and incentive programs.  These are special programs to motivate people to use less water.  You can learn more about rebates and incentive programs here.


 

 

 

How to Save Water

 

Conservation means save.  You can find tips for water conservation here.

 

You can get a free conservation kit here.

 

The kit includes:

• Two high-efficiency showerheads (use 2 gallons per minute [gpm])
• One hose nozzle
• Two bathroom faucet aerators (use 1.0 gpm)
• Toilet leak tablets
• One kitchen faucet aerator (uses 1.5 gpm)

 

 

San Mateo Adult School

 

Waterless urinals:  Clean conservation.

We are working to save water at our school.  The teachers will not use bottled water in the teachers room. Bottle water comes the aquifer.  The aquifers are losing water.  It is a serious and big problem.  The teachers will drink the water from the faucet.

 

Ambrosio is putting in a drip irrigation system in the School Garden to save water. 

 

New waterless urinals will be put in the men's bathrooms.  These new urinals are from San Mateo High School.  The students raised the money to buy them.  They will save 500,000 gallons of water a year.

 

Tommy is very careful about water for cleaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student and Community Leadership

 

Olivia Enriquez
 is teaching people
how to save water.

Recently, the San Mateo Daily Journal told about Olivia Enriquez, young 14 year old girl from San Mateo who is telling people how to save water.  She arranged for a special meeting at the Public Library so people could learn more.  You can read her story here.

 

How about at our school? 

 

What can we do to teach people about water, drought, and conservation?

 

If you have an idea, stop by Room 28 and tell Teacher Cynthia.  You can also call and leave a message for her at 650 - 558 - 2128.

 

Maybe in the Fall, we can have a meeting about water.  Together we can learn and do more.