Viewpoint 

by Mayor Dave Romero

 

I’m so pleased that fellow City official, Pismo Beach Councilman Bill Rabenaldt, has the operations of his city so well in hand that he has spare time to author a Viewpoint article advising and cautioning SLO City residents regarding our City’s solution to its water needs.

 

I’ll admit I am overjoyed by our City’s action to participate at a high level with the Nacimiento pipeline project.  The reliability provided by a third major water supply source and delivery system is an outstanding benefit for our citizens.  Maybe the additional supply will take care of our water needs for only fifty years, but I’m not going to worry too much whether that represents “forever.”  Even with my best efforts, I probably won’t hang around long enough to once again face the “water wars” when SLO City has to once again look for an additional supply.

 

I wish Bill had checked with SLO City staff, County project manager Christine Ferrara, the State Department of Health Services, or the Nacimiento Environmental Impact Report prior to making extensive comments regarding mercury in the Nacimiento water supply.  They will all verify that there is no mercury problem from this water supply.  Mercury comes into the lake near the headwaters and precipitates out very quickly, settling to the lake bottom, where it remains.  The intakes for the pipeline to deliver water to various cities will be located near the dam many miles away.

 

If Bill had bothered to check with SLO City staff, he would have found that the City has had a very aggressive water conservation program in place since the mid-1980’s, thereby reducing our City’s per capita use of water from 182 gallons/person/day in 1987 to today’s usage of 120 g/p/d (this compares to water consumption in Pismo Beach – a coastal city – of approximately 210 g/p/d).

 

Ron Munds, SLO City’s Water Conservation Coordinator, is President of the California Urban Water Conservation Council and is on the cutting edge of all water conservation measures in the state.  Those measures that are clearly cost effective, such as low-flow toilets and shower heads and retrofit programs are mandated.  Others, such as installation of cisterns are permitted but not required.  The developers of the Bridge Street project may use cisterns, if they wish, but don’t be surprised if they don’t.  Cisterns require a substantial capital investment in construction of underground storage tanks, pumps, and a dual irrigation system.  However, in our semi-arid climate, cisterns don’t work very well, since they are quickly filled during the rainy winter months when they are not needed and quickly depleted during the dry months when they are needed.  Cisterns simply work better when there are intermittent rains all year long.

 

The City has had an outstanding water management program for the past fifteen years, and residents of SLO-Town can rest assured that their water needs will be taken care of for a long, long time. 

 

It’s great to live in paradise!