Sonoma Water E-News | April 2021
Water Supply Update - It’s A Dry Year. Save Water With Us.
As a region we are experiencing a second consecutive dry year, and water storage at our two water supply reservoirs are lower than they have ever been for this time of year. Sonoma Water and its partners in the Sonoma Marin Saving Water Partnership (SMSWP) encourage all of our 600,000 drinking water customers to continue to save water (see tips below).

Our region just experienced the third driest water year (October 2019 - September 2020) on record over the last 127 years. We all need to make changes to our everyday habits to eliminate water waste and preserve water supply. Every drop saved helps maintain water flows in the Russian River and extend reservoir storage levels should the current dry period continue. To help raise awareness of water supply conditions, Sonoma Water created new water supply graphic that provides a snapshot of the rainfall and water storage for our two reservoirs, Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino. We will be updating this regularly on the Sonoma Water website (www.sonomawater.org) and on the SMWSP website (www.savingwaterpartnership.org).
It’s A Dry Year. Save Water With Us.
The Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership has launched a public outreach campaign to encourage water conservation in the North Bay. To support this message, we’ve adopted a regional tag line : "It's A Dry Year. Save Water With Us." Water is a resource that our community shares, and it is critical that we all protect and conserve this valuable resource.

These are a few of the water-wasting activities that are prohibited year-round in cities in Sonoma and Marin county:

  • Washing sidewalks, walkways, driveways or other hard surfaced areas with a hose. Use a broom instead.
  • Irrigation runoff to streets and storm drains from overwatering or sprinkler-overspray of landscapes.
  • Using a hose without a self-closing shutoff nozzle to wash cars, boats, or trailers.
  • Irrigating outdoors during and within 48 hours following measurable rainfall.
  • Using potable water in decorative water features that do not recirculate the water.

It’s a Dry Year. Save Water With Us.
For additional water saving tips and resources, please visit the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership website: http://www.savingwaterpartnership.org/
2020 Urban Water Management Plan Update
Sonoma Water is updating its Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and associated Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) for 2020 in coordination with community stakeholders. Sonoma Water will hold a public hearing on May 11, 2021 at 3:30 p.m., to receive public comment on the updated plans. The hearing will take place virtually.


Please visit https://www.sonomawater.org/uwmp for additional meeting details. Copies of the draft UWMP and WSCP will be made available for public inspection at Sonoma Water’s Administration building at 404 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa, CA, and on Sonoma Water’s website by April 27, 2021.

Sonoma Water’s updated UWMP will discuss and describe the following:

  • Existing water supplies and transmission system facilities;
  • Projected water demands in Sonoma Water’s service area over the next 25 years;
  • Projected water supplies available to Sonoma Water over the next 25 years, the reliability of that supply, and general schedules for water supply projects;
  • Climate change impacts to water supply;
  • Energy intensity;
  • Current and planned Sonoma Water water conservation activities;
  • An updated and separately adopted Water Shortage Contingency Plan; and 
  • A comparison of water supply and water demand over the next 25 years under different hydrological assumptions (normal year, single dry year, multiple dry years).
Public Policy Facilitating Committee meeting and Russian River Story video sequence
The annual Russian River Biological Opinion Public Policy Facilitating Committee (PPFC) was held via Zoom on March 9, with nearly 70 members of the public in attendance. The presentations provided updates on the Russian River Estuary Management Project, the proposed Fish Habitat Flows and Water Rights project, Dry Creek habitat enhancements, and Fisheries Monitoring. For those not able to attend the meeting, a full recording of the meeting and presentations is now available at https://www.sonomawater.org/ppfc2021

Please visit the Sonoma Water YouTube channel to view the three most-recent, short hand-drawn videos that explain the Russian River system, the life cycles of salmon in the river, and the proposed Fish Habitat Flows and Water Rights Project. 
Join us for an Earth Day ZunZun event April 20th and April 21st
Celebrate Earth Day with a 30-minute water workout led by the musical duo, ZunZun. Students and their families from across our service areas are invited to these two special Zoom events on Tuesday April 20th and Wednesday April 21st from 12pm-12:30pm.

There will be music and dancing as Stephen and Gwynne bring their energetic, multicultural performance to the world of Zoom and remind us of the importance of water and not wasting a single drop, especially during this dry year. Take advantage of this mid-day break and you will be smiling and uplifted, ready to save water.
Webinar event “The Incredible Salmon Migration” with Landpaths
LandPaths’ “Vamos Afuera” program and Sonoma Water partnered to host a fun and educational presentation about the incredible migration of salmon in the Russian River watershed. Thirty-six families learned more about the Sonoma Water Russian River water supply system and agency commitment to federally threatened runs of coho and chinook salmon, and steelhead in the Russian River watershed.

Participants were curious about the on-going salmon monitoring practices and ways to get involved in enhancing and protecting our watershed. This virtual tour was offered in Spanish over Zoom on April 12th to include Spanish speaking community members in Sonoma Water’s environmental awareness and outreach efforts.

For a recording of this presentation and to learn more about Landpaths programs visit https://www.landpaths.org/

Rainfall and Water Storage Update 

Current water supply conditions as of 4/12/2021:  
   
Lake Mendocino Target Water Supply Curve: 83,293 acre-feet  
Current Storage: 36,649 acre-feet (44.00% of Target Water Supply Curve)  
   
Lake Sonoma  
Target Storage Curve: 245,000 acre-feet  
Current Storage: 153,031 acre-feet (62.46% of Water Supply Pool)  
   
Current rainfall conditions (10/1/20 – 4/11/21)  
   
Ukiah:  
Average (1894-2020 water years): 33.68”  
Current Water Year: 12.24” which is 36.3% of average  
   
Santa Rosa:  
Average (1950-2020 water years): 28.07"  
Current Water Year: 12.77” which is 45.5% of average  
Upcoming Events

The Board normally holds its regular meetings on Tuesdays, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and will be facilitated virtually through Zoom

•April 20, 2021
•April 23, 2021 Special Closed Session
•April 26, 2021
•April 27, 2021
•April 28, 2021

Board Agendas: 

Please visit SoCoEmergency.org for additional information on Coronavirus and fire recovery from Sonoma County.

Groundwater Sustainability Agency Board Meetings

Sonoma Valley - April 26, 2021, 4pm
Petaluma Valley - April 14, 2021 4:30pm
Petaluma Valley - April 22, 2021, 4pm

Fact of the Month

20 million people of all ages celebrated the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. It has since grown, and has been celebrated in more than 192 countries by over one billion people.

Celebrate this Earth Day on Thursday, April 22!
Employment Opportunities

We invite you to explore the career opportunities available with Sonoma Water.

  • Water Agency SCADA Technology Analyst (Closes April 20, 2021)

  • Water Resource Civil Engineer I - Extra-Help (Closes April 20, 2021)
Sonoma Water | 404 Aviation Blvd, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 | sonomacountywater.org