Santa Rosa's City Council declared a Stage One water shortage Tuesday, a day after a half-inch of rain fell on the city and a day before a new round of showers is expected to arrive.
Despite the weather conditions, Jennifer Burke, the city's water resources planner, said the water shortage remains a critical concern.
Through Monday, rainfall in Santa Rosa since July 1 totaled 15.54 inches, almost seven inches below an average year.
More critical, Lake Sonoma, which provides drinking water to 600,000 Sonoma and Marin county residents, including Santa Rosa's 160,000 residents, is 21 percent below last year's storage levels.
Stage One asks residents to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15 percent. It also requires residents to have nozzles on their hoses, prohibits washing of sidewalks and patios and stipulates that restaurants only serve water upon a customer's request.
Burke said if the situation worsens the city has three additional stages it could implement, all of which would require mandatory rationing.
"If we go into a further stages we would give allocations," she said. Stage Four would mandate cutbacks up to 60 percent.
The council on April 21 is scheduled to consider adopting a punitive water rate structure that could be implemented in periods of severe water shortages. The rate structure would penalize those who fail to meet rationing quotas.
A family of three that uses 12,000 gallons a month would see their normal monthly water bill of $53.12 jump to $138.39, the result of water shortage and excessive use surcharges that would be part of a Stage Four.
Burke said there would be good news for that same family of three if they met reduction goals. "They will see a reduced water bill," she said.
Under Stage Four the family would pay $38.12 if water use was reduced by 60 percent.
You can reach Staff Writer Mike McCoy at 521-5276 or mike.
mccoy@pressdemocrat.com.
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