Water Supply Update

As Tuolumne County enters the fourth year of drought, our two main reservoirs; Pinecrest Lake and Lyons Reservoir have more water stored in them currently compared to last year.

A small weather system is predicted to bring a minimal amount of precipitation and snow to the higher elevations tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11th.  In general, like most of California, Tuolumne County continues to experience well below normal precipitation and a very small snowpack accumulation this year.  Snowpack readings from near our watershed would normally show about 30 inches of water content but now only shows about 5 inches.

According to Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) who owns and operates Pinecrest Lake and Lyons Reservoir, both reservoirs are expected to fill, but they are also predicting that the dry and warm conditions will make it a very early “End of Spill”.

The “End of Spill” is a point in time that occurs after the snow has melted and flow in the South Fork Stanislaus River has subsided to where the flow out of Lyons exceeds the flow into it. The End of Spill occurs at the end of the spring snow-melt runoff which on a normal water year occurs about July 1st or later. At the End of Spill timeframe, water stored in Lyons Reservoir is relied upon to supply the County through the summer.   However, Lyons Reservoir is relatively small and only holds enough water to support normal Tuolumne County water needs for about 65 days.  This span of time normally stretches between about July 1 and Labor Day of each year.  After Labor Day, water is normally drawn down from Pinecrest Lake to supplement Lyons Reservoir during through the fall and early winter. Last year we experienced the earliest End of Spill on record on May 30th.

“We are in constant communication with PG&E and we are working with them to manage reservoir levels and the regulations placed on the river flows and reservoir operations to help ensure that we have adequate water supply for the remainder of this year and into early 2016,” states Tom Scesa, General Manager.

Last January 2014, Governor Brown declared a drought state of emergency for the State of California. This emergency declaration has not been lifted. On July 29, 2014, the State Water Board adopted emergency regulations for water conservation which are still in effect. The State Water Board is considering proposed new water restrictions which will be discussed at their next Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 17th. Statewide water restrictions remain in place. Tuolumne Utilities District is considered an urban water district since we supply water to more than 3,000 connections.

Listed below is a listing of the emergency water conservation restrictions that were adopted July 29, 2014:

Prohibitions for ALL urban water users in California:

• The application of potable water to any driveway or sidewalk.
• Using potable water to water outdoor landscapes in a manner that causes runoff to adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, private and public walkways, roadways, parking lots or structures.
• Using a hose that dispenses potable water to wash a motor vehicle, unless the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle.
• Using potable water in a fountain or decorative water feature, unless the water is recirculated. Recycled water is not mandated, but encouraged for fountain use.

Requirements for Other Water Suppliers (serving <3000 connections):

• Mandate that outdoor irrigation be reduced to no more than twice a week or implement other mandatory use restrictions that provide a comparable level of savings. The goal with the restrictions by the State is that these restrictions will reduce your water use by 20% compared to 2013.