By Khalida Sarwari
With summer here, gardeners and homeowners in Saratoga may find relief in a new conservation plan by the Santa Clara Valley Water District and San Jose Water Company that increases watering days from two to three days a week.
In a June 30 letter to its customers, the water company explained that the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which is the county’s wholesale water supply agency, has reduced its water conservation target from 30 percent to 20 percent and increased the number of watering days.
In reaching this new target, the district considered a number of factors, among them the current water supply conditions, projected end-of-year groundwater reserves, an evaluation of long-term water supply forecasts and efforts from residents and businesses to use water more efficiently. Those efforts helped save 13 billion gallons of water in 2015 alone, according to Robert Day, director of customer service at the San Jose Water Company.
Noting that while the state’s water supply has improved, Day said the drought is not yet over and that the governor’s emergency drought declaration remains in effect. To that end, Day said the district has requested that its retailers, including the San Jose Water Company, maintain mandatory conservation measures.
The new target and watering schedule went into effect on July 1 and will end on Jan. 31. The previous target was implemented about a year and a half ago in response to the drought.
Water has been a recurring issue in the city recently. Last month some Saratoga residents launched a Change.org petition calling on the water company to
provide clean drinking water. Started by Sreenatha Timmareddy, the petition states that some residents have noticed “a strong petroleum odor” in their drinking water over the past two months. As of July 12, the petition had 62 signatures.
Saratoga residents are not the only ones complaining; residents of Campbell, Los Gatos and Monte Sereno have also reported a slight dissipating “earthy” odor in their tap water. According to the city of Saratoga, the water has been tested and has been determined to be safe for consumption after meeting all drinking water standards.
The odor appears to be the result of an algae bloom in the water supply prior to treatment by the water district. While the treatment process usually removes the algae and makes the water safe to drink, it doesn’t always remove the odor that remains, according to the agencies.
Nevertheless, both the district and water company are monitoring the odor and encouraging residents who continue to have issues to contact the water company’s customer service department at 408.279.7900.
To view the Saratoga petition, visitbit.ly/CleanWaterSaratoga. For more information about the odor, visitvalleywater.org/Services/TasteAndOdorFacts.aspx or bit.ly/SJwaterTasteOdor. For more information about the new conservation rules, visit sjwater.com.
Link:
Saratoga: Water company, district reducing conservation target from 30% to 20%
