Politics & Government
Drought: City Officials Ask Residents Reduce Water Usage by 20 Percent
The city is asking for an immediate voluntary 20 percent reduction of water usage.
Time to tighten up the tap.
The recent declaration of a statewide drought made by Governor Brown has prompted local municipalities to ask consumers to help conserve water. Add the City of Livermore to the most recent ranks of cities in the Bay Area to ask residents to reduce their water consumption by 20 percent. City officials released a list of tips to help immediately.
Information provided by City of Livermore:
Due to the continuing drought conditions and uncertainty concerning water supplies, the Livermore City Council took action at its February 24 meeting to enact Stage 1 of the Livermore Municipal Water, Water Shortage Contingency Plan. Stage 1 calls for a voluntary 20 percent reduction in water use; there is no change in water rates.
[Related article: Livermore Experiences Driest Year on Record]
A 20 percent reduction for the average resident would mean reducing water usage by about 25 gallons per person per day. As an example of what that means, older, non-low-flow type showerheads can use about 4 or 5 gallons per minute, and a 10-minute shower would use about 40 to 50 gallons of water.
Newer showerheads dispense about 2.5 gallons per minute; running the shower for 10 minutes would use about 25 gallons of water. The 20 percent reduction could be achieved by taking a five-minute shower using an older showerhead, or by replacing the older showerhead with a low-flow type fixture
Says Mayor John Marchand, “The City recognizes that many of our water customers have already been practicing water-wise behaviors, and we thank them for their efforts.
Our conservation outreach will be focused on customers that use well-above-average quantities of water.”
Water conservation tips and rebates, the Water Shortage Contingency Plan, drought updates, and other information can be found on the City of Livermore’s website: www.cityoflivermore.net/citygov/pw/public_works_divisions/wrd/default.asp
Related articles:
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
