In the midst of wildfires raging across San Diego County, Mayor Jerry Sanders is continuing to urge voluntary water conservation, recently unveiling the start of a new water conservation program in local restaurants. With cooperation from the San Diego Chapter of the California Restaurants Association, Sanders asked on Oct. 18 that more than 1,300 local restaurants participate in the program on a voluntary basis.
As part of the program, restaurants will serve glasses of water only on request, Sanders said.
The restaurants would also place information cards on tables and in check folders with tips urging San Diegans to meet the San Diego County Water Authority’s 20-gallon challenge.
The action comes after reports Oct. 8 to the City Council by representatives of the San Diego County Water Authority about the future of the region’s water and wastewater supply infrastructure. During the meeting, the City Council also approved sewer rate increases, starting Jan. 8, to pay for the rising price of water sold to the city from the San Diego County Water Authority, according to the city’s website.
The sewer rates will also be adjusted to reimburse single-family residents about $40 million the city overcharged residents over the last few years, according to the city’s website. The average single-family residential monthly bill will increase by about $1.40, according to a draft notice of the public hearing.
“The projection for the year ahead is tough,” Sanders said at the conference. “We need to start saving water now in order to ensure that we will continue to have adequate supplies.”
Terry Gavry, owner of Café 222, 222 Island Ave., said the program and other tips for restaurateurs can help her conserve water in two areas. She saves on water potentially wasted from unused glasses of water and on the water needed to wash the glasses used, she said.
“The next time you go out to dinner “¦ don’t chalk it up to bad service that we’re not pouring water in your glasses. It’s that we’re enthusiastically supporting the 20-gallon challenge,” said Gavry.
Gavry, a California Restaurants Association board member, said the board encourages all of their members to adopt the program. One of her restaurants averages about 400 patrons a day. At 8 ounces per glass, per patron, Gavry could potentially save about 25 gallons a day through the program, she said.
As part of the program, a bookmark-size leaflet will include tips for conserving water such as taking shorter showers, washing full-size laundry loads, reducing outdoor irrigation time and sweeping debris from driveways instead of using a hose.
The advice comes at a critical time because San Diego faces its water supply being reduced after a federal court judge’s ruling ordering less water pumped out of the San Francisco Bay-area delta next year. Federal Court Judge Oliver Wanger made the order to protect the endangered delta smelt in accordance with federal law, according to the ruling.
According to estimated projections, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California could see a 12- to 22-percent reduction in water supplies from the California State Water Project, said Fern Steiner, San Diego County Water Authority board chair.
The final decision from Wanger, expected in December, would significantly impact the southern California region, she said.
“We know that less water will be available from traditional sources,” Steiner told City Council members earlier this month. “We don’t know presently how large the loss [will be]. That depends on how kind Mother Nature is to us over the winter.”
As city officials wait to see what will unfold, Sanders and San Diego County Water Authority representative Yen Tu continue to urge voluntary water conservation through the 20-gallon challenge.
The county water authority’s goal is to save 56,000 acre-feet of water through the restaurant conservation effort alone, Tu said.
Sanders said he will be working with officials with the city’s Water Department to further inform the public with conservation tips and notices in water bills.
“The people are willing to conserve [water] if they know why,” Sanders said.
For more information and tips on how to save water or to meet the 20-gallon challenge, visit www.20gallonchallenge.com.