Long Beach Water News

Long Beach Lawn to Garden Program Gains Steam

2010-10-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

The First 100 Homes participating in the Water Department's Beautiful Long Beach Lawn to Garden Program have just been completed.

To celebrate this achievement, the Long Beach Water Department, along with the City of Long Beach held a Press Conference Wednesday, October 6th, at 9:30 AM in front of one of the recently finished homes. The event went well and even the rain managed to stay away during the majority of the time.

The following are some of the recent stories highlighting the success of the program to date.

LA Times - http://tinyurl.com/29rlfep

Press Telegram - http://tinyurl.com/29nnhkj

LB Post - http://tinyurl.com/38pw8t8

Gazettes - http://tinyurl.com/25xcooe
Here's to the next 100 homes!

MV

State Water Project Finishes Year with 45% Allocation

2010-05-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

The final allocation for the state water project has been now been set and it came in at a whopping 45 percent. This, despite a year that has seen well above normal rainfall and snow pack levels.

Ongoing pumping restrictions in the Delta are known to have had an effect on this seemingly low final allocation, but what other factors may have played a role in this lower than expected figure?

You can see the CA Department of Water Resources (DWR) write up about the final allocation here, which includes the water deliveries for State Water Contractors (Including MWD, who supplies Long Beach with roughly 40 percent of its water supply):

http://www.water.ca.gov/swpao/docs/notices/10-10.pdf

Here also is DWR's press release on the final allocation:

http://www.water.ca.gov/news/newsreleases/2010/05202010finalallocation.pdf

If California is dry again next year, as it was during the three years prior to 2009-2010, it will be very interesting to see how far State Water Project deliveries continue to decrease.

$11 Billion Water Bond - Boondoggle or Necessity?

2010-05-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to heat up with the $11 billion water bond proposal that will go before California voters in November.

A coalition of bond supporters have started to make their voices heard, while at the same time, those opposing the bond are ramping up their efforts to undermine the value of the bond.

To learn more about the water bond you can browse the websites of both the support and the opposition groups below:

http://nowaterbond.com/

http://www.waterforca.com/

These are both biased websites, so keep that in mind as you read through them.

After you've read them, let us know what you think...

Corix Utilities to Provide Monthly Meter Reading Services for City of Long Beach

2010-05-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Pilot phase will run through July 31st with full-scale meter reading services expected to begin on August 2nd

LONG BEACH, CA – The City of Long Beach has begun the first steps in transitioning to a new monthly meter reading service. Corix Utilities will be phased in as the new contract meter reading provider for water and gas customers over the next few months.

As part of this new service, the City will also be switching over to monthly meter reading starting in August, which should provide multiple benefits to City of Long Beach water and gas customers. Currently, utility meters are read on a bi-monthly basis and are more vulnerable to estimation and billing adjustment issues that come with the territory of taking a "true" reading once every other month. The new monthly meter reading service should remedy most, if not all of these kinds

More information about the transition to monthly meter reading, as well as the new meter reading contractor, Corix Utilities, can be found in the informational flyer here.

Long Beach Closes in on Per Capita Water Use of 100 Gallons Per Day

2010-05-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

Water demand in April was 17.2% below average; sets a new citywide record for low water consumption during April

LONG BEACH, CA – The Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners has announced today that the City of Long Beach has set another 10-year record low for water consumption during the month of April. Citywide water demand during the month of April was 17.2 percent below the city's historical 10-year average. For the past 12-month period, water demand in Long Beach is tracking at nearly 17 percent below the historical average.

“After two and a half years of sustaining high levels of conservation, our customers continue to impress us with their efforts to permanently reduce their water use,” said Paul Blanco, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners. “They have come to realize, as should all of southern California that it is no longer prudent to safely rely on our water supplies from the Colorado River and Northern California.”

Last week the California Department of Finance released its updated population figures for the City of Long Beach, which saw its population increase by roughly 4,000 people. With this bigger population base, yet decreased water demand, the Long Beach Water Department estimates the city’s per capita water use has dropped to approximately 102 gallons per day.

“Based on these new population and water consumption figures, Long Beach is now two gallons away from reaching per capita water use of 100 gallons per day,” said Kevin Wattier, General Manager for the Long Beach Water Department. “If our customers can reduce their water consumption by another two percent, we will be there, and that would be an incredible feat considering how much additional water our city was using less than five years ago.”

The Long Beach Water Department’s 100th anniversary is next year. Mr. Wattier said it would be great to see the City’s per capita water use come down to 100 gallons by the end of next year.

“We’re unofficially calling it our 100 by 100 initiative,” Wattier remarked.

This morning, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) updated the State Water Project allocation projection, increasing it to 40 percent. A final allocation is expected at the end of May. If the allocation is increased to 50 percent at the end of the month, southern California would still receive 20 percent less water than average in a year that has been well above average in terms of statewide precipitation.

"Although the snow pack has reached its highest May 1 levels since 2006, and allows us to raise our projected deliveries to communities, farms and businesses, we must not be lulled into a false sense of complacency” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. “The harsh reality is that we continue to have a severe problem with water in California. A 40 percent allocation will still leave many communities with water shortages this year. Recovering from three consecutive years of drought, and restrictions on Delta pumping, means we must continue to conserve water and work as hard as ever toward a comprehensive solution to our water crisis.”

The other imported water source that Long Beach relies upon, the Colorado River, has been experiencing worsening problems of its own over the past decade, with drought in 10 of the last 11 years.

“Many people are paying very close attention to the health and sustainability of the Colorado River watershed”, said Mr. Wattier. “The water level in Lake Mead has dropped over 100 feet in the past decade, and at the end of April, it was at the lowest level it has been for this time of the year since 1965.”

Coincidentally, current citywide potable water consumption in Long Beach is also at the same level it was in 1965.

Long Beach Water is an urban, Southern California retail water supply agency, and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.

Long Beach Water Demand Figures

Month of April:

- April FY 10 is 17.2% below Historical 10-year average

- April FY 10 is 18.0% below Historical 5-year average

- April FY 10 is 1.7% below April FY 09

April Fiscal Year-to-Date:

- April FY 10 YTD is 16.8% below Historical 10-year average

- April FY 10 YTD is 16.9% below Historical 5-year average

- April FY 10 YTD is 0.1% below April FY 09 YTD

Running 12-month Total:

Historical 12-month Average: 68,128 gallons

Recent 12 months: 56,699 gallons

Recent 12-month Conservation: 16.8%

LB Water Department Sees Strong Demand for Landscape Rebate Program

2010-04-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

Single-family home rebates completely allocated within 45 minutes of opening application system

LONG BEACH, CA – On April 7th, at 8 AM, the Long Beach Water Department began accepting applications from Long Beach residents and businesses for rebates of up to $2,500 to help fund the replacement of grass lawns with California Friendly landscapes.

By 9 AM, the rebates had all been spoken for.

“We are very pleased with the great response we have received from our customers for this program,” said Matthew Lyons, Director of Planning and Conservation for the Long Beach Water Department. “People are really starting to recognize that California Friendly landscapes not only conserve water, but offer a host of other benefits. They require less maintenance, use less fertilizer and pesticides, decrease the impact on both upstream and downstream environments and create valuable animal habitats and personal outdoor living spaces.”

For those customers who were quick enough to get in their applications before funding ran out, they will have the opportunity to receive rebates to replace up to 1,000 square feet of grass lawn in their front yards. Successful applicants must comply with a set list of requirements, which includes taking an online course and getting rid of any existing inefficient irrigation systems, among others.

The Water Department stopped accepting applications for the program on Monday of this week. Due to the overwhelming response, many applicants were sent letters notifying them that they had been placed on a ranked wait list, which indicated their number in line. The letter explained that applicants will be pulled from the wait list if funding becomes available for their projects.

Kevin Wattier, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department, had some additional good news for waitlisted applicants who may be worried about whether or not they will eventually receive funds to re-landscape their lawns.

“Now that we know there is considerable demand for this program, we are expecting to fund a second round of rebates in the fall,” said Mr. Wattier. “I encourage those of you on the wait list to continue to wait until the fall, if possible, because there is a good chance that many of your projects will eventually be funded.”

Although the program limits the square footage for each applicant’s landscape eligible for the rebate to 1,000 square feet, the average area applied for by applicants was slightly more than 800 sq. ft., meaning that well over 100 customers will receive rebates in this first round of funding.

The Water Department estimates that by switching from grass lawns to California Friendly gardens, these properties have the potential to save a combined 40 million gallons of water over the next ten years.

“Every gallon of water we save through this program is another gallon of expensive imported water that we no longer have to purchase,” said Paul Blanco, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners. “As more of our customers switch over to drought-tolerant landscapes, we anticipate seeing a continued, steady decrease in water consumption in Long Beach.”

Current applicants and other interested customers can continue to read about the rebate program and California Friendly landscaping in general, by visiting www.lblawntogarden.com.

The Long Beach Water Department is an urban, southern California, retail water supply agency and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.

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Long Beach Water Department Unveils Citywide Landscape Rebate Program

2010-04-14T15:04:00.001-07:00

More than 100 successful applicants will receive up to $2,500 to replace grass lawns with California Friendly Landscaping

LONG BEACH, CA – On April 7th, the Long Beach Water Department will begin accepting applications from Long Beach residents and businesses for rebates worth as much as $2,500 for the purpose of replacing water-intensive grass lawns with drought-tolerant landscapes. Customers can find specific information about the program, including eligibility requirements and how to apply by visiting www.lblawntogarden.com.

The Beautiful Long Beach Lawn to Garden Incentive Program will allow pre-approved water customers to apply for the $2.50 per square foot rebates, with a set maximum of 1,000 square feet allowed per customer, enough to replace a 20 foot by 50 foot area of lawn. There is a limited amount of funding for the program, which means applications for the rebates will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. The rebate will help fund a portion of each customer’s project, providing much of the funding for a project if the work is done by the customers themselves.

“The people of Long Beach have been very responsive to our calls to conserve water and make long-lasting changes to their water use habits,” said Kevin Wattier, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department. “We created this program knowing that our customers are eager to take advantage of opportunities like this. We fully expect that the upfront investment we are making with this program will result in a return many times over as more and more people realize the numerous benefits of utilizing a drought-tolerant landscape.”

The new rebate incentive program was created to build momentum on last year’s landscape makeover giveaways that provided nine Long Beach homeowners, one in each council district, with a brand new, re-designed drought-tolerant front yard. Due to the success of that program, the Water Department has seen a considerable increase in the installation of drought-tolerant landscapes throughout Long Beach.

“Many people have come to view the permanent water reductions affecting southern California with apprehension and uncertainty,” said Matthew Lyons, Director of Planning and Conservation for the Long Beach Water Department. “But these reductions have also created an awareness of the value of replacing grass lawns with California friendly landscapes. These landscapes require less yard maintenance, less fertilizers and pesticides, improve habitats in the upstream environments and in our Long Beach coastal waters, attract wonderful creatures such as hummingbirds and butterflies and, in some cases, provide more person-friendly spaces such as expanded patios and entertaining areas,” added Mr. Lyons.

The release of the program comes at an opportune time, as a number of events will be taking place in and around Long Beach over the next few weeks that will offer customers the chance to learn more about drought-tolerant landscaping and provide opportunities to purchase a wide variety of California Friendly plants.

From March 31 through April 3, the Long Beach City College will be holding its annual plant sale at its Pacific Coast Campus. Many varieties of drought-tolerant plants will be available for purchase.

The following weekend (April 10th and 11th) is the seventh annual Theodore Payne native plant garden tour. The Long Beach Water Department is currently offering a 2-for-1 deal on tickets for this event, with a limit of five free tickets per Long Beach resident. Included in this year’s tour is both a Long Beach apartment complex and single family home. The tour is self-guided and includes 50 examples of single and multi-family residences that have converted over to drought-tolerant landscapes.

Here is a summary of the upcoming drought-tolerant garden related events and programs:

March 31 – April 3: LBCC Annual Plant Sale – Pacific Coast Campus

April 7: Applications accepted for LBWD Lawn to Garden Incentive Program

April 10 – 11: Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour (2 for 1 deal through LBWD)

April 17: Free LBWD Landscape class

April 24: Earth Day at the Aquarium of the Pacific

“With the Lawn to Garden Incentive program, our goal is to continue to raise awareness in our neighborhoods about a progressive and environmentally responsible style of landscaping,” said Paul Blanco, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners. “The reliability of our imported water sources continues to erode and we no longer have the option to sit back and hope that Mother Nature will take care of us. We must continue to reduce our outdoor water use, and we believe that providing our customers with these rebates will spur additional interest in Beautiful Long Beach Landscapes, ultimately leading to long-term water consumption reductions in our City.”

The Long Beach Water Department is an urban, southern California, retail water supply agency and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.

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Drought still very much alive despite recent storms

2010-01-29T15:20:00.000-08:00

It's generally agreed upon that the recent series of storms that came through our area, although nice, have made little more than a minor dent in the ongoing drought of California.

Rainfall and snowpack levels are running near average for this time of year, however critical reservoirs continue to be well below average, and many statewide groundwater basins have been pumped to dangerously low levels. Add in environmental restrictions that severely limit the amount of water that can be pumped from Northern California to Central and Southern California and our water supply picture is looking anything but rosy.

Most of the future remains unclear. Weather cycles will ebb and flow. We may or may not receive enough rainfall and snow pack over the next few years to recharge our vital basins and reservoirs. What is certain is that in Southern California, there have been permanent reductions to our imported water supply from both the Bay Delta and Colorado River sources due to a combination of cyclical climate changes and increasingly restrictive environmental regulations. Right now there is little we can do to get around these obstacles.

Conservation must continue to be at the heart of any strategy going forward. Unfortunately, we just don't have a choice.

Long Beach Sets New Record for Low Water Use Despite Driest November on Record

2009-12-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

Statewide Water Crisis continues to worsen as State Officials set initial allocation for State Water Deliveries at 5% of normal, the lowest ever in the history of the State Water Project

LONG BEACH, CA – The Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners has announced today that the City of Long Beach has set another 10-year record low for water consumption during the month of November. Citywide water demand during the month of November was 12.5 percent below the city's historical 10-year average. For the past 12-month period, water demand in Long Beach was 17.5 percent below the historical average.

“To set another record low for water use in November is great in and of itself,” said Paul Blanco, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners. “But to do so in a month that produced zero rainfall, making it the driest November on record, really demonstrates the outstanding job that our residents and businesses are doing to be responsible users of water,” continued Blanco. “We continue to be impressed by the great lengths that our customers have gone in order to make a permanent lifestyle change to their water use habits.”

The good news for Long Beach comes in the face of another announcement made today by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), which said that it will set the initial allocation for statewide water deliveries, including the Southern California region, at five percent of normal. This represents the lowest initial allocation ever in the State Water Project’s (SWP) 42-year history. A five percent allocation means that California water contractors will only initially receive 208,597 acre-feet of water out of a total of 4,171,996 acre-feet that they requested for the year. State water project allocations often increase during the course of the year, such as last year when an initial allocation of 15% rose to a 40% allocation by the end of the year.

“California is struggling through a water crisis that is not going away anytime soon,” said Kevin Wattier, General Manager for the Long Beach Water Department. “We’re deep into the third straight year of a drought, our state’s critical reservoirs are being quickly depleted, and there are a variety of environmental restrictions that are further impacting our region’s ability to import water from the Delta,” added Wattier.

The State of California recently passed a legislative package that aims to solve California’s water problems. A significant part of the package is an $11.14 Billion water bond that will go before voters in November 2010. The bond would fund projects in the areas of storage, water recycling and conservation, as well as others. If the bond were to fail, it is unknown how effective the other legislation will be at addressing the state’s water issues.

Wattier is confident the solution is simple.

“The only short-term option that we have to address this worsening crisis is to continue to do what Long Beach has been doing so well for the past two years, and that is to continue to conserve water. There are literally no other solutions that can be as quickly and inexpensively implemented as immediate and sustained water conservation,” said Wattier.

Lester A. Snow, DWR Director, holds the same opinion about water conservation as Wattier. In today’s conference call on the initial allocation he suggested that cities should respond to the record low initial allocation by conserving more water, “…starting today!” said Snow.

“The Legislature took a major step forward earlier this month to address the state’s water needs by heeding Governor Schwarzenegger’s call and passing the most comprehensive water package in California history,” said Director Snow. “Nevertheless, on the heels of a three-year drought, we need to prepare now so that we have adequate water supplies for homes, farms and businesses.”

SWP contractors provide water to more than 25 million California residents and more than 750,000 acres of farmland. According to DWR, the historical average of final SWP allocations as a percentage of initial contractor requests over the past 10 years has been 68 percent. Without significant precipitation or other beneficial hydrologic and water supply conditions, this year’s final allocation will likely fall far short of the 68 percent average and possibly below last year’s meager 40 percent allocation.

Long Beach purchases slightly less than half of its water supply from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which itself imports roughly half (just under 2,000,000 acre-feet) of the SWP’s total statewide water deliveries. In addition to the imported water that it purchases, the Long Beach Water Department provides its customers with water from other sources such as pumped groundwater and recycled water. Increased conservation allows the Water Department to rely less on imported water, which is the most expensive source of water it currently uses.

Long Beach Water is an urban, Southern California retail water supply agency, and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.

Long Beach Recognized for Investment in Water Infrastructure

2009-11-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

NewsChannel KTLA 5 ran a story on the City of Long Beach and their ongoing commitment to replace their older, more unreliable water infrastructure and how this commitment has resulted in a dramatic drop in water main pipeline failures. It contrasts Long Beach with the City of LA, who has suffered a number of recent main breaks that have been highlighted in the media.

Please watch the following video to see how and why Long Beach is doing things right when it comes to proactive investment in critical water infrastructure.

http://www.ktla.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=fd844373-04e8-4749-802c-d0ccaeb5fd84&src=front

The week after...California water deal passes

2009-11-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

Well, it's all over but the shouting. And you can count on there being plenty of shouting over the next 12 months. Governor Schwarzenegger has signed off on all but one of the five statewide water bills that were passed by the California legislature last week. He is expected to sign the fifth and final bill, the water conservation bill, sometime later today in San Jose, bringing a conclusion to the 2009 7th extraordinary legislative session, which was convened to discuss and resolve the ongoing water crisis affecting California.

The results of the session:

Four policy bills (Delta Plan & Governance, Groundwater Monitoring, Illegal Diversions and Water Conservation) and an $11 BILLLION, yes BILLION, water bond that will go before voters next November.

The policy bills should make some kind of impact on the water crisis, especially the water conservation bill, which "mandates" a 20% reduction in per capita water use by the year 2020. By the way, Long Beach is already in compliance with this legislation a full 11 years ahead of the 2020 deadline! Long Beach accomplished this by reducing its per capita water use from 129 gallons/day during the 1998-2007 years to its current amount of less than 103 gallons/day.

The challenge going forward will be to get other areas of the state to do the same, which will be very difficult since many cities aren't required to do more than a 5% reduction as per the language in the bill.

Beyond that, the big, and really the only question that matters, is whether or not voters will approve the $11 Billion bond next Fall. If the economy is still tanking, no doubt it will be difficult for the measure to pass. Add in significant opposition from a variety of groups and it's easy to be pessimistic on the chances of the bond's survival.

My next couple of posts will take a closer look at two of the water bills passed in this extraordinary session of the legislature. The first will be an in-depth look at the bond and all the things it will fund, followed by a summary of the water conservation bill.

The next year, which will culminate with a vote on the water bond in November 2010, should prove to be very interesting...

Long Beach to Receive $1.3 Million in Federal Funding for Seawater Desalination and Recycled Water Projects

2009-10-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON DC – Yesterday, the United States Senate voted to approve the $33.5 Billion FY 10 Energy & Water Appropriations Conference Report, which funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Interior, including the Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy and several independent Agencies. Included in the bill is $670,000 for the Long Beach Seawater Desalination Project and $634,000 for the Long Beach Reclaimed Water Expansion Project. The United States House of Representatives voted to pass the FY 10 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill two weeks ago. The bill will now go to President Obama for a final signature before it becomes Public Law.

“On behalf of my fellow commissioners, I want to say thank you to all of our federal representatives who continue to provide great leadership and support for these critical water supply projects” said Paul Blanco, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners. “Their dedicated commitment to improving the reliability of our region’s water supply is what makes these projects possible,” added Blanco.

Earlier this year, more than $3 million in stimulus funds were awarded to the Long Beach Seawater Desalination Project. Once the President signs and approves the FY 10 Energy & Water Appropriations bill, Long Beach will have received a total of $4.3 million in federal funds this year for its two Title XVI water supply projects.

“With these funds, we will now be able to complete the third and final phase of our Seawater Desalination Research and Development Project,” said Kevin Wattier, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department. “We will also be able to continue to expand the city’s use of recycled water, which reduces our consumption of potable water, and makes Long Beach less dependent on outside sources of water, which everyone knows are becoming more and more unreliable,” added Wattier. “Add in our tremendous conservation effort and Long Beach is well on its way to becoming self-reliant when it comes to its water supply.”

With the addition of the FY 10 appropriations, the Long Beach Seawater Desalination and Recycled Water projects have now received approximately $11.4 million and $12.4 million, respectively, in federal funding through annual appropriations dating back to the year 2000. The federal funds for these projects have been supplemented by both state and local funding sources as well.

The Long Beach Water Department is an urban southern California water supply agency and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.

Rain On Its Way to Long Beach; Sprinklers Should be Turned Off

2009-10-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

A three day rainstorm is expected to arrive as early as this afternoon. Water officials call on customers to turn off sprinkler systems for remainder of the week

LONG BEACH, CA – A strong storm system is expected to hit the southern California region today and will likely stay through Thursday. Heavy winds and rain are likely at times, with preliminary reports estimating 1 to 2 inches of rain in coastal areas, and 2 to 4 inches in the foothill and mountain areas, with the potential for even greater rainfall totals in the higher elevations.

Because the storm is expected to bring a significant amount of precipitation, the Long Beach Water Department is asking all residents and businesses to turn off all outdoor irrigation systems for the rest of the week. Residents may sign up to receive an automatic notice reminding them to adjust their sprinkler systems according to changes in weather patterns by visiting, www.lbwater.org, and clicking on E-Watering Update.

“It is important for people to understand that using sprinklers during a rainstorm event is an inefficient use of water that in almost all cases can be easily prevented,” said Kevin Wattier, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department. “For this reason, we are calling on all Long Beach Water customers to be responsible users of water by turning off their outdoor watering systems for the next few days while these storms come through, added Wattier.

Long Beach receives half of its water supply by importing it from distant sources, including the Colorado River via the Colorado River Aqueduct and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta via the State Water Project. Both of these sources have become considerably less reliable in recent years. In addition, critical state reservoirs have dropped to dangerously low levels. As of yesterday, Lake Oroville and San Luis Reservoir were at 37 percent and 19 percent of capacity, respectively.

Today, Governor Schwarzenegger called a special session of the legislature to address California’s water crisis.

“Over the past few days we have made enough progress in our negotiations that I am calling a special session on water. While we still have a few remaining issues to work out, I commend the legislative leaders for their focus and commitment to solving this crisis and I will weigh all the bills on their merits,” said Governor Schwarzenegger.

Last week, Mayor Bob Foster issued a statement imploring the state legislature to come to an agreement on a water package that could help solve the state’s water woes.

“The state of California’s water supply is critical, and now is the time for decisive action,” said Mayor Bob Foster. “I urge the State Legislature and the Governor to quickly negotiate a water reform package that can help put California back on the right path towards sustainable water management”.

The Long Beach Water Department is an urban, southern California retail water supply agency and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.

Long Beach Finishes Year with Record Low Main Breaks

2009-10-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

Long Beach Finishes Fiscal Year with Record Low Number of Main Breaks

26 main breaks occurred in Long Beach during the past 12 months, the lowest annual total ever for the City; coincides with record high levels of water conservation

LONG BEACH, CA – Today, the Long Beach Water Department reported that during Fiscal Year 2009, the City of Long Beach experienced the lowest number of water main breaks ever in its history. The news comes on the heels of a Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners announcement made last week that reported the lowest annual citywide water demand since 1965. Long Beach water consumption was 17 percent below the city’s historical 10-year average during FY ’09.

Paul Blanco, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners, expressed satisfaction upon learning of the news that a new record low for water main breaks had been set. “This is truly wonderful news for the City of Long Beach,” stated Blanco. “It really demonstrates that a proactive, sustained commitment to replacing and upgrading critical water and sewer infrastructure throughout our city can make all the difference in the world,” added Blanco.

The Long Beach Water Department has invested nearly $90 million since FY ‘98 to upgrade the city’s older, less reliable cast-iron water infrastructure, which is more susceptible to frequent, costlier breaks. The Water Department has replaced as much as 107,000 linear feet per year of the older cast iron pipeline, installing a newer, more reliable ductile iron pipe in its place.

Throughout the 1990s, it was common to have well over 100 main breaks each year in Long Beach. The success of the main replacement program has caused these numbers to drop dramatically. Some relevant facts and figures:

• The average number of annual main breaks in Long Beach between FY 91 and FY 00 was 133

• The average number of annual main breaks in Long Beach between FY 01 and FY 09 was 59

• The total number of main breaks that occurred in FY 09 was only 14% of the total number of main breaks that occurred in FY 91

“For many years now, the Water Department has taken a more proactive approach to our comprehensive infrastructure maintenance program,” said Kevin Wattier, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department. “Ideally, our goal would be to refresh our system every 20 years. Although that may not always be entirely possible, by keeping this goal in mind, we have been able to make solid progress toward ensuring the infrastructure that we use to deliver water and sewer services to our customers is more dependable and less vulnerable to unexpected failures,” continued Wattier.

“It is also important to note that fewer main breaks result in fewer interruptions to service, which provides for an improved quality of life for all Long Beach residents,” added Wattier.

The Long Beach Water Department is an urban, southern California retail water supply agency and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.

El Nino - All that it's cracked up to be?

2009-09-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

*El Nino*

The mere mention of this name conjures up images of heavy rains, flooding, and in many southern California areas, mudslides. But is there any truth to the assertions that if El Nino pays our region a visit this winter and spring, statewide precipitation levels are sure to be substantially higher? For many California interests, such as agriculture, certain water suppliers, and environmentalists, the hope is that the answer to this question is a resounding "Yes!"

Opinions vary widely on what the effectiveness of El Nino will be this coming year, if at all. Some people believe that any El Nino conditions in effect this year will be mild at best, resulting instead in what some have termed an "El Fizzle" or "El Wimpo". Others have pinned their hopes on high levels of rain this year, and see El Nino as the way in which reservoirs will be replenished and the three-year drought will be eliminated.

So what does the data indicate? During the last six "El Nino" cycles, three cycles have produced below-average precipitation levels, while the other three cycles produced above-average precipitation levels. This would seem to indicate that there is little correlation between El Nino weather conditions and the amount of precipitation that falls in California. That doesn't mean there isn't any correlation, just that it is hard to make any substantial connections between the two variables, without knowing more information, such as the strengths of the specific El Nino events.

So will this year's El Nino be a monster or will it turn into another El Wimpo? Regardless of what different people say, we're just gonna have to stick around and find out.

Oh, and in the meantime, conservation continues to be vital. We cannot bank our hopes on a unpredictable weather event that may or may not improve our water supply situaiton. Conservation is currently the ONLY tool we have that we KNOW is effective.

Keep up the great work Long Beach.

No water deal this year - Conservation remains key

2009-09-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

The 2009 California Legislative session has now come and gone and unfortunately, there isn't too much to take away from the year, especially as it relates to solving the state's ongoing water issues. The state budget crisis really sucked up a lot of the legislature's time and energy this year and unless some kind of miraculous economic turnaround takes place in the next couple of months, California will likely be facing another budget crisis sometime this late fall or winter.

A five bill comprehensive water package was considered at the end of the session, but time ran out on it and it stalled on the Assembly Floor. A special session could be called to address the water crisis, but that decision rests solely with the Governor, and it is unknown if he will decide to go forward on any further water issues this year.

In the meantime, the only option Californians have to mitigate the effects of the water crisis is to follow the lead of Long Beach citizens by challenging themselves to reduce their water consumption, both inside and outside their homes and businesses. No other statewide short or long-term solutions exist, so Californians must continue to be diligent in their efforts to eliminate all inefficient and wasteful uses of water.

A big thank you and congratulations to all Long Beach citizens who continue to meet the challenge of conserving water. Thank you for being important partners of the Long Beach Water Department!

Long Beach Water Department Beach Clean-Up

2009-09-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Long Beach Water Department will be hosting its Quarterly Beach Clean-Up effort this coming Saturday, September 19th at 9 AM!

Come out and join us to make this year's event the most successful one yet. We will provide all the supplies you need to get out there and make our beaches look great again.

In addition, there will be plenty of free music, food and lots of fun!

Bring your family and friends of all ages to Bluff Park Beach on Saturday, September 19th, from 9:00 am - Noon, at the intersection of E. Ocean Blvd. and Coronado Ave.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday!