Cityscape

The city has a lot of positive news to report regarding water conservation and future usage. On July 29, the City Council approved the city’s latest Urban Water Management Plan.
This plan analyzes city water usage, sets long term water conservation targets and projects water use and supply over the coming decades.
State law requires that urban water suppliers (such as Healdsburg) reduce water production by 20 percent by the year 2020. As a result, Healdsburg must reduce water consumption across all sectors to 162 gallons per day per person by 2020. Since committing to this goal in 2004, Healdsburg has reduced water consumption and hit the 2020-conservation target. Continuing this trend will ensure that we meet that target consistently in future years.
In determining the city’s future demand for water, population growth and conservation were taken into account. The plan found more than adequate water supply to serve our community for planned growth over the next 20 years.
Both growth and conservation go hand in hand when considering future demand as new development is obligated by building codes with stricter conservation requirements than the city’s existing building stock.
The city continues to exceed our 24 percent reduction target set by the state of California. June saw a reduction of 29 percent as compared to the same month in 2013. In July, the reduction was also approximately 29 percent.
Most residents are aware of the mandatory restrictions and are in compliance. For water customers not in compliance, once a warning is issued, they take the necessary actions to gain compliance. To date, no fines have been issued for water use violations.
In an effort to help with the continuation of water conservation efforts, the city has contracted with Daily Acts to provide a free educational series through August. Visit www.smartlivinghealdsburg.org to learn more.
Self-Hauling Recycled Water Program
The city received permission from the Regional Water Quality Control Board to implement an Urban Recycled Water Hauling program. Participants can pick up recycled water from our wastewater treatment plant for irrigation of vegetable gardens and ornamental landscapes. Recycled water provides a great supplement to your outdoor irrigation during the hot summer months.
The city held its first training this week for those interested in participating. More trainings will be provided as needed. The trainings cover how to properly haul and apply water to your landscape, the completion of a user agreement and the types of acceptable containers.
Approved self-haulers can access the recycled water filling stations on Wednesdays between 8 a.m. and noon and 4 to 8 p.m. (subject to change). For updates and information about the next self-hauler training, visit www.cityofhealds
burg.org/616/Self-Hauling-Program
Housing Our Community and the Housing Committee
Following our series of community input and education sessions on housing last winter, the city of Healdsburg’s new Community Housing Committee held its first meeting on Tuesday, July 21.
The committee was formed to review and provide direction on issues that will inform the city’s Housing Action Plan (HAP). A action oriented housing plan is a keystone goal of the city’s five year strategic plan adopted by the Council in 2014, and the Housing Element Update adopted in 2015. Based on what was learned during our community workshops this spring, modifications and updates to the Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) is a critical first task of the Committee.
The committee will meet regularly over the next three months (August through October) to discuss the GMO and its impact on housing affordability and diversity/ These meetings are open to the public and the next meeting is on Aug. 10. Visit www.cityofhealdsburg.org/360/Housing for more details.
David Mickaelian is the Healdsburg City Manager. To submit ideas or questions for this column, email ci*******@ci.us.