Stockton Record 

2-month dry run:  March, April most arid on record, but winter soaking provided reserve

By Alex Breitler
May 01, 2008
Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON - Despite what is so far this city's driest spring in recorded history, residents aren't likely to see any extra water conservation requirements this summer, officials said Wednesday.

March and April yielded six-hundredths of an inch of rain in Stockton, a record low total for those months, according to logs dating back to the mid-1850s.

Still, water users may be saved by those whopping rainstorms in January and February that seem so distant now.

"We had a fantastic winter. Then we had a bad spring," said Kevin Kauffman, general manager of the Stockton East Water District.

Thanks to that fantastic winter, conservation strategies that take effect today by Stockton city ordinance are no more severe than any other year dating back to the drought of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

For example, residents may not water their lawns from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and must repair any leaks within 24 hours. Restaurants may serve water to customers only upon request.

These measures are normal most years from May 1 to Nov. 1.

Other cities in San Joaquin County have their own conservation measures.

Spokesmen for the cities of Lodi, Manteca and Tracy said Wednesday that, like Stockton, no extraordinary restrictions are expected this summer.

Other parts of California are facing severe water shortages because they rely on the Delta, where legal disputes over endangered fish have reduced the amount of water that can be delivered.

Meanwhile, East Bay residents are looking at potential water rationing this summer. They get much of their water from the Mokelumne River, where reservoirs are already dropping even as the snowpack melts.

Stockton draws water from two foothill reservoirs, as well as under ground, and thus is less dependent on snow.

"We're trying to be as diversified as we can to avoid real drought situations," said Bob Granberg, deputy director for the city's Municipal Utilities Department.

But water managers warn that the underground water supply is diminished and that the more river water that can be used, the better.

Farmers began irrigating a "whole lot sooner" this year, said Joe Valente, president of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation. During wet years, farmers might wait until June, he said. This year, watering began in March.

This is more costly for farmers, since they pay for the power needed to pump water from underground.

"That's farming," Valente said. "You do your best, but good old Mother Nature has control."

Lee Miller, a master gardener who lives east of Stockton, said gardeners also have been forced to apply water sooner. By early March, Miller was sprinkling well water onto his lawn and his tomato and pepper plants - some of which, ironically, died in a series of unusual April frosts.

"The groundwater is seriously overdrafted," Miller said. "It's not a good thing when you have to start irrigating earlier."

Firefighters aren't certain what a parched March and April mean for this year's fire season. One thing is certain, however: The grass is turning brown fast. There will be little green left in just a few weeks, said Rob Van Wormer, a Tracy battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

"I wouldn't say it's a high fire danger as we speak, but there certainly is the potential," he said. "We're getting prepared."

Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com.