From fully loading your dishwasher to passing on the permanent press cycle when washing your clothes, Yahoo Green today posted some interesting and low-budget ways to improve your water-efficiency at home. Extra bonus: The article includes plenty of fun water facts (did you know the U.S. uses 5.8 billion gallons of fresh water to flush waste?) For those of you in the Central Basin service area, click here to learn how we work to make conservation affordable each year by providing rebates on a variety of water-saving devices.

Last weekend, KPCC (89.3 FM) looked at the outdoor water-saving efforts of our fellow Southern Californians. Considering that the typical Southern California residence uses up to 70 percent of its water outside the home, this was an important piece that hopefully inspired listeners to join the “Drought Crusade” by rethinking how they could save water while managing their yards. Need some landscaping inspiration? Take a look at some of these impressive drought-tolerant gardens, sent in by KPCC listeners who save water daily (and effortlessly) with California Friendly landscapes.

Rain Bird, a landscape irrigation manufacturer based in Azusa, this week announced their 2^nd annual Intelligent Use of Water™ Film Competition. According to the press release, the competition is an opportunity for amateurs and experienced filmmakers alike “to showcase their talents and use the power of film to bring about a greater awareness of the need for responsible water use.” Not bad. Plus, the grand prize winner will take home $6,000.

Now open for submissions, they are accepting all narrative, documentary, animated, experimental and/or student-made short films (1-10 minutes in actual or excerpted run time) that explore methods and ideas to responsibly manage and utilize earth’s most precious resource. Interested? Check out their website for more details.

Last week, the first CUWCC Caucus for Southern California water agencies was held at the Long Beach Water Department. If you missed it, here is a look at the key points discussed (click Here for the full meeting notes):

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The Associated Press made waves this weekend with the first article of a 3-part investigative series on pharmaceuticals and other personal care products (PPCPs) found in drinking water.

The article, which looks at the water supplies of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, smartly points out that this is not a new phenomenon and that, “to be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose.”

At these levels, a person would need to consume 300 million liters of water–the amount held in an Olympic-sized swimming pool–to achieve the therapeutic dose of 1,600 mg/day.

In addition to the fact that the water supplies Central Basin purchases from the Metropolitan Water District continue to meet and exceed all safe drinking water standards, here are some other things you should know:

• The presence of PPCPs in source waters isn’t new. These chemicals have been present since their initial use by consumers and industry.
• The development of more sensitive analytical techniques has only recently allowed the detection of these compounds at such low environmental levels.
• Wastewater discharge and runoff from agricultural areas are considered significant factors associated with the presence of PPCPs in surface water.
• The human health effects, if any, of drinking water with such extremely low trace levels of PPCPs are not known at this time.

If you have any additional questions, or would like more information on this emerging issue, please contact us.

This past weekend, Central Basin Board President, Director Robert Apodaca, invited community leaders and industry colleagues to join him on his first State Water Project inspection trip of 2008 with the Metropolitan Water District. Offered throughout the year to MWD Board Members, these educational trips are a great way for us to get to know our community while increasing water awareness. (The group is pictured here at Friant Dam)

This Friday (from 9:30 am -11:30 am) the Long Beach Water Department will host the first California Urban Water Conservation Council (CUWCC) Caucus for Southern California Group 1 Members. Key agenda items include:

• Department of Water Resources (DWR) draft implementation of AB 1420
• Laird/Feuer AB 2175
• CUWCC ambitious BMP revision agenda for 2008

If you’d like more information on any of these topics, or if you’re interested in attending, email Matt Lyons.download Roman Holiday

With the California Department of Water Resources reporting last week that Sierra snowpack is at 118% of normal for this time of year (compared to 63% of normal at this time last year,) area papers today theorize on how climate change will continue to impact our future supply. Here are two interesting articles:

In the North County Times, UC San Diego research marine physicist Tim Barnett explains how a warmer world could mean drastically less water for Southern California.

Meanwhile, the LA Times today takes a look at Gin Flat, one of the primary sites for recording state snow levels. The story would not be complete without the interview with Frank Gehrke, California’s snow survey chief. Known as the “don of the Sierra Snowpack,” he points to climate change as the major cause of our erratic snow levels.