Water use in Manteca plunged 40.9 percent in March.

The reason is clear: It rained more than enough to handle outside watering needs.

Even so, the city issued 31 warnings/citations for residents and businesses wasting water by watering within 48 hours following measurable rain and even when it was raining.

It is against that backdrop that city leaders such as Mayor Gary Singh have no intention of relaxing most water conservation rules.
“The drought is not just a one-time thing,” Singh said.

Singh, over the years, has repeatedly noted that making sure Manteca’s municipal water supply is well managed and used wisely was vital to the health and safety of the community plus its economic future as well.

It is why he doesn’t want to see the city let up on efforts to move toward providing recycled wastewater to irrigate commercial business, and institutional landscaping.

At the same time Singh stressed the city needs to work on reducing landscaping that requires heavy water use which — based on March water use — is clearly irrigating landscaping.

Manteca in March of 2021 used 385.849 million gallons of water. With more than 1,500 residents last month than in the previous March. Manteca’s water use plummeted 40.9 percent to 230.2 million gallons.

Singh believes the best way to protect the community’s interests is to keep working on long-term solutions and getting them in place before future droughts hit so that the impacts will be minimal.

“We’re not going to kick the can down the road,” Singh said of putting in place water policies and mechanisms that reflect Manteca’s natural climate and water realities.

Past councils have basically did just that — kick the can down the road.

Twice the city started initiatives to accelerate water recycling when droughts hit. And each time when wet weather patterns returned, the projects went to the wayside.

The only part of the endeavor that didn’t was requiring new development to partially install purple pipe infrastructure needed to deliver recycle wastewater from the treatment plant.

Since Singh has been on the council after being first elected in 2016, the city has put in place major segments of a recycled water distribution line on Woodward Avenue and as part of the latest sewer trunk line on North Airport Way that provides access to the largest municipal water user— the golf course.

Of the water Manteca used last month, 57.9 percent of it was surface e water. That’s opposed to 50.21 percent for the water used in March 2021.

In doing so, the city is taking more pressure off of groundwater.

Groundwater takes longer to replenish than surface water especially that from deeper levels that is suitable for drinking as opposed to non-potable water pumped from sources closer to the surface.

Singh wants to see the city continuing to require development to place purple pipe that can ultimately be used to irrigate municipal parks and common landscaping areas.

While a purple pipe system for recycled wastewater will take time and money to become functional, that is not the case for changing allowed landscaping especially through new construction.

The city does have turf replacement programs for existing development. The city will pay a $1 per square foot up to $650 for residential front yard conversions that qualify.

But the most cost effective way to shift toward landscaping that uses less water is through new construction

It is how Las Vegas is implementing its goal of eliminating ornamental front yard grass that functions as eye candy.

As of Monday,  Manteca has received 22.74 inches of rain since July 1. That is 192 percent of normal.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com