Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

It is extremely gratifying to read that the City of Manteca is finally considering my recommendation on the installation of on demand water heaters. The main advantage wasn’t listed in the Bulletin for installing these appliances. Waiting on hot water to get to the source, is but one of the advantages of this system. The main savings on water is in replacing storage tanks in the home, to eliminate this vast drain on our water system. This will allow more water to be retained in our water table.

It’s important to retain residual hot water in the hot water pipes as well. This can be accomplished by a code change, to route all hot water pipes through insulated walls, instead of concrete, that cools residual water in the pipes rapidly. It is extremely important to make sure all conservation efforts are complete.

The question is, how can we increase the preservation effort in homes that are already developed? Don’t waste your time and money on giving incentives to residents to switch to water saving toilet closets. Most residents will do this anyway, to save on their water bill. Give incentives to switch to on demand heaters in the home. On the average, a 50-gallon water heater installed, will cost you almost a $1,000 while an on demand tops out at half that amount. Water storage in tanks has to be constantly replenished and heated every time you have a demand. Instant on demand heaters has the hot water pipe running through a coil that is set to a certain temperature. This provides on demand hot water, in a quicker time.

I made this same suggestion a number of years ago and Steve DeBrum was the only one that showed an interest in the proposal. Preservation of water doesn’t seem important when we are receiving plenty of rain and snow to keep our water table at peak. When we see rivers recede to wading depth and reservoirs draining, then it’s time to act. Droughts for this region are an on-going event that we must constantly be aware of.

II see this new consideration for changing appliances to address preservation of water in the home as a move in the right direction. I sincerely hope this option will be implemented to address the preservation efforts of this council. This city will have the distinction of being at the forefront of efforts to conserve water.

I have a reputation of condemning this council severely on issues I don’t agree with, such as building more homes in a severe drought. This in my opinion was a no brainer, for it was a slap in the face for residents, who are on water restriction in this city. There is no viable excuse for this development to go forward.



Fleener Richards

MantecaT