Manteca is not doing as an effective job at conserving water based on 2013 consumption than its neighbors in terms of straight percentage.
Manteca’s water use was down 14 percent in September compared to the same month in 2013 when 531 million gallons were used. That compares to Ripon that cut water use in September by 14.5 percent over 2013 levels.
Ripon’s running water reduction so far this year compared to the first nine months of 2013 is down 19.3 percent compared to Manteca at 21 percent.
When you toss in Manteca growing by 4,000 residents in the same time period while Ripon has added fewer than 250 residents, per capita water use in September was more miserly in Manteca while they are close to being the same for the nine month period.
Water conservation has been declared the new norm by Manteca and state leaders.
uNew state mandates require all users of groundwater in specific basins to develop a net zero policy meaning in a given year they cannot pump put more water than an aquifer takes in.
uManteca — as well as other cities that rely on water from the Stanislaus, Merced, and Tuolumne watersheds — could be hit hard if the state succeeds in commandeering 360,000 acre feet between February and June each year to improve fish flows. It could, in a normal water year, reduce Manteca’s surface water supply by at least 20 percent.
uThere has finally been the realization after the fourth major drought since 1976-77, that climatologists are likely correct that the period between 1850 and 1975 in California in terms of snow and rain was probably an aberration meaning the state is more susceptible to drought that most people have believed.
Manteca, for those reasons and more, is still actively enforcing its water conservation rules that restrict when people can water as well as how they can use water outdoors.
Manteca’s water rules
The stricter water rules that were adopted for Manteca residents and businesses 25 months ago are as follows:
uNo irrigation is allowed during or within 48 hours following measurable rainfall as defined by storms that generate run-off or puddles.
uNo watering is allowed on Monday or any day between noon and 6 p.m. Watering for even addresses is on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday while odd addresses can water on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
uNo water will be allowed on any day at any time for washing off sidewalks, driveways, patios, parking lots or other exterior non-landscaped areas without a permit obtained from the Manteca Public Works Department office at the Civic Center.