A Local Story

In Sonoma County, we have a water crisis.

We have plenty of water. Rains are plentiful and the population isn't that large.

No. Our problem is fish ....

That's right, fish. I live in one of the more liberal counties in the nation where progressives live their ideals. Thus when environmentalists identified a danger to salmon runs due to low water flows, a call for conservation went out.

Water for Sonoma County typically comes from Lake Mendocino and the Russian River. Both also serve the streams that salmon use to spawn. If the water flows are interrupted too drastically the salmon and other fish can't do their thing. We have another large recreational resevoir, Lake Sonoma, but no way to get the water to the populace. Until and unless a pipeline is built to be able to utilize this water, and that's a big if in environmentally friendly Sonoma County, conservation will be the watch-word.

The goal was for a 15% reduction in water use. We have all achieved over 16%, with relatively little pain. Lawns are being removed for indigenious landscaping, military showers are being taken, gray water used for irrigation as well as other water saving measures. And it's paying off.

I also want to note that this is the same county that built, at great expense, a large pipeline to transport waste water to the geysers that naturally occur nearby. Calpine, and electricity generator, uses the geysers to generate electricity. A few years back the geysers were "running dry" and Calpine was going to close the facility. With the wastewater pipeline they've been able to keep that electic generation going and in fact recently announced an increased in generating this very green electricity.

Congratulations to all of us in Sonoma County for showing that there are ways to live the good life while adjusting to resource scarcity. Having "more" isn't always the necessary to be happy. Sonoma County is proving it.