Calistogans are to be commended for conserving water at record rates, and are also encouraged to continue with water-saving measures.
The City of Calistoga's Water Conservation Technician Mitchell Egert is responsible for the banner strung across Lincoln Avenue reminding residents and visitors alike to conserve water in Calistoga. Julie Mitchell
Calistoga succeeds in major water conservation efforts, but Stage II emergency remains
Dec 8, 2021 at 3:15pm
The city saw a “whopping” 34% reduction in water use in November compared to November 2020.
“That’s huge. In fact, this November’s water demand was one of the lowest Novembers in the past two decades,” said Mitchell Egert, the City’s Water Conservation Expert at Tuesday's city council meeting. “That’s 7 million gallons we’ve saved,” or seven Feige water storage tanks.
However, Calistoga will still remain in Stage II until further notice.
“We can applaud ourselves and we’re headed in the right direction, but now is not time to become complacent,” Egert said. However, “This just goes to show us that substantial conservation is attainable.”
As of Nov. 29, Kimball reservoir was 91% full with 250 acre-feet of water, not a big change since October.
While Kimball is doing well, it makes up only about 20-30% of Calistoga’s water supply. Most of the water supply comes from the State Water Project, which heavily relies on snowpack in the Sierras.
“Most of the major State Water Project reservoirs are at critically low levels and did not improve much with the storms that we saw in October,” Egert said. “We are not out of this yet and we need to continue strong conservation efforts.”
The city will continue outreach efforts, offer conservation kits, and is working with UpValley Family Centers to provide material in Spanish.
Egert will also continue to give a monthly water supply and conservation updates during the first City Council meeting each month.
Read the article at the Napa Valley Register here.