The following is a press release issued by the City of Fort Bragg:
The City Council will consider declaring a Stage 3 Water Emergency and implementing Stage 3 Water Conservation Restrictions at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, August 9, at Town Hall, 363 N. Main Street, 6:00 pm. Members of the public are invited to attend in person or by Zoom to provide comments, or they can submit public comments in writing prior to the public hearing to the City Clerk, June Lemos at jlemos@fortbragg.com. A copy of the staff report and resolution are available for review on the City’s website.
A Stage 3 Water Emergency targets a 20-30% decrease in seasonal water use based on the most recent year in which water conservation measures were not required (2019). This is an increase of 10% from the current Stage 2 Water Warning target of 10-20%.
The recommendation for a Stage 3 Water Emergency is in response to the reduced flows in the Noyo River (below 1977 levels), increased high tide events predicted for August and September, and the continued outlook for lower than normal precipitation from August to December 2021. Thanks to the efforts of the City’s water customers in reducing water usage this summer, the City maintained its 22.6 million gallons of water storage at full capacity through July. However, Water Department staff predict that some portion of the stored water will be necessary to supplement water use in August.
The Desalination-Reverse Osmosis Treatment System, scheduled to come online in September, will supplement the City’s water supply by 25-35%. Additionally, the City has negotiated a temporary water sharing agreement with the Fort Bragg Unified School District to use well water to add additional supply to the water system.
Questions and concerns about the current Stage 2 Water Warning or the Stage 3 Water Emergency can be directed to waterconservation@fortbragg.com. Additional information on Stage 3 Water Conservation Restrictions and other helpful conservation information is available on the City’s Water Conservation webpage.
