T.U.D. Looks To Ease Conservation As Reservoirs Fill

Sonora, CA — The T.U.D. Board of Directors will vote whether to reduce the district’s water conservation goal to 21%.

The proposed move comes after the State Water Resources Control Board dropped T.U.D.’s mandated conservation target last month from 24% to 21%. District customers have gone above and beyond and cut water usage by 31% throughout a reporting span of several months. The conservation percentage is calculated by taking into account the amount of water used in comparison to 2013, before the unprecedented drought took hold.

Meeting documents ahead of Tuesday’s T.U.D. meeting note that Pinecrest Lake is now at 47% of capacity and 117% of its historical average for this time of year. Lyons Reservoir is at 72% of capacity and 108% of average. Both reservoirs are anticipated to comfortably “fill and spill” as the snowpack melts over the coming months. The district also reports that 32 inches of rain has fallen in Sonora so far this season, and the average for this time of year is 25 inches.  Statewide, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is 92% of average for the date.

The conservation target will be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting beginning at 5:30pm in the district meeting room.