Stonegate residents run out of water
Residents of Stonegate, a 73-home gated community near Tres
Pinos, are feeling the effects of a two years drought where the
driest months in 80 years were recorded this spring.
Due to the drought and fish protections, their sole source of
water, blue valve water from the San Felipe water system, is
becoming scarce.
Stonegate residents run out of water
Residents of Stonegate, a 73-home gated community near Tres Pinos, are feeling the effects of a two years drought where the driest months in 80 years were recorded this spring.
Due to the drought and fish protections, their sole source of water, blue valve water from the San Felipe water system, is becoming scarce.
During June, July and August, Stonegate residents were only allowed 50 percent of the water that they normally receive during the summer, due to cutbacks by Bureau of Reclamation staff, the agency that manages the San Felipe, said Jeff Cattaneo, general manager of the San Benito County Water District.
“They ended up using all of the water that was available to them during the summer months in the first 45 days,” Cattaneo said. “They effectively ran out of water.”
Although county public works staff did not notify residents about the reduction until July, public works staff were notified by San Benito County Water District officials by letter on Feb. 6, April 22 and May 31, according to letters from San Benito County Water District officials to public works officials.
Public works staff were not notified until July 7, countered Jerry Lo , county public works director.
“As far as the public works is concerned, we handled it as fast as we can,” Lo said.
Inside Stonegate, signs of the drought are visible as plants droop and some lawns turn yellow, a fire hazard.
Residents are allowed 50 gallons of water per person per day – enough for household use, but not enough for maintaining landscaping or pools.
During the summer months, each household in the Sunnyslope Water District used 690 gallons of water per day in 2007, said Bryan Yamaoka, general manager of the Sunnyslope Water District.
County officials are scrambling to identify a secondary source of water while residents are left wondering why they were not told about the reduced summer allocation.
“There’s so many things that the homeowners could have done if they had known ahead of time,” said Mike Randle, president of the Stonegate Homeowners’ Association. “I had been trying to get a meeting with public works since the beginning of May for some other issues that we had going on.”
Some Stonegate residents are angry about the delayed notification.
Tall and thin with short blond hair, bright blue eyes and a three-year-old son who is active even when sick, Wendy Krulee has lived in Stonegate for eight years.
“When we moved here, we were not aware that we had one source of water and it could be interrupted,” Krulee said. “We had no idea this was possible.”
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors have been supportive, but the attitude of county staff has been that Stonegate residents are getting what they deserve for refusing to conserve water, Krulee said.
“We would have been happy to conserve had we known,” Krulee said. “I shower with a bucket between my legs so I can catch any gray water so I can water my plants.” She also catches gray water – used water – from the sink, Krulee said.
Some residents are paying for 5,000-gallon water tanks, Krulee said.
“That can be several thousand dollars,” Krulee said. “Finances are tight for everyone right now and we’re lucky that we can afford to do that. There are other people that are going to lose thousands of dollars worth of landscaping.”
Krulee is paying to have water delivered, which costs between $150 and $500, Krulee said.
“That’s good for maybe a month,” Krulee said.
Some residents have had to pull their homes off the market, Krulee said.
“Nobody can sell a home here, right now,” Krulee said.
Krulee wants to know why Stonegate residents were not told about the reduced allocations.
“I understand that we’re all human,” Krulee said. “We all make mistakes. All I ask is that you own up to it and do your best to find a resolution.”
To get Stonegate residents through the rest of the summer, county officials purchased water from other water districts in the county and borrowed from Stonegate’s winter allocation, Lo said.
“So, we’re just getting ourselves in deeper,” Krulee said.
A long-term solution could be expensive.
Tres Pinos Water District officials can accept new customers, Randle said. Stonegate residents will purchase water from the Tres Pinos Water District through February, Randle said. They might annex into the district or purchase water from the district beyond February.
Hooking up with the Tres Pinos Water District would cost $10,400 per meter, Krulee said.
“That would come from our pocket,” Krulee said.
Another option is drilling their own well on land owned by Graniterock officials, Randle said.
“We’re negotiating with Graniterock, which is doing everything they can for us right now,” Randle said.
Although they would have to cross a state highway, it is a viable solution, Cattaneo said.
