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This introductory-level CD course teaches turfgrass physiology from the basics to application on the golf course. The course begins with an overview of turfgrass physiology then progresses through the effects of environmental stresses. The effects of mowing, irrigation, fertilization, and more cultivation practices and use of plant growth regulators on turfgrass will also be explored in Applied Turfgrass Physiology. 

Delivery on CD lets you work through the material without being connected to the Internet, increasing flexibility while you earn education points! 

LINCOLN, Neb. (April 12, 2007) - The Golf Course Builders Association of America (GCBAA) Foundation announced it has begun accepting entries at select schools for its 2007-2008 GCBAA Scholarship Program.  Students who are interested in a career in golf course construction, design and/or related product development and who are enrolled at 20 participating universities are welcome to submit applications for one-year, $1,000 scholarships and two-year affiliate GCBAA memberships.  Scholarship recipients will also receive mentorship opportunities, allowing them access to several GCBAA-associated programs and events that will encourage their involvement in the course construction industry.  Interested students at participating schools may direct eligibility and deadline inquiries to their respective university golf-related program coordinators.  Program coordinators will also accept students' GCBAA Foundation scholarship applications.

Students at the following colleges and universities with accredited golf-associated programs are welcome to apply:
California State Polytechnic University - Pomona, Calif. 
University of California-San Diego - San Diego, Calif.

The GCBAA's national executive office is located in Lincoln, Neb. 
For more information, visit www.gcbaa.org or call Pat Heiser at (402) 476-4444. 
For more scholarship information, visit this Press Release web page
 

Who would have thought that a blowing piece of paper in the wind could change a life? That is the story with Brendon Reaksecker, who recently moved to Bonita Golf Club after 2.5 years at Mt. Woodson.

Brendon was born and raised in Napa Valley, his grandparents and parents still call it home. His sister Nikole (and only sibling) lives in San Francisco, and works as an environmental educator. “She’s a lot smarter than I am, she has a chemical engineering degree from UC Davis, and an MBA from the University of Michigan...” His step dad, Mike Barrett was in the auto parts business and his mom, Ann, works for Kaiser Hospital.

Brendon was introduced to the game of golf at age 12. His father Don cut down some old McGregors and they would go play on weekends at Table Mountain G.C.in Oroville. A graduate of Napa High School, Brendon was on the golf team and won the Monticello Empire League Championship during his sophomore year. He graduated in 1992 and was on the wrestling team, football team, and golf team. He played little league baseball and soccer prior to high school.  “Soccer and baseball were really my main sports before high school.” Once he went out for the golf team, most of the other sports took a back seat. 

As a way to save money for a car, Brendon went to work at Napa Municipal. “I learned how to hit golf balls by hitting shots out of the rough that they never mowed and drove a ratty caged picker that had holes in it.” Sound familiar anybody? Looking back, Brendon recalls the times when it was raining and the course was closed. “We would take carts; drive around in the trees and on the side of the course. Who would have thought that I would become a Superintendent? If I would have known that then I wouldn’t have done all those things.” 

He went to UC Santa Barbara right out of High School and tried out for the golf team as a walk-on. He was in the environmental studies program, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in hydrology. “My Great Uncle Jim told me that if you could do anything in water, you would always have a job.”  He finished his degree in four years and continued to work summers at Napa Municipal. 

He met his wife during his freshman year when she lived across the hall in the co-ed dorm. Nichole was taking biology classes, and was really “just a beer drinking friend.” “That sophomore year, she made the trip up to Napa in the summer to visit and we have been together ever since then.” They got married in 2000. Nichole currently works for Invitrogen in Carlsbad. They have two boys, Jackson is 4 years old and Gavin is 2. 

They moved to Carlsbad after college, and Brendon was a little confused with where his hydrology degree was going to take him. “Most of the jobs were working for geological surveys or government type work, and I had no idea how to get into it.” The problem was most of those jobs required Masters Degrees and the last thing he wanted to do was go back to school. 

While walking in Oceanside one day, near Mira Costa College, he saw a piece of paper on the ground. “I picked it up, and it was for the Turfgrass Program.” He took it home, and thought that it may be something he would be interested in. It was a way to get back into golf, parts of his degree would be applicable, he could take classes at night and bingo, he’s got himself a career. 

Still a little confused of the scope of turfgrass management, he looked into the golf course architecture side of the business. He contacted Cary Bickler to see what opportunities might be available. Nothing was available at the time so after enrolling in the classes he went to see Dale Hahn at Morgan Run. With a four-year college degree he was ready to accept a $7.50 an hour job and go back to school. 

Brendon reported to work on his first day at Morgan Run, and found a new job. Yes, I wrote that correctly. Brendon explained that on his first day of work, Dale told him of an opportunity with David Major at Del Mar Country Club. Dale had lunch with David the day before, and found out that David had lost his irrigator. So rather than starting at Morgan Run, he interviewed with David, and started the following Monday. “I got a $2.50 raise before I even started work.” 

After doing the irrigation repairs for a year and a half, Brendon moved into the Assistant’s position. Brendon finished the two-year Turf Management program in a year and a half. “Full time at night, cranked it out, and in that time I also got my pesticide license.”  During Brendon’s time at Del Mar, Cary Bickler came in to renovate the bunkers. Brendon finally got to meet the first person he contacted about the golf industry. When David Major left for Shady Canyon, Steve Badger took over the Superintendent’s position. “Steve Badger was pretty good to me and gave me a lot of responsibility there.” 

Eventually, the change of ownership left Brendon without a job. Feeling a little “disenfranchised” and wondering what his future held, Brendon received a call from Mike Hathaway. Mike had heard what happened and offered him a position at The Bridges. “I owe a lot to him for doing that, keeping me in the profession.” Although hired as a Foreman, Brendon was at the working end of a weed eater for the first two weeks. “I didn’t hit one native bush, and if I did, I took the whole thing out.” Sorry if I gave a away your secret Brendon. 

He worked with Bill Ousterhout on special projects, , and would stay after work to learn from the two. “It was a great opportunity to see different management styles. I’ve taken the good from David, the good from Steve, the good from Mike and Bill and tried to create my own management style.” Sounds like a pretty good bunch to emulate if you ask me! 

After six months at The Bridges, an opportunity with JC Resorts presented itself. Brendon interviewed with John McNair and Bob Dobek, and after a temporary stint at Rancho Bernardo Inn, Brendon accepted his first Superintendent’s position at Mt Woodson in August of 2004.  Brendon learned the hard way by running the course without an Assistant Superintendent and Mechanic for quite some time, “I wanted to make sure I brought in the right guy.” He believes it was his job to bring in and build the team, and tried to lead by example. Brendon enjoyed the “team” atmosphere of working for JC Resorts.

As many of you know, Brendon recently made the move to Bonita Golf Club. After interviewing with Bob Scribner and Phil Crockett, Brendon realized this position may be a good fit. “I really look at this job as long term for me.” He is anxious to make improvements to the property but has started out with just getting a feel for the crew and growing conditions. 

Brendon enjoys the camaraderie that comes with the profession, solving problems, and the organized chaos that Superintendents sometimes face. He puts an emphasis on detail and looks back at that piece of paper he picked up as being the first of many. 

As far as the influences in his career, Brendon says he is thankful for “Dale Hahn for hiring me, even though I never worked with him. David for promoting me so fast, Steve for giving me the reins to make mistakes and deal with the pressures of a private country club. At the time I didn’t enjoy it all that much, but looking back it made me a more well rounded Superintendent. And Mike and Bill for picking me up off the floor.” 

When asked about what advice he would have for younger up and coming Superintendent candidates, Brendon said “Don’t worry about what time it is, the day doesn’t end until you are comfortable leaving. Listen to the guys that are trying to help you and if you are worried about the paycheck, this may not be the right career path for you.” 

As a Board Member of the SDGCSA, Brendon works on scholarship and tournaments. He is a past winner of the Ray Spardy Memorial Scholarship. . Most that know Brendon would agree that he is a dedicated professional. He could have accepted several Superintendent positions earlier in his career, but chose to wait until the right opportunity came along. He lives by his advice to others by putting in the time necessary to produce the right product. “The product is me,” he said. 

He enjoys the social opportunities within the profession and the opportunity to learn from others. Listening to this young Superintendent, I think most of us would have a thing or two to learn from him. 

GCSAA Webcast Series
GCSAA's live education webcasts will be 90 minutes long and will take place at the computer of your choice. 
To increase the event's interaction, we recommend the use of a microphone, but you can ask questions and participate using the text chat feature.
Visit the system check today to learn more about what's required and test your system, free of charge.

For Details; visit the GCSAA Webcast ON DEMAND Address: http://www.gcsaa.org/education/webcast/archivedwebcast.asp
Or call Kyle Kreighbaum 800-472-7878 x5167 

Below is a synopsis of the CARB workshop on February 26 that was attended by myself and Chuck Talley, from Turfstar Inc. Many thanks to Chuck for putting together the review about the upcoming regulations concerning off-road diesel equipment. Golf courses as well as equipment distributors will be affected by these new regulations. If there are any questions please contact me and I will try and explain what I have learned or forward you on to Chuck Talley for any more information. Further developments on this issue will be forwarded to the Network.

Jim Husting, CGCS
Chairman, Government Relations
California GCSA

Pending emission standards for off-road self-propelled diesel powered equipment above 25 hp targeted to reduce Particulate Matter (PM) and oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) by 2025. Agricultural, forestry, dedicated snow removal equipment is exempt. Equipment operated less than 100 hours a year is exempt as well. However equipment dealers that have demos...must sell them before 100 hours or be subject to registration of said demos. Golf course equipment examples...tractors, fairway and rough mowers and any other equipment over 25 hp.

Requirements starting 2008 include:
Annual reporting of all diesel equipment in your fleet of over 25 hp (to be filed with your local ARB) 
Idling Limits 
Only cleaner vehicles may be added to fleets ( as you replace older units, they must be replaced with newer/cleaner models) 
Requirements vary by fleet size

Fleet size will be determined by the total combined horsepower and classified into three fleet categories:
Small fleet: Total horsepower less than 1,500 and less than 9.5 million in total revenue, or small municipality. PM reduction only. Compliance 2015-2025. 
Medium fleet: 20,000 hp or less and not small California State and US Government. Compliance 2010-2020 PM and NOx.
Large fleet: Greater than 20,000 hp, privately owned. Compliance 2009-2020 PM and NOx.

Most golf courses would fall into the less than 1,500 combined horsepower, however 9.5 million in total revenues could be an issue for some.

The 2008 reporting will establish the baseline for your fleet. Reporting in subsequent years should reflect at 10% total hp annual turnover of equipment to meet the target dates set by the ABR. 

Individuals are encouraged to check out the below links for further information.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/ordiesel/ordiesel.htm

Here is a link to a simple fact sheet about the rule -
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/ordiesel/documents/OffRdRule_at_a_Glance.pdf

Here is a link to the latest proposed regulatory language:
 http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/ordiesel/documents/Reg_Language_post_12-4.pdf

Individuals can sign up for CARB email listserve here to get notice of future meetings, further information, etc. -
 http://www.arb.ca.gov/listserv/ordiesel.htm

During the 2007 February GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show, over 150 superintendents and turf managers toured three southern California golf courses and the Home Depot Center sports complex as part of the GCSAA Turf Field Seminar. The tour was organized by Paul Wizikowski (Horizon) and Frank Wong (UC Riverside), with help from Drs. Shoumo Mitra (Cal Poly Pomona) and Terry Vassey (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo). The tour hosted superintendents from all over the U.S. and included international guests from the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, South and Central America and Africa. The three golf courses featured on the tour included Alta Vista Country Club, Coyote Hills Golf Course and Westridge Golf Course. 

At Alta Vista in Placentia, superintendent Jorge Morales discussed salts, leaching and aerification for annual bluegrass greens. Jorge demonstrated a variety of tools and techniques used for aerification and leaching as well as the use of handheld TDS-meters to monitor soil salinity levels and the risk of rapid blight development. At Alta Vista, some of the tour participants saw for the first time both kikuyugrass and almost pure annual bluegrass greens. 

“I am really shocked that annual bluegrass can be this tight,” said one superintendent from Arkansas, “it seems like a really good putting surface.” 

Overseeding of warm season turf and transition issues were discussed by Superintendent Elliot Weber at Coyote Hills in Fullerton. Elliot gave a 20 minute power point presentation on his experiences with Bayer’s Revolver™ as a tool for accelerating spring transition of bermudagrass and more importantly, how to communicate research and trials with the golf course membership and management. Tour participants were amazed by the quality of the non-overseeded bermudagrass fairways and the operational oil wells at Coyote Hills. 

At Westridge in La Habra, on behalf of turf managers Franco Altamirano and John Kim, Paul Wizikowski discussed the problems and management issues of growing cool season turf in southern California. Heat stress, water resources and disease development were highlighted. Amongst the tour participants, jaws dropped when Paul discussed the commonness of $250,000+ potable water budgets. Many of the superintendents from other parts of the U.S. were shocked that water is so expensive in California. 

After touring the golf courses, the group headed west to Carson to visit Kyle Waters at the Home Depot Center. Following lunch and a welcome to the California golf course industry by Ted Horton, Kyle showed the group the multi-use facilities that are used form everything from soccer to tennis to the X-Games and discussed the challenges in hosting a wide range of events. Kyle’s job often involves prepping the stadium for 40,000 concert goers, then getting the destroyed field ready for a soccer match, and then removing the grass to make room for a few thousand tons of dirt to be used for dirt bike racing. Kyle also showed off his GPS-guided John Deere mowers; it was eerie to see mowers going up and down the field without any human assistance. For many of the superintendents from Europe, the visit to the Home Depot Center was a thoroughly unexpected treat since it is now home to the L.A. Galaxy and footballer David Beckham. In fact, the tour buses were delayed in leaving because a number of superintendents from the U.K. were missing. Eventually they showed up with arms full of Galaxy souvenirs from the gift shop!

Overall, it was a great day and many of the visitors came away from the tour with an appreciation for what many California superintendents and turf managers go through on a daily basis. GCSAA really appreciated the tour and all of the efforts of the participants, especially those of Superintendents Jorge Morales, Elliot Weber and Kyle Waters who took time out of their busy schedules during the general craziness of the annual conference to host tours at their locations. 

Dr. Frank P. Wong
UC Extension Specialist
Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology
University of California

It's so rampant that some golf course superintendents will swear up and down that kikuyu grass can green up an asphalt jungle.

But the folks at Torrey Pines Golf Course aren't taking any chances for next year's U.S. Open. To ensure a complete transition to kikuyu-grass fairways on the South Course by next June, more than seven acres of kikuyu sod have been trucked in from four North County courses to complement the 500,000 square feet originally planted there.
The transaction was completed on Monday, when the final batch was delivered to La Jolla from Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook.

The West Coast Turf Company, which has provided grass for the Super Bowl, the Bowl Championship Series title game and several PGA Tour events (including the Buick Invitational and the Match Play Championship when it was held at La Costa Resort and Spa), helped identify several courses in the area that wanted to replace their existing kikuyu. Lake San Marcos was the first to contribute back in 2005; the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo and StoneRidge participated last year.

"They're all playing a pivotal role in prep for the Open," said San Diego city golf manager Mark Woodward. "It's a great story."

Pala Mesa superintendent Mark Louder said the resort has been switching to bermuda grass for the last few years, but the kikuyu has been stubborn on the south side, particularly on three holes. So when John Marman, a regional sales manager for West Coast Turf, called to offer to swap out the fairway grass on the second and fifth holes and part of the third, it was an easy decision.

"In a lot of cases, the course wants to replace the kikuyu grass altogether," said Marman.

Added Louder: "They want it and we wanted to get rid of it, so it works out great for both of us. It would have taken us a long time to get rid of it. It helped us along by a year at least, so it's a win-win situation for everybody."

Later this month, existing rye and poa annua grass that remains at Torrey Pines from the Buick Invitational ---- mostly in the rough and shady areas ---- will be destroyed with chemicals to make way for the kikuyu.

"We want to have a consistent kikuyu, so we're doing all we can to get rid of all the other species," said Woodward.

The Pala Mesa kikuyu will be placed on holes 7, 16 and 17.

"The first 150 yards on those three holes, it's their kikuyu," Woodward said.

Woodward added that alterations to the fourth fairway are also being made. The hole, which runs north and is considered one of the South's more difficult holes, has been reconfigured more to the left and will bring the cliffs more into play. The trees that run along the cliffs will be transplanted to the other side to create more space between the fourth and fifth fairways.

Trees also will be planted near the right side of the fourth tee box to discourage players from driving their tee shots intentionally into the wrong fairway.

By: MARC FIGUEROA - Staff Writer, North County Times – Lee Enterprises

The stem gall nematode, Anguina pacificae (Anguina), is presently the most devastating pest of Poa annua putting greens in California. This nematode was first discovered in 1978 by Larry Costello, a University of California Farm Advisor, who observed swollen stems on Poa annua (Poa) collected at Pebble Beach. Infection by the nematode causes the plant to swell creating a gall at the base of the stem. The galls appear as bulb-like structures near the crown of the plant and tend to contain either eggs and adults or second stage instars ready to emerge. As the hundreds of nematodes within each gall feed on the Poa annua plant, the plant is damaged and eventually killed through a combination of interference with water and nutrient tran$port, as well as nutrient and photosynthate deprivation. 

Control products for Anguina pacificae are very limited. There is only one registered chemical, Nemacur (fenamjphos: Bayer Environmental Science) that can control/suppress Anguina without injuring or killing the Poa plant. Nemacur is the most commonly used product for suppression and control of Anguina pacificae. Unfortunately, May 31, 2007 is the last day that Bayer can manufacture or sell Nemacur to distributors. May 31, 2008 represents the last date that distributors can sell Nemacur to golf courses. Use of Nemacur may continue indefinitely after 2008 except where prohibited by the label. For this reason, unless new emphasis is directed toward the development and review of products and management strategies to combat Angul'na pacificae, golf course superintendents will have no viable tools or registered products in the near future to combat this devastating nematode. 

Over the last four years eight replicated field research trials have been conducted to evaluate new products for control of Anguina pacificae. These multiple application field trials have been jointly developed and funded through the cooperation of golf courses located in Central Coast and Northern California (Anguina Field Research Golf Course Working Group), the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA) and numerous product development companies. To date 28 products have been evaluated for control of Anguina pacificae in replicated field trials. Those products that did not exhibit acceptable Anguina control and improvement in Poa annua growth include: Malathion, Avid, Dimethoate, Sevin, Merit, ProMax (thyme oil), Biolizer (sea shell deposits), A-1641 (mustard seed), BioSafe Nematicide (peroxyacetic acid), NeoTec (sesame seed oil), MultiGuard Protect (furfural), Soil Tilth, EndoRoots, Earthworks, CPR, HumaCal, and MicroBooster. Vydate exhibited very good control of Anguina, but will never be registered in turf. Agroneern and Azatrol + Launch have exhibited acceptable to marginal control. 

In an effort to identify alternative products and strategies to suppress/control Anguina pacificae, a replicated field research trial was funded in 2006 through the cooperation of the Anguina Field Research Golf Course Working Group, the NCGA and numerous product development companies. This replicated field trial for suppression and control of Anguina pacificae was deployed on the chipping green at Poppy Hills Golf Course located in Pebble Beach, California. 

Prior to the first treatment deployment on March 25, 2006, check and treatment plots were sampled for nematode activity. Each plot was inspected for Anguina activity and a sample taken from those turf areas exhibiting the most severe damage. One (1) two-inch-diameter core sample was collected to a depth of four inches from each plot. Monthly nematode sampling was conducted from March to December 2006. Composite samples were sent to Nematodes, Inc. for analysis of Anguina pacificae and soil nematodes. 

Agroneern Plus, Azatrol EC, Launch, QL Agri 35, NaturCur, AgraQuest (QRD-400), Agri- Terra alone and Agri- T erra plus hollow tine aeration were selected for evaluation in this replicated efficacy trial. Treatments were applied approximately every 14 days during March and April, and then again during August and September with monthly treatments during June, July, October, November and December. Based on historical sampling it was hypothesized that the infectious Anguina juvenile life stage was out of the gall and searching for new Poa annua infection sites during the March/April and AugustlSeptember time frame. It was further hypothesized that this specific life stage, while being out of the gall, may be most susceptible to the soft chemistry products being reviewed. With these considerations it was anticipated that more frequent treatment applications during these time periods (March/April and AugustlSeptember) should reduce the number of juveniles, interrupt the normal life cycle, reduce total Anguina populations and improve the chances for better suppression/control and less turfgrass injury. The final evaluation was conducted in January 2007. 

Prepared By 
Mark M. Mahady, M.S. CertIfied Professional Agronomist Mark M. Mahady & Associates, Inc. 

More than 2 million Bay Area residents today will be told to cut their water use 10 percent by June or face the kind of mandatory water restrictions that the area hasn't seen in 15 years.

The order comes from managers of the Hetch Hetchy water system who are worried about summer water shortages after an unusually dry winter.

"I'm nervous. We want to do what we can now and get people on track so we can avoid mandatory restrictions. We're way below normal," said Susan Leal, general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which runs the Hetch Hetchy system.

The system provides water to 2.4 million people - from north San Jose to San Francisco - about a third of the Bay Area's population.

The Sierra Nevada snowpack is 46 percent of normal - the lowest this time of year since 1990. Meanwhile, rainfall totals around the Bay Area are barely half of normal for this time of the year, and the rainy season is nearly over.

Water managers say they aren't ready to call 2007 a drought year yet because it still might rain in the winter months at the end of the year.

But this is the closest the region has come to a drought, they say, since the last drought - which stretched from 1987 to 1992.

"We don't know what next winter's going to be like," said Bill Kocher, director of the Santa Cruz City Water Department. "If we did nothing this year with the horrible winter we had, I just think it would be careless."

Santa Cruz will begin mandatory water use restrictions on May 1, banning residents from watering lawns during daylight hours. Officials at the East Bay Municipal Utility District say they also are considering requests for voluntary cutbacks.

San Jose is faring somewhat better, because half of its water supply comes from groundwater and the other half from San Francisco Bay's delta. Those groundwater basins are full from last year's rains, and the 10 reservoirs operated in the South Bay by the Santa Clara Valley Water District are 60 percent full. Still, the district has received only about 10 percent of the average runoff it gets each year.

"We aren't nervous," said Candice Kwok-Smith, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara Valley Water District. "But if we continue with this dry weather pattern for several years, we will be concerned."

Throughout the Bay Area, rainfall totals are about half of what they should be for this time of year. San Jose has received just 8.24 inches this rainy season - 59 percent of the normal rainfall to date. Oakland and Santa Cruz, which has not built a new reservoir in more than 40 years, have received 56 percent of normal. And San Francisco has received 55 percent of normal.

The problem for the Hetch Hetchy system, like East Bay MUD, is that it depends heavily on Sierra Nevada snow. And 46 percent of normal snowpack isn't nearly enough.

"When you are saying, `Gee, do I have enough water to get through next year?' you look at the reservoirs and the hills," said Art Jensen, general manager of the Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency, in San Mateo.

"If the reservoirs are full but there is no snow on the hill, there's a problem. That's why they are concerned."

The Hetch Hetchy system, opened in 1934, captures melting snow from the Sierra Nevada into Hetch Hetchy Reservoir at Yosemite National Park and several other lakes, and delivers it 167 miles through gravity-fed pipes to Crystal Springs Reservoir in San Mateo County.

In all, 27 cities along the Peninsula and in Silicon Valley depend on Hetch Hetchy. Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, Hayward, Burlingame and San Francisco, for example, rely on it for 90 percent or more of their water. San Jose gets about 3 percent of its supply from Hetch Hetchy.

Most of the state's reservoirs are reasonably full. The massive reservoirs that anchor the State Water Project and Central Valley Project look good: Shasta and Oroville are 88 percent full, San Luis Reservoir near Los Banos is 86 percent full, and New Melones in Stanislaus County is 81 percent full.

Crystal Springs is at 85 percent capacity today. Even Hetch Hetchy, despite the low snowpack, is 75 percent full. But if it doesn't snow and rain enough next winter, those reservoirs could drop sharply.

Leal said that the San Francisco PUC will ask customers to take the following steps:

Plant drought-tolerant plants as part of spring gardening.

Water their yards at night.

Buy water-efficient washing machines and dishwashers if they were planning an upgrade.

Install low-flow shower heads.

"It's been my experience that when you ask the public for help they usually respond," Leal said. "If they don't, we will have to start taking more drastic measures."

The PUC will be monitoring use closely. If customers don't cut back 10 percent, she said she expects to ask the board in June for the first mandatory water restrictions since 1992.

Compounding the Hetch Hetchy system's problems, Calaveras Reservoir on the Santa Clara-Alameda County border - one of the main reservoirs in the Bay Area that stores Hetch Hetchy water - is only one-third full. It had to be drained in 2003 for earthquake upgrades that won't be completed until 2011, a loss of 60,000 acre feet of water - enough for about 300,000 people a year.

EBMUD, which serves water to more than 1.2 million customers, is considering water rationing or restrictions, but likely won't make a final decision for another week or two, spokesman Charles Hardy said.

"We're definitely concerned. It's been a dry year and we're not going to be able to refill our reservoirs," Hardy said.

But getting people to cut back on their water usage may prove more difficult now than 15 years ago, simply because many residents already are conserving, Hardy said. Low-flow toilets and shower heads are the norm in many households, and drought-savvy gardeners have ripped water-thirsty tropical plants out of their yards and planted drought-resistant varieties instead.

Along the Peninsula, the average daily per capita water use is 89 gallons per person. That's 15 percent less than in 1986, before the last drought started, and 23 percent less than in 1975 before the prior drought.

"People have tightened up. The building codes have changed," Jensen said. "But we still can save more water."

Weather forecasters, meanwhile, are predicting a 60 percent chance of rain today, with light showers expected for much of the region. Still, the storm would add little more than a quarter inch of rain to local reservoirs, and barely any snow to the watershed.

"But," said National Weather Service meteorologist, Brian Tentinger, "anything is good right now."

Contact Paul Rogers at progers@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5045.
By Paul Rogers and Julie Sevrens Lyons
San Jose Mercury News

Article Launched: 04/11/2007 01:30:15 AM PDT

By Julie Sevrens Lyons
San Jose Mercury News
Article Launched: 04/25/2007 01:46:16 AM PDT

Hoping to avoid mandatory water rationing next year, directors of the East Bay Municipal Utilities District agreed Tuesday to ask their 1.3 million water users to conserve immediately - with large, industrial users being asked to cut their consumption by 25 percent.

The move comes on the heels of similar decisions in Santa Cruz, San Francisco and Sonoma counties, as water agencies have been left reeling by a rainy season that brought low levels of rain and pitiful levels of snow to most of the state.

The East Bay agency, which serves customers from Hayward and San Ramon to Walnut Creek, declared an official water shortage for the first time in more than a decade - and said that unless water is conserved now, one more abnormally dry year could leave the area facing a water emergency.

The conservation efforts are being encouraged "until further notice."

"We can't predict what's going to happen next year. That's what it really comes down to," said agency spokesman Charles Hardy. An especially wet winter last year has left local reservoirs in decent shape, he said, and "if we knew next year was going to be average, then we wouldn't worry about it. But next year could be dry, and we want to go into it in the best position we can."

The agency will ask residential customers to water their lawns and gardens only three days a week - and never on consecutive days. Watering should be reserved for night or early morning hours, the agency says.

Large irrigators, such as golf courses, cemeteries and Caltrans, will be asked to cut their use by one-fourth. The district's 1,000 largest water users will also be notified and told to upgrade their plumbing and irrigation systems, check for leaks and cut back on their water use. And businesses that use water in their manufacturing processes will be asked to look for ways to recycle water.
The efforts are considered voluntary, but in other regions that isn't the case. City of Santa Cruz Water Department officials have made it against the law to water lawns in the middle of the day, effective May 1. And the 2.4 million customers of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission have been told that if they don't voluntarily conserve now, they could face mandatory rationing by this summer.

"We don't control Mother Nature," Hardy said. "We can't create the water. So we really do have to ask people to conserve."