Archive for Conservation

Billing

The billing was mailed on Monday, and you should receive your bill by Friday.  We had a few good size leaks, and we want to remind you that the most important thing you can do is to turn your water off, at your customer valve, when you leave for any extended period of time.  You are responsible for any water that goes through your meter, and Pine Cove Water District has never forgiven a water bill.  We also recommend that you use the shut off valve, located in your customer box, next to the meter, instead of or in addition to any shut off you might have closer to your house.  If your water is shut off at the house, and not by the meter, and a pipe breaks, it could be weeks before you ever see that water.

If you have a small leak, lets say 1 gallon per minute, for 30 days, that would be 43,200 gallons of water.  That size of a leak would cost you just under $400.00……..if that leak goes undetected for 2 months, that same bill would be $1000.00.  If you have a leak that’s 3 gallons per minute, the water going through the meter would be almost 130,000 gallons in one month……a bill that size will cost you about $1600.00……….and for 2 months, that same 3 gallon per minute leak would cost you over $7000.00……that is a lot of money to pay, and a lot of wasted water.

If you have not shut off your water, please call us and we will go out and shut the water off for you.  The fee to do that is $15.00, but that is a lot better than having to pay for a leak, because you didn’t shut your water off.

dripping-faucet-md

 

Posted in: Billing, Conservation, Customer Infomation, Customer Valve, Frozen Pipes, Leaks

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Wood Chips and Compost

There must have been a lot of yard work and gardening going on over the weekend because when we arrived this morning, both piles were depleted!  This means Pine Covers are amending their soil so it retains moisture better and putting down wood chips to keep the moisture in the soil.  We are working on getting more compost as well as wood chips, so if you didn’t get yours, do not worry.  I will post here on the blog as soon as our supplies are replenished.  We are so happy to be able to provide these items to Pine Cove Water District customers free of charge.

Compost

Remember, if you need a large amount of either item to check in with us at the office first, as we want to be sure there is enough for everyone.  Now is the time to be outside cleaning up your yard, doing your fire abatement, amending your soil and adding a layer of woodchips to keep moisture in.  These are all very necessary chores that need done, so get them done now so you can enjoy the summer with peace of mind knowing you are doing all you can to keep your mountain home safe and that you are helping to conserve water.

Wood Chips

Jerry & Stitch

Posted in: Around the District, Compost, Conservation, Customer Infomation, Drought, Fire Abatement, From the Office, Water Conservation, Wood chips

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Drought

As everyone is aware, the drought we are currently engulfed in is statewide and does not just affect us here on the hill.  The state of California has a website dedicated to the drought and has a lot of information regarding this situation.  Here is the website in case you would like to check it out for yourself.

http://ca.gov/drought

There is all sorts of information on the drought and all that is being done.  It is well worth spending some time there reading up on what is happening throughout the state.

On April 22, 2014, the State Water Resources Control Board approved $4 million in funding.  However, these funds are to provide interim replacement drinking water for economically disadvantaged communities with contaminated water supplies.

Occasionally, the topic of applying for grant money comes up from the public.  What they don’t realize is that the money is not just there for the taking.  There is very specific criteria that needs to be met and here at the Pine Cove Water District, we have excellent quality water and therefore, we do not qualify for these emergency monies.

We do check for grants on a daily basis and should something open up that we do qualify for, we will definitely apply .

In the meantime, we trust that the wonderful folks of Pine Cove will continue on with their water saving ways.

Posted in: Around the District, Conservation, Customer Infomation, Drought, Water Conservation

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Free Water Saving Kits!

We are inviting Pine Cove Water District Customers to come in and take advantage of our free Water Saving kits.  We have mentioned this several times before, but it bears repeating.  Any Pine Cove Water District customer can come into the district office during normal business hours and request a water saving kit.  Our office is open on Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.  Just pop in and ask for one of our kits.

What is in these kits you may be asking yourself.  Well, the kit includes an Earth Massage 1.5 GPM showerhead with a two setting massage spray showerhead.  This alone is worth stopping by for the kit.  It doesn’t end there though.  There is also a 1.5 GPM Kitchen Swivel Aerator.  It has dual-spry functionality with wide-spray radius and a water pausing on/off valve.  Then there are not one, but two Bathroom Faucet 1.0 GPM Aerators that deliver half the flow with twice the power!  These are commercial grade aerators for your home.  Also included in the kit is a Toilet Water Saver (Fill Cycle Diverter).  This is a patented water saver that takes excess water from the bowl and diverts it to the tank to reduce water consumption.  This is NOT a flow restricting device.  Finally, there is a packet of Toilet Leak Detection Tablets that are FDA certified, non-toxic dye tablets used to detect leaks in toilets.

So there you have it.  This kit is a great start to reducing water usage in your home.  Each item takes only a couple of minutes to install and will have you saving water and money in no time.   So stop by the office today and pick yours up!

Posted in: Conservation, Customer Infomation, Pine Cove Water District, Water Conservation

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Conserving Water Tips

The Environmental Protection Agency, aka the EPA, has some great tips for saving water on their website.  Here is the link to their website where there are many more links to other websites.

http://www.epa.gov/greenhomes/ConserveWater.htm

There are lots of tips on saving water for both inside the house as well as out in the garden.   It is definitely worth reading.

Posted in: Community, Conservation, Customer Infomation, From the Office

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Friday Happenings

Edison has turned off the electricity here on the hill.  It should be off until about noon.  They are working on upgrading the system and everyone was given advance notice.  This is a planned outage and there is nothing wrong and there is no problem.

The weather has warmed up slightly and it is about 40 degrees this morning.  The sun should be back out by Sunday and temperatures should be back in the 50’s.  So, all in all, it should be a decent weekend here on the hill if you are planning a trip up.  If you are a full timer, it will be a good weekend to get a head start on some of those spring projects.  It is too bad we didn’t get more snow, but we have no control over that.

Please remember we are now in Stage I conservation.  Please conserve water whenever possible.  For more information on the Water Conservation Stages, please check the page at the top of the blog.  We also enclosed a brochure in this month’s bill explaining the different stages as well as the tiered water prices for each stage.

Posted in: Billing, Conservation, Uncategorized, Water Bills, Water Conservation, Weather

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Bills Have Been Mailed!

The April bills were mailed out yesterday and should arrive in your mailbox within the next day or two.  Please be sure to read the colored inserts we have included with your bill.  There is pertinent information on the conservation stages, water prices, rebates and water saving tips.  We try very hard not to bombard you with junk and to only include information we think our customers will find interesting and helpful.  If you ever have any questions on any of the information we include with your bill, you can always contact us for further information.

The Pine Cove Water District office is located at 24917 Marion Ridge Road and we are right next to the fire station.  Our phone number is 951-659-2675 and we are open from 9 am until 4 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.  Our mailing address is PO Box 2296, Idyllwild, CA  92549.  We can also be reached by email.  You can send your email to Jerry, Becky or Vicki at pcwd.org.  Jerry Holldber is the District Manager, Becky is the Office Manager and Vicki is the Office Assistant.  Any one of us  would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the district, it’s policies and conservation.

In addition, you can visit our website  www.pcwd.org and our blog at www.pcwd.org/blog 24/7 and find all sorts of helpful information.  We encourage everyone to keep up with what is going on at the water district.  We also have a monthly board meeting and the public is invited to attend.  It is held the second Wednesday of each month and starts at 10 a.m. sharp.  We would look forward to seeing your there and hearing your suggestions.

board meeting audience

Posted in: Billing, Board Meetings, Conservation, Customer Infomation, From the Office, Water Conservation

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Stage I Starts Today

Just a quick reminder that we have moved into  Stage I Water Conservation, starting today.   Stage I is voluntary compliance and we have every confidence that Pine Cove Water District customers will rise to the challenge, as they always do!  Many of our customers are now practicing water conservation as a way of life and this is great news.

If you are not sure what all the different water conservation stages entail, please check the top of the blog for the page entitled Water Conservation Stages for more information.  If you have any questions, you can always call us at 951-659-2675 during normal business hours of 9 to 4, Monday through Friday.  Or you can email us at Becky@pcwd.org or Vicki@pcwd.org or drop by the office in person.  It is located at 249217 Marion Ridge Road, right next to the fire station.  Or you can write to us at PO Box 2296,  Idyllwild, CA  92549.

Remember that conserving water today ensures there will be water tomorrow.  We appreciate all the efforts our customers make towards conserving water.

Harvesting the Rain!

Harvesting the Rain!

Posted in: Community, Conservation, Uncategorized, Weather

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Sunny Days Ahead

Looks like nothing but sunny days for the next week.  While I wish I could say rain or snow is coming, it just isn’t so.   Now is a good time to get out into your garden and add some compost and mulch to help your soil absorb and retain more water.  That way your outdoor watering will become more efficient and you will use less water.

Summer Sun

We are offering FREE compost and mulch to all Pine Cove Water District customers in order to help them conserve water outside in their gardens.  Yes, you heard right.  FREE!!! You can help yourself as the piles of compost and mulch are located behind the water district garage/workshop right here on Marion Ridge Road.  If you need an exceptionally large amount, such as a dump truck full, please stop by the office or give us a call during regular business hours.  Our phone number is 951-659-2675 and we are open Monday thru Friday from 9 am until 4 pm.  We want to be sure there is enough for everyone, so please be considerate if you plan to take a large amount so that we can make arrangements for that.   Otherwise, just help yourself.

According to Gardening for Dummies, putting down a layer of  mulch in your garden will usually provide the following benefits:

  • Inhibits weed germination and growth. (Weeds are not only unsightly, but they also steal resources from desirable garden plants!)
  • Holds in soil moisture, protecting your plants from drying out quickly
  • Moderates soil-temperature fluctuations (This benefit is especially valuable during that turbulent-weather period in spring when you don’t want your plants to be stressed.)
  • In cold-winter areas, protects plant roots from winter cold and helps prevent frost-heaving, in which plants are literally pushed out of the ground by the natural expansion and contraction of the soil as it cools off and heats up
  • In hot-summer areas, helps keep plant roots cooler
  • Depending on what you use, adds a bit of welcome nutrition to your garden as it breaks down

So come on down and get yours today and make your plants and trees happy and save water in the process.  We also have bluebird houses available to all Pine Cove Water District customers as well.  Pick yours up today.

Wood Chips

Posted in: Compost, Conservation, Customer Infomation, From the Office, Garden, gardening, Mulch, Rain, Water Conservation, Wood chips

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Nice Week Ahead

Now that  the storm has passed, we are looking at a nice week ahead.  Back to sunshine and 50 degree daytime temps.  While we did get some nice rain over the weekend, the storm did not produce a lot of snow as we had hoped it would.  We are now in March, spring is approaching and while there is always a chance we could still get some snow, the possibility seems to be getting slimmer and slimmer as each day passes by.

While we are not in dire straights water wise just yet,  this winter has been extremely dry and we need to prepare ourselves for a drought situation.  Getting in the habit of conserving water now, both inside and out, will go a long way in helping to ease the pressure on our ground water supplies.  We never know when or if Mother Nature will provide us with adequate moisture, so it is better to be safe than sorry.  It is always a good practice to conserve water regardless of the drought situation or lack there of.  We can never go wrong by using less water any time of the year.

Please feel free to explore our blog and our website for more ideas on how to conserve water around your mountain home.

Summer Sun

Posted in: Conservation, Customer Infomation, From the Office, Water Conservation

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