Rain Today!

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A storm rolled into Pine Cove over night and left a light dusting of snow.  It has been lightly raining on and off most of the morning.  It is cold, (30 degrees at 10:20 a.m.) foggy and damp.  It is not too much fun to be outside this morning.  There is a possibility of some snow accumulation tonight into tomorrow morning of 3 to 7 inches, but we will have to wait and see if that materializes or not.  Any moisture is most welcome, so rain or snow, we will take it.

All in all, today is a good day to stay inside by the fire if you don’t have to be out and about, but if you do, wear a warm jacket and take a hat or umbrella to keep yourself dry just in case it starts to rain or snow, as it can be sporadic.  Roads are clear, but there is currently a light fog.  While the visibility is good here in Pine Cove,  you never know how it is elsewhere,  so if you are driving, be prepared for the possibility of running into some fog that may be thicker than what we currently have here in Pine Cove.

We will see what tonight brings and I will update weather conditions with a new post tomorrow morning.  In the meantime, the boys finished reading meters on Friday afternoon and Becky is now working on the billing.  Bills will probably hit the mail box sometime tomorrow and are due on the 25th of this month.

Stay warm and dry and please make sure you bring your pets inside during inclement weather!  Remember, they enjoy sitting in front of a nice warm, roaring fire just as much as you do.

And just in case you don’t have a fireplace where you are now, here is one for you.

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Posted in: Animals, Around the District, Road Conditions, Storms, Uncategorized, Water Bills, Weather

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April Billing

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The sun is shining this morning, however, it is still very cold.  It is currently 36 chilly degrees at 9:30 am.  The weather forecast is calling for temperatures to rise tomorrow, but there is another chance for rain or snow coming on Saturday evening.  The boys will be out and about reading meters today and tomorrow, so let’s hope the weather holds out for them.    April’s bills will go out next week.

Remember, water bills are due by the 25th of the billing month.  If they are not paid by the 10th of the following month, a $15 late fee will be incurred.  If you are having problems paying your water bill, please call Becky at 951-659-2675 during regular business hours.  She will work with you on a solution.  Doing nothing or ignoring your bill will only lead to more problems down the line.  Communication is key!

We bill every other month on the even months.  Your water bill is for 2 months of water usage.  You may pay your bill via check, money order, cash, or with your online banking.  We accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards for credit card payments and these can be made in person or over the phone.

worried-about-a-bill-clip-art

Our billing system is not “online” and we cannot do any type of check by phone or auto billing.  We do not retain credit card numbers either.  Once paid, all credit card information is shredded.  Our current management team feels this is the safest way to protect your personal information and privacy.

Be sure to check out the inserts with your April bill.  There is important information regarding our move into a Stage I Water Emergency.  There is information on what each stage entails as well as the tiered water rates for each stage.  We have also included information on our rebate program for water saving appliances as well as 50 Tips to Save Water both indoors and out.   There is lots of good information and you won’t want to miss it.

 

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Posted in: Billing, Customer Infomation, From the Office, Pine Cove Water District, Water Bills

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Storm Approaching!

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There is a small storm coming our way.  No significant snow fall accumulation is expected, but temperatures will be dropping.  Here is the forecast:

This afternoon, sunny, with a high near 54. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

  • Tonight A 30 percent chance of showers after midnight.  Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. West wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
  • Wednesday A 50 percent chance of showers.  Cloudy, with a high near 39. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.
  • Wednesday night A chance of rain and snow showers.  Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. West wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.  Chance of precipitation is 50%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
  • Thursday A 30 percent chance of snow showers, mainly after noon.  Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.  New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
  • Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.

So, not a big event, but any chance of moisture is a good thing.  Looks like it is going to be cold and windy though, so be prepared for that.  By Friday, we will be back up in the 50’s.

Old Man Winter

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Posted in: Around the District, Customer Infomation, From the Office, Hazardous Weather Outlook, High Wind Warning, Weather

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Help Support ARF

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ARF, Animal Rescue Friends of Idyllwild, is our local animal rescue group and they do a fabulous job rescuing dogs and cats and finding them new homes.  They are currently collecting ink jet cartridges, cell phones and small electronics such as cameras, pagers, ipods, mp3 players, ipads, tablets, ebook readers, PDAs, video cameras, calculators, GPS and radar detectors, video games & accessories, video game consoles and handhelds.

Stitch, Mascot

Stitch, Mascot

If you have any of these devices gathering dust around your house, please bring them into the water district office and place them in the drop off box provided by ARF.  Or you can take them down to ARF yourself.  Either way, why not de-clutter your home and help save some animals at the same time?

Want to know more about ARF?  There is a link to their website here on the blog or you can just click this link.

www.arfidyllwild.weebly.com

 

Gracie, the office cat.

Gracie, the office cat.

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Posted in: Animals, Community, Customer Infomation, From the Office, Pets and Animals

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Sunny Days Ahead

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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

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

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April Board Meeting

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Here at the Pine Cove Water District, our monthly board meetings are always held on the second Wednesday of each month and are open to the public.

The April board meeting will be held on April 9, 2014 at 10 a.m. sharp.  The meeting takes place in the board room at the district office, located at 24917 Marion Ridge Road, right next to the fire station.  The public is always invited to attend.  If you cannot attend the meeting, the agenda is posted on the Friday before the meeting right outside the door of the district office as well as on our website, www.pcwd.org, in compliance with the Brown Act.

The minutes from previous board meetings are also posted on our website, so you can keep up with what is happening at the water district even if you are not able to attend the meetings.  We hope you will take advantage of our website and stay informed.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to call us at 951-659-2675 during normal business hours, which are Monday thru Friday from 9 am until 4 pm.

You can email us at Vicki at pcwd.org, Becky at pcwd.org or Jerry @ pcwd.org.  You can also write a letter if you prefer and either drop it off at the office, put it through the slot in office door if it is after hours or mail it to us at PO Box 2294, Idyllwild, CA  92549.

We look forward to seeing you or hearing from you.

Board Meeting, board members, left to right, Joel Palmer, Board President, Tom McCullough, General Manager, Jerry Holldber, Board Secretary, Becky Smith

Board Meeting, board members, left to right, Joel Palmer, Board President, Tom McCullough, General Manager, Jerry Holldber, Board Secretary, Becky Smith

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Posted in: Around the District, Board Meetings, From the Office, Pine Cove Water District

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Communication

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Here at the Pine Cove Water District, communication with our customers is a top priority.  We think we do a pretty good job, however, at a recent meeting, we were informed that we need to improve communication with our customers.  With that in mind, we would like to ask your input on our communication methods and what you think we could do better or more of.  Below is a list of the methods we have employed and services we provide thus far.

  • We include a newsletter or information we think our customers will find useful in each billing cycle, which occurs every other month on the even months.
  • Information board in the office with all sorts of helpful tips and information.
  • Winterizing pamphlets that help our customers prepare for the cold weather.
  • Website and blog at www.pcwd.org and www.pcwd.org/blog.  These are available 24 hours a day and contain a plethora of information on not only the water district, but on a variety of interesting topics that we feel would be helpful to Pine Cove residents.
  • Community Outreach.  We have had a booth at the Earth Fair for several years now as well as the Book Fair at the Idyllwild School.  We also  speak at local meetings and the school when requested.
  • We have worked with the Idyllwild Garden Club as well as a local native plant grower.
  • We work with the Idyllwild Historic Society and have provided them with items to auction off.
  • We work closely with the Pine Cove Property Owners Association and provide information to them for their newsletters and speak at their monthly meetings when asked to do so.
  • We also work closing with the Fire Safe Council and provide them with water district information as well as providing our customers with Fire Safe Council information.
  • We are available by phone and in person Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm and we are now open during lunch most days.  Our phone number is 951-659-2675 and our office is located at 24917 Marion Ridge Road, right next to the fire station.  Stop in and see us!
  • Free Stuff!  Water conservation kits, mulch and compost are currently available free of charge to help our customers conserve water indoors and out.
  • Public meetings and public hearings.  Our monthly board meetings and any public hearings are open to the public and we encourage our customers to attend.  If you are unable to attend our meetings, you may write a letter to the General Manager or to the Board of Directors and drop it by the office.  Or you can send it to PO Box 2296, Idyllwild, CA  92549.  You can also call the General Manager and voice your concerns.
  • Agendas and minutes for all meetings are posted on our website in case you are unable to attend our meetings.
  • Customer appreciation lunch when the budget allows.
  • Mailbox and paper machines for customer convenience.
  • Mail slot in water district office door for drop off of after hours payments or letters to the district.
  • A Transparency Award by the California Special Leadership District.

So what do you think?  Are we doing enough to let people know what is going on around the district?  What are your ideas?  What would you like to see us doing to keep everyone better informed?  We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.  You can leave a message here on the blog, call us, write to us, stop by the office or email us at Vicki@pcwd.org or Becky@pcwd.org or Jerry@pcwd.org.  Talk to us!

Office workers

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Stage I Water Conservation

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On Wednesday, March 12, 2014, our board of directors declared a water emergency at a public hearing.  Due to the current drought and the lack of winter snow and rain, they felt the time has come to move back into a conservation stage.  Stage I takes effect as of April 1st.

As most of you will remember from the last time we were in Stage I, this is voluntary compliance.  Customers are asked to conserve, whenever possible, the amount of water used for domestic and business purposes.  Fix leaking pipes, faucets and toilets.  Refrain from washing down or hosing off sidewalks and driveways.  Do not sprinkle unplanted areas for dust control.  Utilize the free compost and woodchips we provide to our customers to minimize watering in the garden.

In Stage I, water prices do not increase until the 4th tier of 18,000 to 24,000 gallons. Any increases will appear in the June bills.

As past experience has shown us, the residents of Pine Cove do a wonderful job of conserving water and we have no doubt that they will once again step up to the plate and do what they can to save as much water as possible.  We will be monitoring this situation very closely and will keep our customers informed on any new developments, good or bad.

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Posted in: Around the District, Board Members, Community, Customer Infomation, From the Office, Water Conservation

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Rain Barrels

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If you missed out on our rain barrel purchase program last year, fear not.

Special Offer from PCWD

Rain Barrel from last year’s promotion.

I now have instructions that show you how to make your own rain barrel, here at the district office that you can pick up free of charge.  Or you can go to this address and look it up for yourself if you’d rather.

http://www.shelterness.com/great-diy-rain-barrel-for-those-who-want-to-go-green/

Rain water harvesting is an excellent way to collect water for outside use.  If you are interested in learning more about harvesting rain water, I recommend going to Brad Lancaster’s website at http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/.  He is one of the leading experts in rain water harvesting and saving and reducing water usage.  I highly recommend his books, videos and website as they are a wealth of information.  He also shares a lot of information on how to make your property act like a sponge and retain the rain that does fall on it.  He has many tips and tricks that we can all implement in our own gardens in order to take better advantage of any moisture that we do receive, such as creating berms and swales.

You can also amend the soil in your garden so that it is more absorbent and retains more water.  We have free compost available for Pine Cove water customers as well as wood chips that you can apply to help retain moisture and will gradually decompose over time and add even more nutrients to the soil.

Compost

Wood Chips

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Posted in: Around the District, Compost, Customer Infomation, From the Office, Garden, Rain, Rain Barrels, Rain Water Harvesting, The Garden, Water Conservation, Wood chips

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More Space Saving Ideas

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Here on the hill, gardening is challenging for many reasons.  A short growing season, water restrictions and poor soil, micro climates and shade are just some of the issues we contend with.  As gardeners, we are forced to come up with clever ways to overcome these challenges.  Each gardener is different and has different wants and needs for his or her garden, so each person must customize solutions to fit their particular gardening needs.

One challenge many gardeners everywhere face, is space.  Or lack thereof.  This is why container gardening and raised bed gardens are so wonderful.  They allow us to garden without acres of land to till or to fit a garden into a spot that would be unsuitable for a traditional garden.   Everything from flowers to fruits and veggies to herbs, can be grown in containers or raised beds.

But now you want to branch out, literally, and grow some fruit trees.  A typical 1/4 acre lot can only hold so many trees and if your property is like mine, putting in a bunch of fruit trees would eliminate most of the usable space in my yard.  However, if the thought of walking outside and picking the perfect apples for a pie or a big, juicy peach is something you covet, then why not think about espalier?

espalier 2Beautiful!  So neat and tidy.

Espalier is the art of pruning and training trees and their  branches to be on one plane.  It is usually done against a fence or  a wall, however, by installing posts and wires, you can espalier a fruit tree just about anywhere in your yard or garden.  It is an excellent way to add fruit trees to your garden or homestead without taking up valuable real estate.

espalier 4Posts and wires for espalier trees.

Plus the fruit is extremely easy to pick as compared to normal fruit trees.  If you have ever attempted to pick the apples from the top of a tall apple tree, you will know what I mean and will appreciate being able to pick fruit easily and without a ladder, from an espaliered tree.

espalier 1Much easier to pick apples from trees that are espaliered.  Give it a try.  I will be doing this in my garden!

espalier 3

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Posted in: Around the District, Community, Customer Infomation, Edible Landscaping, From the Office, gardening, Homesteading, The Garden

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