As drought deepens, Milpitas gets message on conservation
MILPITAS – Despite urgent calls to conserve during California's third straight year of drought, many communities are still not getting the message. Meanwhile, one South Bay community is heeding the call to conserve.
If one is looking for a community that knows how to turn the water off, a good place to start is Big Bend Drive in Milpitas.
Here, many of the homes have already ditched their front lawns for good. They've been replaced by hardscapes or drought tolerant landscaping that requires very little water.
Meanwhile, homeowners who still have lawns are letting them brown.
"We had to cut down," said Cathy Shaw, who called water saving a way of life on this street. "It was something that we needed to do."
The Shaw's replaced their lawn with drought-tolerant landscaping during the one of the last droughts about a decade ago.
It's on a drip system which uses less water and is very low maintenance.
"We're just doing our part," Shaw said.
But it all adds up to big savings.
The Valley Water District's latest drought report shows Milpitas is using practically the same amount of water this year as it did in 2019 while other communities are using much more: San Jose is up 31%, Morgan Hill up 46% and Purissima Hills, which is Los Altos Hills, is up 119%.
"Obviously, that's something we can't sustain. Our water supplies are dwindling and we need people to conserve water," said Matt Keller of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
How is Milpitas doing it? Councilmember Anthony Phan said the city added to water district rebates for re-landscaping, wash water diversion and even cisterns to collect rainwater.
"Milpitas is really going above and beyond. We're partnering with the Valley Water District and we're doubling the amount of rebates that residents can earn," Phan told KPIX 5.
Phan also said the city passed its own water restriction ordinances that allow for watering only three days a week. Violators get warnings and/or citations.
"This is something that I think is unique in the region and we hope other cities follow suit," the councilmember said.
Later this month, Valley Water will consider adding so-called "water police" that will enforcement actions for water wasters throughout the region.