North Bay reservoirs refill but residents say conservation is here to stay
SAN RAFAEL -- The North Bay drought picture has markedly improved over the past few weeks. In Marin County, reservoirs are at capacity but, for many, it won't change their efforts to conserve.
Many residents were caught off-guard with the storms that drenched the Bay Area.
"Crazy!" said Nastassja Martinez. "I've only lived here for three years and I've never seen weather like this."
Anna Haight agrees. "It was wild. I grew up in the Seattle area and we had some wild ones there but I think these beat those."
Haight, like many others, is glad to hear drought conditions have improved with the recent onslaught of wet weather. For the last few years, she tried to conserve. She turned the water on and off during her showers. Now that the reservoirs are full, Haight said "I would like a hot bath. A bubble bath. Just soak."
RELATED ARTICLE: California storms put dent in state's drought
This atmospheric river storm sequence is what many water districts have been hoping to see for years.
"Since New Year's Day, we've recorded 15 inches of rain at Lake Lagunitas. That's one of the district's seven reservoirs. As of Tuesday morning, all of our reservoirs are full," said Adriane Martens, with Marin Water.
While supply was low, Martens says customers did an incredible job of cutting back water usage by 25 percent last year. Marin Water will continue to ask residents to follow its restrictions to prepare for future drought conditions.
"Here, locally, our water supply is looking good for the next couple of years but we're certainly continuing to think about the long term. We have ongoing water use rules that remain in effect for our customers," Mertens explained.
Those restrictions include fixing leaks within 48 hours and only watering your landscaping twice a week. Many customers say that, after living through years of severe drought, conserving won't be a hard thing to do.
"It's so ingrained now that trying to conserve water, being more judicious about lawn maintenance, that is a lasting habit at this point." Haight said, "I think it's a good idea because we are in California and longterm climate change is going to affect us."