EU Today - August 2016

City of Roseville
Environmental Utilities
Today
WATER
WASTEWATER
RECYCLED WATER
SOLID WASTE
AUGUST 2016
Customers
encouraged to
continue water
saving ways
Earlier this year, Mother Nature greeted us
with increased rainfall and a healthy snowpack,
positioning us with ample water supplies
throughout the spring and summer. This change
was a welcome sight to many in Northern
California—and provided much needed relief
from drought conditions.
That’s why we are encouraging customers to
adopt a 10 percent voluntary reduction goal over
2013 water usage through January of next year.
Because of the change in water conditions, the
State Water Board took action and developed
community-specific water use requirements. For
communities like Roseville, it meant a reduced
level of conservation because we have adequate
water supplies to meet current customer demand.
This voluntary reduction goal acknowledges
that even though water supply conditions have
improved locally, there are still areas within
our state where drought conditions remain.
Not to mention, we must be aware that one
above average year of rainfall doesn’t protect us
from future dry years, particularly as Folsom
Lake will become even more important to help
manage fisheries and water quality flows in the
Lower American River and in the Delta.
While we’re not under required conservation
measures, we want customers to continue their
water-saving ways by maintaining some of those
behaviors developed over the last several years
when stretching water resources was necessary.
One of the biggest and immediate water-saving
practices includes adjusting your sprinklers by
season. We recommend a three-day-per-week
watering schedule, which will change to twodays-per-week during September and October.
Help Curby battle Trashville
You know where it comes from, but where does it go? Bring your family to Curby’s Waste-aPalooza at the Utility Exploration Center on Saturday, August 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for free
family fun. Meet Curby, the recycling robot, and talk trash in our exciting quiz show. Fight the
unflushables in the Sewer Swim and help Curby fight litter in Trashville. Challenge yourself in
the game room where you can flip one of the “three Ps” into the toilet and knock out excess
waste. Pick up a LEGO® City build-it kit for just $10 while supplies last!
Let’s save
Roseville
from trash!
For more information visit
roseville.ca.us/explore or call (916) 746-1550.
Water
efficiency
programs
remain
Even as water supply conditions have
improved and statewide emergency
regulations have lifted in Northern
California, we’re committed to waterefficiency. Our water wise programs
continue, and Roseville water customers
are encouraged to contact us to help
you save water.
Rethink your lawn by converting
your water-thirsty grass into a
water-wise landscape using our
popular Cash for Grass program.
Schedule a free Water Wise
House Call to get a full examination
of your water use inside and out.
Report water waste to help
educate residents about
unnecessary water waste.
Program your irrigation timer
based on weather. We have a
handy calculator to help you.
Get started on using one or all
of these programs by visiting
Roseville.ca.us/savewater
or calling (916) 774-5761.
Today
August 2016
City of Roseville Environmental Utilities
Two utility projects
win top honors
Two Environmental Utilities infrastructure projects and the staff that managed them were
among other regional projects that received top-notch awards at the Sacramento Section
of the American Society of Civil Engineers ceremony held at the Crocker Art Museum
earlier this year. These projects are very different in scope, but provide a shared benefit:
safeguarding resources in Roseville.
Bug of the
Month:
Leaffooted
Bug
When you are inspecting your garden this
summer, you will find many interesting things
to observe. One insect you may notice is a
strange looking bug that can be over one-inch
long and has an unusual appendage on its legs
that looks like a leaf is attached. This bug is
called the Leaffooted Bug, and it can do some
damage to tomatoes, pomegranates, citrus and
other ripe fruit. The damage is caused when
this insect pierces the skin of ripe fruit so it
can extract the juices.
The Leaffooted Bug is very common to the
Sacramento Valley region and hangs around
all summer and into the fall going through
several generations. Notice the picture of the
adult Leaffooted Bug—the egg cases on the
cucumber and the young Leaffooted Bug called
a “nymph”. The nymph has not attained the
color of the adult nor the large leaf appendage
that is on the leg of the adult.
You can amaze your friends and family by being
the first to observe and identify the Leaffooted
Bug in your garden. Leaffooted Bugs usually are
not present in large enough numbers to cause
significant damage; so aggressive control with
pesticides is not necessary. You can remove them
by hand and place them in a bucket of soapy
water and that will finish them off quickly. You
should wear gloves when picking them off because
they do emit a stinkbug like odor when handled.
Please don’t be alarmed by these large bugs
and resort to spraying toxic pesticides to
control them. Pesticides have very little effect
on them—plus you don’t want to harm the
beneficial insects and animals that help control
Leaffooted bugs and other troublesome insects
in your garden. Let the predatory wasps, birds,
spiders, praying mantis, and assassin bugs control
your pests naturally and you can just observe and
be amazed by nature controlling nature.
Dry Creek trunk sewer bank
rehabilitation
After heavy rains in 2012, the creek bank
along a portion of Dry Creek exposed a
39-inch sewer pipe carrying wastewater to
nearby Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment
Plant. Because further erosion might
damage the pipe, the city was anxious to
stabilize the creek bank before the rainy
season in 2014.
“The work required diverting the creek to
construct a rock embankment with plantings
to help stabilize the soil against erosion,”
said Ed Winston, associate engineer.
“The proximity of the project to the creek
required an extensive permitting process
with state and federal agencies, which
required the city to undertake additional
measures to protect sewer lines and the
creek habitat during construction.”
Thanks in part to the generous cooperation
of landowners on either side of the creek, the
contractor was able to complete the project in
October 2014—a week ahead of schedule.
Before the rehabilitation
After the rehabilitation
Roseville intertie and zone 4 transfer
pump stations
While Roseville’s primary water supply
is from Folsom Lake, we’re continually
developing interagency agreements and
growing our groundwater program to provide
additional back up supply if we ever need it.
This was the case when we began a project
to develop two pump stations back in 2014,
after the region experienced several years
of dry conditions and Folsom Lake was at a
These massive pumps are necessary infrastructure that
allows us to move water within Roseville’s water system.
2005 Hilltop Circle
Roseville, CA 95747-9704
(916) 774-5770
Find us on the web:
www.roseville.ca.us/eu
record low. With these conditions in mind,
we began plans for an emergency drought
response that would allow us to supply
potable water from neighboring agencies
and our groundwater wells to areas of
the City normally serviced exclusively by
surface water from Folsom Lake.
“We were able to develop this project with
$1.1 million in grant funding,” said Jose
Lopez, senior engineer. “The grant covered
construction costs to build the pump
stations, which allows us to move millions
of gallons of water per day from Sacramento
Suburban Water District and from our
groundwater well field from within Roseville
to other parts of the city.”
The project cost just over $3 million but was
offset with Prop 84 funding, nearly covering
half the cost.
Today is published for Roseville’s residents by the
Environmental Utilities Department of the City of Roseville.
Comments and suggestions are welcome — please send
to the attention of Maurice Chaney at mchaney@roseville.ca.us.
RECYCLED PAPER. ©2016