City Council Adopts Stage 4 Drought Emergency

Nearly all of Sonoma County including Cloverdale is now classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor as “D4 Exceptional Drought,” the worst of five categories for intensifying drought and a sign of deteriorating conditions in California’s North Bay region.

in response to the drought and water supply conditions, the City Council on August 11th declared a Stage 4 Water Emergency. The previous Drought Stage 2 declaration mandated a 25% reduction. With the Stage 4 declaration, the community is asked to keep working to conserve an additional 10% for a total of a 35% reduction in water use over 2020. Overall, the Community responded to the 25% reductionby reducing water consumption. Additional water conservation efforts by the community are now needed to meet the Stage 4 Drought Emergency.

Stage 4 Water Shortage Emergency Measures include:

Water use limited to 65 gallons per capita (per person) per day.
Outdoor Irrigation is limited to 1-day a week.
New water service connections are not allowed.
Implementation of water shortage surcharge.

Residents are encouraged to continue using water wisely and eliminate water wasting activities. Learn more water saving tips at savingwaterpartnership.org.

Water Upgrades $ave

City Council votes to Establish Water Upgrades $ave Program for City Residents

On August 11th, the City Council adopted a resolution allowing for establishment of the Water Upgrades $ave program. Water Upgrades $ave is a water efficiency program for residents in eligible water districts like the City of Cloverdale. This proven program helps eligible municipal water utilities to:

Provide water efficiency improvements with little to no up-front-cost.
Deliver immediate savings on utility bills.
Reduce water consumption to address current and future supply restrictions.
Meet current and upcoming state codes.

The City will begin the process of implementing the program which will allow city residents to participate in the optional water efficiency financing program. The water and energy-saving program is possible through a partnership with BayREN, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). The Water Upgrades $ave is designed to promote water conservation and energy efficiency as a California way of life. Information will be available on the City's website in the near future. For more information, click on the following link: Water Upgrades $ave | BayREN

Parks Department Continue Water Saving Efforts

This week, Parks staff took a proactive approach to the City’s "Conservation of Water" Urgency Ordinance. In accordance with newly adopted Stage 4 water conservation emergency, Parks staff took immediate action by adjusting all City maintained irrigation controllers to perform a one day per week irrigation cycle. This modification is intended to reduce water usage by 35%-40% over 2020 usage following the mandatory water reduction guidelines included in the Urgency Ordinance adopted on August 11, 2021.

Due to the severe drought and water use restrictions, Parks staff is making every effort to repair irrigation leaks as soon as possible to limit any potential loss or waste of available water. This week, Parks staff:

Performed a significant irrigation repair at L&L District Sunrise Hills,
Completed a valve replacement at the Second Street City Park.

Repairs were performed as quickly as possible, with an urgency to avoid water waste.

Parks staff continues to perform routine irrigation troubleshooting and address all inquiries accordingly. Please report water leaks to the City of Cloverdale by calling 707 894-2150 (24-Hour Non-Emergency Dispatch).

"Pilot" Park Irrigation Project

In collaboration with the City's Water Shortage Emergency Response Team, Parks staff initiated a pilot project to utilize backwash water produced from our Cloverdale Water Treatment Plant to irrigate City parks and maintain dust control. A 500 gallon water trailer was purchased by Parks staff. The water storage trailer was modified by adding irrigation equipment to enable manual irrigation of City parks and landscapes by parks staff.

The main goal of the pilot project is to minimize turf and vegetation loss at City parks and landscapes and to enable organized sports to continue to utilize the parks recreation fields during the drought. The project will reduce the direct use of City's irrigation system and help meet mandated water savings reductions. Special Thanks to Senior Water Treatment Plant Operator, Darren Hernandez and City Parks Lead Héctor Galván for facilitating the water saving pilot project.

Need a Permit? Permit applications now accepted electronically!

The City is happy to announce most applications for city issued permits including Special Events Permits, Building Permits, and Business Licenses are now available to apply online.

The City implemented an on-line permitting portal through OpenGov that allows applicant to submit building permit applications on-line through the City's website. Enabling permits to be applied for and obtained on-line provides an easy and convenient way to submit permit applications and support customer service options for the community. Coming soon, look up building permit history online. Additional details will be provided in the near future on the City's website: Building Department- Online Building Permits | Cloverdale, CA - Official Website

Emergency Preparedness Expo at the Citrus Fair

On Saturday, August 7th, 2021, Cloverdale Police Department participated in the Northern Sonoma County Fire and Earthquake Expo held at the Cloverdale Citrus Fair from 9:00-4:00. Chief Ferguson and Lieutenant Parker supported the Police Department's outreach efforts at the Expo.

The Emergency Preparedness Expo was attended by approximately 1,500 event participants. Numerous emergency preparedness professionals and vendors were on hand to provide emergency preparedness information, activities, and safety training to everyone in attendance. Guests were treated to several safety demonstrations presented by local first responders, LISTOS, C.E.R.T /COPE teams, and the Sonoma County Sheriff's air unit, Henry 1.

The Cloverdale Police Department provided training on the City of Cloverdale Evacuation Plan while the Chamber of Commerce promoted emergency preparedness and the readiness outreach program known as, " CloveReady". For more information about the Resilient Cloverdale Initiative and CloveReady program, click on the following link: Resilient Cloverdale

Zero Waste Guidelines

Zero Waste Sonoma Prepares Brochure for Managing Household Waste in Emergencies

Zero Waste Sonoma developed brochures providing helpful tips for managing household waste in emergency situations. The brochures are available in both English and Spanish at the links below:

Managing Household Waste in Emergencies - English
Managing Household Waste in Emergencies - Español

For help finding the appropriate disposal and recycling for your unwanted or unneeded items, visit the Zero Waste Sonona Website: Materials | Zero Waste Sonoma

County to Require Emergency Personnel Be Vaccinated, Encourages Other Employers to do the Same

Sonoma County issued a Health Order calling for all fire, law enforcement, emergency medical service workers, and staff at disaster shelters to show proof of vaccination. If proof of vaccination is not available, workers would be required to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.

Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase strongly recommends that all employers require workers to provide proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Workers who are not fully vaccinated or who decline to show proof of vaccination should be required to submit to weekly testing.

These measures come as COVID cases have increased to their highest levels since February, particularly among the unvaccinated. As of last week, Sonoma County’s new cases per day per 100,000 residents was 36.4 among unvaccinated individuals and 8.0 among vaccinated residents. That’s four times what they were on June 1. Those case numbers have doubled in the past two weeks, a troubling trend.

This new mandate for all fire, law enforcement, EMS and shelter staff, which will take effect on Sept. 1, expands a California Department of Public Health order requiring health care and congregate facility staff to be vaccinated or tested if unvaccinated.

CLICK HERE to learn more.