The City of Brentwood utilizes ground water and surface water supplies for its domestic water system. The ground water is pumped from the City's nine ground water wells. Surface water originates from rivers within the Sierra mountain range; the water flows into the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and into the Delta. The surface water is treated at the City of Brentwood Water Treatment Plant and the Randall Bold Water Treatment Plant. Brentwood residents receive a blend of surface and ground water from these sources.

Water Supply and Conservation

Think about water. It's yours for the asking, 24 hours a day. All you have to do is turn a faucet. It does not cost a lot. It tastes good and is good for you. In fact, we cannot live without it. Now think again.

It's a carefully manufactured product - clean, safe and pumped directly into your home - a valuable resource that shouldn't be wasted. The average person in Brentwood uses 160 gallons of water per day while peak summer use climbs to 267 gallons per person every day. The 107 gallon per day difference is largely attributed to landscape irrigation and evaporation from pools.

The magical thing about water is that it can be reused over and over. In fact, the amount of water on the earth is finite and has been reused/recycled forever. Nature has handled it forever. But high-quality water that we need and expect in our homes is not an infinite resource. Nature's way of cleaning water takes time. Our lives and the pace at which we live does not allow for Mother Nature's schedule to meet our needs. And while we have sped up nature's process and can supply water quickly and efficiently, it does come at a cost. So conservation can be a money saver too.

Water conservation is a good way of life. Here are 5 simple tasks you can do to start saving today!

• Check every faucet in your home for leaks. Just a slow drip can waste 15 to 20 gallons a day. Fix it and you save almost 6,000 gallons a year.
• Put a bit of food coloring in each toilet tank. Without flushing, watch for a few minutes to see if the color shows up in the bowl. It's not uncommon to loose up to 100 gallons a day from one of these otherwise invisible toilet leaks. And that's more than 30,000 gallons a year!
• Don't shower too long or fill the tub too full. Showering until the hot water runs out can use up to 60 gallons of water. A full tub holds about 40 gallons. Five minutes for showering and about five inches in the tub is plenty.
• Try to use automatic dish and clothes washing machines with full loads only. Even when the machines feature short cycles, you're being more efficient with your water when there are enough dirty things for a full load.
• Most importantly, water your lawn and garden with good sense. Do it early or late, not in midday heat. Avoid windy days. See that water goes where it should, not on sidewalks or driveways. Stick a spade in the ground now and then to see that water is getting down deep. A good soaking encourages good root systems. But remember this: A single lawn sprinkler spraying five gallons per minute uses 50% more water in just one hour than a combination of ten toilet flushes, two 5-minute showers, two dishwasher loads and a full load of clothes. So be sensible. Continue reading for additional infromation and ways to conserve water.

High Efficent Toilet Rebate Program

Irrigation Tips

Landscape Information

• Waterwise gardening and plants for Contra Costa County.
• Water early in the morning.
• Reduce minutes per cycle if the ground in the entire station/valve area is wet and soft when stepped upon.
• Reduce minutes per cycle if there is runoff.
• Increase minutes per cycle if the ground in the entire station/valve area is dry.
• If the ground is dry or cracked, or soft wet spots occur in lawn or shrub areas, make adjustment to improve the coverage of the sprinkler heads.
• If soil is dry or slightly damp on the surface and the lawn springs back when walked on, the schedule should not be modified. The stations irrigation schedule is on target.

Know Your Soil:

• Sandy soils absorb water quickly without puddling on the surface. If you squeeze a handful, then relax your grip, the soil falls apart easily. Plants growing in sandy soils need water more often than those growing in clay soils. But since water penetrates sandy soils faster than it does clay soils, you don't need to apply as much with each watering. In sandy soils, apply less water more frequently.
• Loam soils absorb water at an even pace without heavy puddling or runoff. When you let go of a moist handful, loam holds together but falls apart easily with gentle prodding.
• Clay soils absorb water more slowly. When water is applied too quickly, it puddles or runs off before being absorbed. When you squeeze a handful of moist clay soil, it oozes between your fingers in ribbons and stays in a tight gooey ball when you let go. Clay soils hold more water and are slow to dry out. Stretch the time between watering so clay soil has a chance to partially dry out, and apply water slowly so it doesn't run off before it can be absorbed.

Each area's natural waters have distinctive characteristics related to the dissolved minerals of local geology. Most water treatment plants do not alter water's mineral characteristics.

All water tastes different because the nature of the materials that form the earth's crust affect not only the quantity of water that may be recovered, but also its chemical makeup. As surface water infiltrates and percolates downward to the water table, it dissolves some of the minerals contained in soils and rocks. Groundwater, therefore, sometimes contains more dissolved minerals than surface water. Occasionally, seasonal algae blooms, also import a distinctive taste. All drinking water must meet the same state and federal requirements and the City's water continues to meet and these standards.

At the Water Treatment Plant, and Well sites chemicals are added to water for the purpose of disinfection. Effective February 9, 2007, The City of Brentwood converted from Chlorine to Chloramines as the primary water disinfectant. Chloramines is the combination of chlorine and ammonia. The conversion to Chloramines has allowed the City of Brentwood to increase protection of public health, while meeting stricter state and federal water quality regulations. Chloramines is more stable than chlorine and will last longer in the distribution system, providing increased protection from bacterial contamination, and improving taste and odor. Additional information regarding Chloramines

With many parts of the country facing drought and increased population and development, some communities have chosen to supplement their potable water resources with appropriately treated reclaimed water. Water reuse eases pressure on water supplies and conserves potable water reserves. Water reuse for non potable purposes has been a widely accepted practice around the world for decades and has uses such as irrigation, wetland restoration, industrial washing and cooling, fire protection, geothermic energy production and car washing.

The City of Brentwood also has non potable (not suitable for drinking) water available in some areas. This non potable water is untreated (raw) water pumped directly from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta via the East Contra Costa Irrigation District. Its only use in Brentwood is for irrigation purposes. Current users include golf courses, City parks and parkways, schools and commercial landscaped areas.

In a drought year non potable water may be restricted due to its more beneficial use as treatable water (potable drinking water.)

The water pressure in your home may range from about 30 to 100 psi.
Operating water pressure within the City of Brentwood’s distribution system can range from about 30 pounds per square inch (psi) to 100 psi.
Pressure within the system varies depending on the elevation of your property in relation to the elevation of the reservoir that provides water service for your area. Peak water use and routine water system operations also can cause water pressure in the distribution system to fluctuate. Other variables that may affect water pressure include water softeners, plumbing restrictions, point of use treatment devices (cartridge filters, etc.) and seasonal water demands.

The City cannot adjust the water pressure for specific properties; however, if you have concerns with high pressure or low pressure, there are some steps you can take that may help resolve the issue.
Most home improvement stores sell inexpensive water pressure gauges that can be simply attached to your outside faucet or hose bib. This will be useful when trying to determine the on-site water pressure at your property.