WaterSmart Meter Project – Advanced Metering Infrastructure to support our Drought Response

Cloverdale is committed to increasing the City’s resiliency to cope with and respond to drought conditions. As part of the City’s continued drought response efforts, the City of Cloverdale was awarded a $3,005,000 grant from the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) in September as part of the Urban and Multi-benefit Drought Relief Grant Program to help fund water supply and distribution system projects across the city.

The DWR grant agreement included funding for the following three projects:

1. Advanced Metering Infrastructure Upgrades

2. Supervisorial Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Expansion

3. Well Replacement and Rehabilitation

The City is beginning its first project funded under the Grant, which will replace and upgrade approximately 3,300 existing water meters throughout Cloverdale to an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system. This innovative “WaterSmart Meter” technology is part of the City’s continuing efforts to conserve water, enhance customer service, replace aging infrastructure, and be more efficient.

Currently, City staff manually read customer’s water meters once a month to record water use readings. The Smart Meters will provide safe and secure remote updates to the City’s customer portal in near real time.

The WaterSmart Meter upgrades will allow the City to:

• detect leaks within its water system in near real time so that repairs can happen quickly

• provide customers increased billing transparency

• streamline staff time allotted to meter reading and inputting data for more efficient customer service

• replace aging infrastructure

• reduce fuel consumption and costs associated with driving

• conserve over 10 million gallons of water each year

In addition to conserving resources, the WaterSmart Meter upgrades will save water customers money by allowing residents to manage and monitor their water consumption through an online web portal. Customers will be able to:

• review near real-time water use

• recognize potential water leaks and respond to needed repairs quickly

• avoid unintentional high water consumption by adjusting irrigation activities and systems to maximize conservation

• Improve water efficiency

The existing meters will be replaced with cutting edge Neptune MACH 10 Ultrasonic Water Meters. These new meters will provide:

• high resolution measurements and sustained accuracy

• lead-free and corrosion resistant long-term use

• meet or exceed American Water Works Association standards

• Made in the USA

Water use data will be sent wirelessly from the WaterSmart Meter using an encrypted, low powered radio signal for less than one minute every day. Water customers will be able to login to the City’s WaterSmart Portal to review water use and pay water bills.

At the beginning of 2022, the new state law Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, (Senate Bill – SB 1383) went into effect. The law is a statewide effort to reduce the amount of organic materials such as food, paper products, and plant trimmings discarded into landfills. The law requires all residents and commercial businesses to subscribe to regular collection of organic materials (green bin service) in addition to recycling and garbage. All organic materials, including spoiled left-over foods, fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, bones, dairy products, food-soiled napkins should be placed in the green bin which is sent to composting facilities.

The average U.S. household wastes 31.9% of what they purchase annually. This may take the form of forgotten leftovers in the back of the fridge, spoiled produce, bread gone moldy on the counter, or meat products purchased during a sale but now have freezer burn.

Here are suggestions for reducing food waste at home:

• Shop with a list and avoid purchasing perishable foods in bulk.

• Cook only as much as you can eat to avoid leftovers.
• Eat and use all parts of the plant or animal. For example, cauliflower leaves, kale stems, and cilantro stems are full of flavor and tender after cooking.

• Store foods properly to extend shelf lives

• Eat the most perishable foods first

• Get online inspiration and have a few go-to recipes that are flexible with the ingredients. Chili/soup, casseroles, rice bowls, omelets, fried rice, chilaquiles, and curry are some examples.

• The combined efforts of making small lifestyle changes like composting, recycling, and reducing the amount of food wasted can make a big difference in the face of a climate crisis.

This article was authored by Xinci Tan, Organics Program Manager with Zero Waste Sonoma, for RRWA, an association of local public agencies in the Russian River Watershed that have come together to coordinate regional programs for clean water, habitat restoration, and watershed enhancement.

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This is the time of year when we start thinking about hearty soup, yummy baking, and warm cozy dinners. A delicious and healthy addition to your winter meals can be root vegetables! Tubers, roots, and bulbs are all root
vegetables which grow underground at the base of the plant and really are buried treasures. Some examples are onions, carrots, beets, potatoes, yams, parsnips, ginger, and turmeric. Root vegetables have extended shelf-life and will keep for several weeks stored in a cool dry place. They are excellent sources of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The skins of root vegetables (and most vegetables) store many of their nutrients, so avoid peeling them unless the skins seem tough or thick. These often-overlooked veggies have both insoluble fiber and soluble fiber which may lower LDL “bad” cholesterol levels and are nice slow digesting complex carbohydrates to add to your winter meal.

Each root veggie provides something slightly different: potassium (potatoes, radishes, parsnips), magnesium (turnips, parsnips), folate (beets, parsnips), vitamin A (carrots, yams, sweet potatoes), vitamin C (turnips, rutabagas, potatoes) and calcium (turnips). Beets contain particularly healthful phytochemicals called betalains which give beets their distinctive red-violet and even yellow hue. Betalains are powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories and may be helpful for cardiovascular health. So, a nice colorful combo of these veggies will provide you and your family with a varied mix of nutrients!

Our region is currently experiencing a severe multi-year drought. Rainfall and reservoir storage levels are at historic lows.

What is a drought?
• A drought occurs when an area receives a lot less precipitation than they normally receive, leading to a shortage of water.

How is rainfall measured?
• Rain Gauge: Precipitation is measured by using a rain gauge. A rain gauge consists of a tube and a measuring scale. When it rains, the water falls into the top of the tube. In the United States, we measure precipitation in inches.
• Water Year: We track rainfall by water year. A water year is the 12-month period from October 1st to September 30th.

How much rain have we received in the 2021 water year?
• Rainfall: The 2021 water year will end on September 30th, 2021. So far, Santa Rosa has received just under 13 inches of rain. The 30-year annual average for our region is 30 inches of rain.

How drastic is this drought?
• Rain The 2020 water year (October 2019 – September 2020) was the third driest water year over the last 127 years.
• Reservoirs Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino provide water to our community. These two reservoirs are at record lows for this time of year.

Clearwater Ranch is a housing project in Cloverdale where families are creating a safe, wholesome housing for their special needs adult children to support life-long independence. Families of individuals with developmental disabilities banded together to develop integrated housing where people with and without disabilities can live together. This group of active parents partnered with Living Unlimited, a San Francisco Bay Area based non-profit, to design, develop and implement a life-long housing solution for their loved ones. The mission is to provide life-long housing and community that empowers them to live their lives to the fullest potential with dignity, purpose, and joy.

Clearwater Ranch is on an eighty-four acre piece of land which includes:
– Nine single-level homes where the individuals can live in a family environment
– A large workshop space for teaching and learning technical skills
– A large multi-purpose hall with class rooms, for social, recreational and learning activities
– A fully equipped commercial kitchen for preparation of food at events
– A shallow swimming pool for the residents’ recreation
– And plenty of open space for a garden, farm, livestock or any other enriching enterprise

Currently, houses are being remodeled and upgraded before the residents can move in. When Clearwater Ranch is fully subscribed, it will house 24 young adults with various disabilities plus other neuro-typical individuals. It will be a safe and secure place with potential for growth and learning. Clearwater Ranch is a private company, working as an ownership model housing, where families can buy a share which will then provide a room for their loved one for the rest of their life in a clean, beautiful environment.

If anyone is interested to know more about Clearwater Ranch, they can check out the website www.CRanch.net. There are events happening online and at the Ranch where one can RSVP to join. We are always looking for people who can enrich the lives of those living at the Ranch: a) People who would like to live and work at the Ranch. b) Coaches, teachers, and mentors; c) Businesses with ideas to develop opportunities for revenue generation using our land. If you would like to talk about a business opportunity, contact Uli at 650-270-7575.

Siri, a young lady with an inspirational story is moving to Cloverdale from San Francisco, soon. In spite of her challenges due to autism, she inspired many with her talents and reached out through her appearances on TV, Print Media and her Social Network.

Siri was born and raised in San Francisco and is the oldest of three children to her parents who migrated from India. When Siri was 22yrs old, her mother trained her to make care packages for the soldiers in the army which eventually turned into an online jewelry making business.

Before pandemic Siri was involved in functional fitness, boxing, fitness dancing, horse riding, ice-skating and also started working at the Goodwill store. Unfortunately, all her activity stopped when the pandemic arrived in 2020. Recently, Siri restarted her training in boxing and functional fitness with a professional in Mixed Martial Arts. She continues to make jewelry and started sewing. Siri’s family is excited about a documentary in the making of her story to bring awareness to autism with a title “My Name is Siri”.

Siri can be followed on her social media channels; YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Face Book Page, Tumblr, Pinterest all under “Designs By Siri”. Don’t miss visiting her website www.DesignsBySiri.com to see her beautiful handmade items.

Siri’s family is looking forward to making many sweet memories in Cloverdale.

KS Tian Yuen Restaurant, A Garden For All by Michele Armanino

One Friday afternoon I sat with Mei Jung Shih, proprietor of the KS Tian Yuen Restaurant, located on S. Cloverdale Blvd, to learn more about her life and success as a restaurateur. Amidst a bustling, brightly lit room, focused chefs and wafting fragrances, her story evolved.

Mei, her husband, Ming Cheng Kuo and her two children arrived in the States in 2004, and opened a buffet in Santa Rosa. In 2007, smitten with the similarities between the Cloverdale mountains and the majestic mountains in Taiwan, the family relocated to Cloverdale and launched, with the aid of extended family, KS Tian Yuen Restaurant (followed in 2018 with a Tian Yuen in Windsor.) Mei translated the Chinese words, Tian Yuen, to mean “garden for the world” and genuinely remarked that everyone is included in her restaurant.

Mei studied Chinese medicine in Taiwan, her native home, at a community college for two years where she learned about the ancient healing art of Chinese herbalism. This knowledge was the impetus for her desire to open an Asian Fusion restaurant (a blend of at least two Asian cuisines) that is exceptional in its quest to nourish body and soul. With endless experimentation, Mei created a cuisine unique to Tian Yuen.

Fruits, such as Tamarind, known for its medicinal properties, vegetables, and proteins are carefully selected by Mei to create harmonious, healthy dishes. Steam cooking allows the natural flavors of the ingredients to emerge and oil isminimally used, resulting in a light and fresh cuisine. Mei’s own creation, chicken rice rolls, are a beloved after school snack by Cloverdale High School students because they are affordable, healthy and delicious. Beverages include, local Pedroncelli Wines and hot and cold sakes. Mei demonstrated how a popular sweet after dinner drink is made by mixing cold sake with plum wine. Hot sake, she pointed out, is an excellent pairing with sushi since it is also made from rice.

When asked what three words might describe KS Tian Yuen, Mei replied: “healthy, happy and family!” “We are all in the same family,” she said. “We are all in the same garden.”

Known as the “Hugging Grandma of Cloverdale,” Ann Gillis celebrated her 101st birthday last month with a party at the Cloverdale Senior Center.

Born Anna Maria Amaroli in Tuscany on September 8, 1920, she came to America when she was only 11 months old. As a youngster, she played both the viola and mandolin, with dancing being something she’s enjoyed since she was 17. She still manages to do a little dancing today. Just ask anyone who has ever seen her “cut a rug” at Friday Night Live.

Ann earned a BA from U.C. Berkeley in 1942, taking additional courses to gain office and accounting skills. Thanks to her ability to speak Spanish, one of the jobs she landed was with the California Farm Production Council, which facilitated immigration of Mexican nationals for agricultural labor. She met her husband Al at a dance in San Francisco a few months before the start of WWII. They corresponded all the time he was overseas and married December 30, 1945. Ann wore a Navy-blue outfit she had made in an evening sewing class.

Five years later, they moved to her parent’s farm on Dutcher Creek Road and started making plans to build their own home on the property. With guidance from a book titled, “How to Build Your Dream Home for $3,500,” they sawed and hammered each board by hand. At the end of 10 months, their cozy cottage, where she still lives, was complete.

An accomplished artist, her paintings have won numerous awards. She served more than 10 years as Cloverdale’s representative to the Sonoma County Arts Council. She was also instrumental in bringing an evening art class to Cloverdale and has helped raise money to purchase a potter’s wheel and kiln for local artists.

Volunteering has always been second nature to her, but her biggest volunteer effort involved staging elaborate fundraising dinners alongside other civic-minded friends to help build the Senior Center.

Currently, a number of her oil paintings are on exhibit at the Center with all money from any sales donated back to them. “I may be slowing down and not able to volunteer as much as I used to, but there are still ways I can help,” she says. A stomach cancer diagnosis in 1997 totally changed Ann’s life. Fearing she would lose her strength and vitality, she happened to read a book about the benefits of organic foods. She attributes her complete recovery,
good health and long life to organic gardening and eating foods without chemicals.

Always ready with a smile and a hug, keeping busy is her secret to being happy and staying young. “There’s one second and then it’s gone. I try to enjoy every second before it’s all over.”

Happy 101st Birthday Ann