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403 rationing goal when the City continues to grant new building permits because of a concern that their conservation efforts will be used against them in the future to conserve more water to meet an increasing demand on a diminishing supply. Ms. Acosta clarified that 50% is not a specific recommendation but a number being presented to Council as a starting point for consideration. At this point, Mr. Mercer requested Mr. Jim Dixon, General Manager of Zone 7, to talk about the water situation in the Valley. Mr. Dixon stated that in response to a note from the State that the water supply was going to be cut down this year by 90%, the Zone 7 Board held a Special Meeting on March 6, 1991 and approved some guidelines for dealing with the situation, including waiving the pumping limitations to allow everyone with a well to pump as much water as possible and purchasing water from the emergency water bank. He added that Zone 7 received an additional 10% from the State after the March rains, which made Zone 7 ineligible for the State's first block of water since Zone 7 was able to produce 75% of the normal demand with its own facilities and the State water. He continued that Zone 7 then met with the staffs of the communities it sells water to, namely Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore, and agreed to. try a 25% voluntary water conservation plan. The plan worked fairly well, and by the July 20th Zone 7 Board meeting the Valley was at a 23.5% conservation level. However, there was a change in direction soon after, and the Valley-wide conservation effort decreased to 19% by August, such that at the August 12th meeting with the communities' staff, Zone 7 requested an increased conservation effort to avoid running out of surface supply water. At the same time, Zone 7 explored additional sources of water, including some of the wells used by the City of San Francisco, the wells owned by the army base, and the fall water allocation used by one of the large vineyards. In addition, Zone 7 will be eligible to purchase water from the second block in the State water bank so long as stringent water conservation measures are in place. The Valley is currently at about a 22% level. Mr. Dixon stated that Zone 7 intends to continue to supply water to the Valley and to purchase water from the State bank, if necessary, as long as a conservation plan is in place. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors has also approved Zone 7's request for an emergency procedure to have a new six million gallons per day (mgd) well on line by the middle of June 1992, which would greatly increase the Zone 7's ability to produce groundwater. He continued that the State has made a decision to hold more water in storage so that there will be enough water in storage to supply the Valley - 14 - 8-20-91