What is the “Saturdays-in-July Drop-in Program?”

Free activities for the whole family. Come for an afternoon of art, science, conservation games and live animals! Join our bilingual staff every Saturday during the month of July and discover the wonders of our wetlands.

Where is the program offered?

When is the program held?

Every Saturday from 12:00-3:00 p.m. during the month of July

• July 6
• July 13
• July 20
• July 27

Who can participate?

All ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

2nd Floor Meeting Room, Main Library

2:00-4:00 p.m.   

Homework Center, Freedom Branch Library

2:00-4:00 p.m.

For Teens: Ages 11 and up

The Summer Reading Program there will be a teen movie, Raffle Prizes and Popcorn too!

Wednesdays 6:00-8:00pm

Main Library Meeting Room

When is it?

By Steve Palmisano, Interim Director of Public Works and Utilities, City of Watsonville

The City of Watsonville’s Public Works & Utilities Department is the water service provider for 66,000 customers in the Pajaro Valley.  The City provides over 6 million gallons of safe, reliable drinking water to our customers each day.

But producing and selling water is only part of the mission. We must also partner with our customers in the critical effort to conserve our precious water supplies. Careful management of our water resources helps ensure that we will have a long-term supply of high quality drinking water, and less waste translates to lower water bills.

Conservation is Effective. The success of the City’s conservation efforts can be seen in the steady reduction in our per-capita water usage. The City has met its goal of maintaining the same annual water use over the last 15 years, even as the population has increased substantially during that period. How have we achieved this goal?  The Conservation Outreach Program offers incentives to conserve water, including rebates for the installation of low-flow toilets and water-efficient washing machines, free landscape water audits, and a significant educational outreach effort.

Water-Wise Landscapes.  The City has many success stories of local businesses and residents reducing landscape water waste with the assistance of their free Landscape Water Conservation program. The City’s parks and many local businesses have reduced irrigation by over 50% and are maintaining their water-wise landscapes within a water budget. These water savings were achieved through repairs, upgrades of broken irrigation equipment, reprogramming irrigation controls and smart landscaping choices.

Reaching Out to the Community. The City’s Conservation Outreach program has been a major force in local environmental education since 1991.What makes this program unique is that it provides services for all ages and sectors of the population using a multicultural approach.  We inform the community about the City’s utility services, local environmental issues, and how to conserve and save money at the same time.

The team connects with the community through our Community Conservation Presentations. The interactive presentations are brought into neighborhood meeting sites and focus on water conservation, recycling, storm drain pollution prevention and the Watsonville trail system and Nature Center. These free community presentations are made available to all local Watsonville organizations such as the Watsonville Adult School, Cabrillo classes, community clubs and homeowners associations.

We Love Our Tap Water. Our current campaign, “I love Watsonville Tap Water,” was developed to inform residents that the City’s tap water is safe to drink and that our community is extremely fortunate to have their own local source of water. By drinking the tap water, residents can save up to $1,000 per year as compared to buying bottled water. The cost for tap water is .01 cent per gallon. We think it’s a real deal!

City water customers are invited to call us for assistance and information about a free Landscape Consultation and our conservation rebates at 768-3133.

Personal Go Kit

Emergencies can occur at any time. Are you ready? Prepare yourself ahead of time by having your personal Go Kit. Emergencies don’t have to be major earthquakes, floods, etc.; it can be being stuck in traffic for a few hours or having an emergency situation in your neighborhood that prevents you from going home.

What is a Go Kit?

A personal Go Kit is an emergency supply kit that is tailored for your specific needs. Having a Go Kit will put the tools you may need during an emergency at your fingertips. When planning your kit and its contents, keep in mind that it should be lightweight, but the contents should help you make it on your own for at least 24 hours.

What type of bag or container should I use?

In an emergency situation you may find yourself away from cover and exposed to the elements. Your Go Kit should be in a container or bag that is water resistant and durable enough to withstand rough terrain yet easy to carry. Since the majority of emergencies cause some degree of area evacuation, consider how easy it would be to have to carry your bag while walking a few miles.

What should I have in my Go Kit?

When planning the different items to be included in your Go Kit, start by identifying the essential items first:

• Extra batteries
• Prescription medications
• Change of clothing
• Blanket
• Eating utensils
• Personal hygiene items
• Contact lenses and solution
• First-aid kit and first-aid items
• Flashlight
• Portable NOAA weather/am/fm radio
• Drinking water
• Non perishable food/snacks

Once the essentials have been added to your Go Kit, other items can be considered. Before you include other items, determine their importance during an emergency and how the added weight might affect your mobility.

•  Thermal underwear
• Sunglasses
• Telephone contact list (family/business)
• Sturdy shoes or work boots
• Matches in waterproof container
• Paper and pencil
• Whistle
• Non-electric can opener
• Toilet paper, towelettes
• Plastic garbage bags
• Rain gear
• Hat and gloves (cold weather)

 Okay, I put together my Go Kit. Where should I store it?

Storage of the Go Kit is as important as its contents. Ideally the Go Kit should be stored in an area where you spend the majority of your time. This could be at your workstation, home or in your car if you spend much more time on the go. Since most emergencies are unpredictable in both location and timing, consider maintaining more than one Go Kit. Store one in your workstation, at home and in your vehicle.

The Watsonville Police Department has added a new anonymous tip feature through its existing Nixle program. Nixle is a Mass Community Notification System that allows local, state, and federal government agencies to connect directly with the public, in real-time, via text message, email and over the web. Registering for Nixle could help to keep you and your family safe, informed, and connected to your community 24/7. Member profiles can be customized to receive the messages they want.

Those already registered to follow WPD’s Nixle alerts can simply text a message back to the Police Department. Those interested in registering can go to Nixle.com and click “Sign Up Now” or simply text Watspd to 888777 and follow the instructions.

Nixle’s Anonymous Tips provide the Watsonville Police Department with a two way, anonymous connection with tipsters to help gather more information. The Watsonville Police Department is excited about using this technology. Our hope is that this new tip feature will help us better serve the Watsonville community.

For more Information contact 831-768-3122.

We invite all Pre-schoolers to our drop in craft time.

Come and socialize while you make a simple craft.

Thursdays,  June 13th – July 25th 10:30am – 12pm

Main Library Children’s Room

For ages 2-5

What will this project do?

Airport Boulevard, constructed in the mid-1960’s, is one of the City’s busiest arterials. The pavement in the vicinity of Highway 1 is failing, and is in need of replacement. This project will remove and replace the failed pavement. The limit of work will be from the Highway 1 southbound off-ramps (at Ranport Rd) eastward on Airport Blvd to 900 feet east of the
overcrossing.

What is the estimated cost of this project and where will the funds come from?

The total estimated cost for the project is $700,000. Funding for this project is from State Gas Tax Revenues. Plans and Specifications are on file in the City Clerk’s office. If you have any questions regarding this project contact Patrice Theriot, Principal Engineer at 768-3113.