Did you know the largest use of water in Sierra Madre is for irrigation? While there are many ways to save water, one of the best ways to conserve is to lessen the frequency and/or the duration of landscape irrigation.

The dry winter Sierra Madre just experienced seriously affected the groundwater levels as well as increased consumption by the City’s water customers. Due to the lack of rainfall, there was no recovery in the water levels in the East Raymond groundwater basin leading the Raymond Basin Watermaster to reduce the City’s groundwater pumping right by almost 47%.

As warm weather is upon us, it is imperative that everyone in the community does everything they can to conserve water. Active, thoughtful water conservation by everyone in Sierra Madre now could help the City avoid stringent mandatory measures and/or the import of water from sources outside the City.

Due to low water levels in the aquifer that Sierra Madre draws all of its water from, the City Council will hold a Public Hearing on May 28, 2013 at 6:30 pm.

A winner has been selected in the Mount Wilson Trail Race Kid’s Fun Run T-shirt Design Contest. The winning artwork is titled “Kid’s Run” and was submitted by Sierra Madre Elementary School student Christine Manoukian. Christine’s artwork will be featured on the back of the MWTR Kid’s Fun Run T-shirt. She will be recognized for her accomplishment on Saturday, May 25th at the Mount Wilson Trail Race prior to the Kids’ Fun Run. Approximately 20 youth submitted their artwork for the second year of the contest held by the City of Sierra Madre’s Mount Wilson Trail Race Committee. Submitted pieces of artwork had to include a depiction of Mount Wilson in their design. For more information on the Mount Wilson Trail Race and activities please contact the Community Services Department at 626-355-5278.

The Community Services Department is happy to announce Red Cross certification course are now available! Certified instructors are holding courses for First Aid and CPR/AED for both professional rescuers and workplace, schools and individuals. All courses are held in the Sierra Madre Room, located at 611 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Participants must be ages 16 or older. Online registration is available at www.cityofsierramadre.com/onlineregistration.

Good news for Sierra Madre. The Sierra Madre Public Library has just received $7,500 from the State of California to buy new books.

The Family Movie Friday series is back for 2013 thanks to the generous support of the Sierra Madre Issei Memorial Foundation, Sierra Madre Volunteer Firefighters Associations, and Mother Moo Creamery! Also, a special thank you to Sierra Madre Kiwanis Club for their donation towards a new movie screen.