Starting Monday, Roseville is turning on its four aquifer wells and delivering groundwater to customers as part of an effort to preserve Folsom Reservoir.

Folsom Reservoir, the city's main water source, is only about 18 percent full -- a near-record low.

Roseville's Environmental Utilities Director, Ed Kriz, says that's why turning on the wells now is so important.

"These are unprecedented times," he says. "We've never seen conditions this bad in the watershed.  We feel that we need to do this measure at this time to be able to preserve the water that is in Folsom so that we have an opportunity to stretch that supply through the summer when it will be critical."

The reservoir also supplies water to the City of Folsom and the San Juan Water District.

Kriz says Roseville has never run all four wells at once.  He says the water meets all regulatory standards for drinking water, but he says some customers may notice the change, as the groundwater tends to have a harder quality.

Roseville is also asking customers to cut their water use by 20 percent. Water districts in Citrus Heights and both the city and county of Sacramento are also using well water.