Forget two days in winter, three days in summer. That’s gone.
Residents and business operators who get their water from CLWA’s Santa Clarita Water Division have new regulations and an updated watering schedule to follow as the water utility strives to reach the governor’s water conservation mandates.
SCWD officials announced the move to a two-day watering schedule, updated fines and restrictions Wednesday as part of Ordinance 43, officials said.
The new watering schedule for the SCWD residents and businesses goes from three days per week to two days per week, with odd addresses watering on Monday and Thursday, and even addresses watering on Tuesday and Friday.
If residents of businesses violate the new restrictions and watering schedule, a fine system is in place. A violator written notice response at first, followed by a notice of non-compliance and fine of $50 per violation for the second violation, according to the news release.
Residents and businesses in the SCWD have new restrictions including, according to a news release sent out by the SCWD:
* Irrigating outdoor lawns, turfs and landscapes in a manner that causes runoff such that water flows onto adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, private and public walkways, roadways, parking lots, and or/structures.
* The application of potable water to driveways, sidewalks, and other hardscape.
* Failure to repair a leak within 24 hours of detection or notification.
* Irrigating outdoor lawns, turf, or vegetated area of landscape during and within 48 hours following measurable precipitation.
* The use of a hose to wash a motor vehicle without an automatic shut-off nozzle.
* Non-recirculating fountains and decorative features.
* Irrigating outdoor lawns, turf, landscape or other vegetated area during the hours of 9:00 to 5:00 p.m.
* Irrigating outdoor lawns, turf, landscape, or other vegetated area using a landscape irrigation system for more than 10 minutes per station per day.
The third violation includes a notice of non-compliance, fine of $100 per violation the SCWD may install a flow restrictor at the customer’s expense, according to the news release. Subsequent violations will increase the fine by $100 per day up to a maximum of $500 per day with the SCWD shutting off water service for “willful violations.”
“The State Water Resources Control Board enacted mandatory water conservation (in May) for all the water retailers across the state including the Valencia, Santa Clarita and Newhall retailers,” said Dirk Marks, CLWA water resources manager. “Santa Clarita Water Division has to conserve 32 percent compared to 2013.”
The SCWD is not the only water retailer in the Santa Clarita Valley to be mandated to conserve more, the Newhall County Water District is required to save 28 percent while the Valencia Water Company is required to save 24 percent.
Between 2013 and June 2014- February 2015 totals, the Castaic Lake Water Agency and Santa Clarita Water Division reduced water usage by 12 percent, the Valencia Water Company reduced water usage by 13 percent and the Newhall County Water District reduced water usage by 11 percent, according to the state’s Water Resources Control Board.
“The individual water retailers could pay a fine of up to $10,000 if they do not reach their conservation mandate by February 2016,” said CLWA General Manager Dan Masnada. “That would be recovered from ratepayers. We want to avoid that. Paying for a service is one thing but paying penalties, it’s like a speeding ticket and no one wants to pay a speeding ticket.”
For now, the SCWD, which is owned by the CLWA, is the only water retailer to adopt the new ordinance.
The Los Angeles County Public Works Waterworks Districts 36 and 37 which represent Val Verde and Acton adopted a similar plan to the ordinance June 8, according to their website. They must must limit lawn watering, landscape or other turf area with water supplied by the District to any two days per week maximum.
The NCWD officials hope that by working more directly with their consumers and providing education, they can avoid further reducing the number of water days and implementing updated fines, said B.J. Atkins, director of the NCWD.
“The NCWD (Thursday) made the decision to stay at three days per week, our customer base is doing quite well at conserving already,” Atkins said, adding that they are working with an “education process as opposed to regulations.”
The VWC officials have not made their decision of whether to adopt the ordinance, create their own plan or stick with the current watering schedule and regulations.
“Our board hasn’t made that decision official, yet. We will be looking at that next week,” said Keith Abercrombie, VWC general manager. “I will be requesting and recommending to change for lawn watering from three days to two days. Our plan will have some of the similar items in it (as Ordinance 43), including all of the latest round of requirements by the governor and the state.”
“We’re all in this together,” said Mauricio Guardado, chair of the Santa Clarita Valley Water Committee and retail manager for the SCWD. “Water conservation is not something that’s voluntary anymore. I really encourage people to understand what this means — if everybody does their part, we can keep rates where they are, nobody gets penalization and we conserve our precious resource.”
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34 Comments
Eric Crawford
Stop approving new buildings / homes. We don’t have enough water for what already is here.
Dan Conner
And people are still building and filling up pools
I’m sure a lawn can survive 100 degree weather being watered twice a week.. Maybe next you guys can come teach my fish in my tank how to live out of water
Well, they just wasted 10 BILLION gallons of water to MAYBE save less than 30 trout. I’m sure the guy standing down stream fishing was happy.
More important things to worry about than pretty lawns…
Here is the watering schedule Rick Calderon
I’m all for conserving water but the government can’t possibly just focus on the citizens to do their part. What about they stop building, and the center dividers beautification additions & not to mention all the Water breaks on the news? Why doesn’t the city get fined as well?
@Dan I agree I’m sure the lawn will survive being watered twice a week.
First stop building what we can’t support. All these center dividers and beautification water hungry things need to go. I agree the majority of the lawns are not important, but I run a tortoise rescue and the lawn is the majority of their healthy diet. I don’t want to get fined because I am growing what turns out to be food here!
I am with the guy who wants to do how his fish is gonna live without water. I want to know how this rescue is going to safely feed healthy grass to the tortoises here?
you’re not on a well?
Response to SCVNews?
No well out here. We are on propane, but have LA County Water and need all we can get without getting massive fines. I understand some wells are drying up – no pumpkin patch or farmers market this year at Lombardi Ranch for example :-(
We have cut back on everything, and I do mean everything when it comes to water use just to save the water for the tortoises food. Only allowed two loads of laundry per week in water saver machine, only one dishwasher load per week. Two minute body showers per day per person, and wash hair three times a week for a five minute shower max. Honestly, we are trying. All three of us humans are giving up all we can to save the grass here. We wonder if we will need to be rescued next…
Main breaks are infrastructure, which few people want to pay for, till it happens.
Exactly Joyce but how much water is wasted? It’s a shame, hopefully soon we will get some over due storms here in California
Center divider water is minimal. They are fairly drought tolerant plants. That’s not an issue.
And yet they continue to add more and more houses
And yet our government pumped 10 BILLION gallons of clean, fresh California water down the river and out to the ocean. Enjoy your government in action! http://www.myfoxla.com/story/29138140/point-of-view-water-pulse
Most people in Stevenson Ranch, Valencia, and Saugus don’t care about water regulations. They need to be hit with $500 fines. Drive around these areas and you will see a white man watering his grass with a smile as big as the guy in the Enzyte commercials. They could care less about the drought
Ok then. Will change my timer.
Tiffany Aune, Courtney Harrington Conroy, Gina Bresciani
NO EXCUSES
Palmdale cancelled our replacement program.
Seriously? What the heck!
Jim Gabor
When is the city going to stop watering the parks and medians? Could be saving a lot of water by eliminating those 2.
They already are. I was at a park off Seco last week and clearly they had stopped watering. The medians really need to be watered…it’s the image and upkeep of the city that’s important for all. Most of the plants on the medians are fairly drought tolerant and don’t need a lot of water.
I agree with those who mention the continual addition of new homes. The natural resources just aren’t there to support them. Needless to say the SCV traffic is pretty bad already.
Well Doug Chicago has plenty of water. Letting nature water my lawn in Grand Rapids Michigan.
I hope scv doesn’t. Turn into a desert town I love the green grass..
Tell the apartment complexes to stop watering the sidewalks and asphalt three times a day
Glad i don’t live in Cali anymore..damm !!
News flash Santa Clarita is a desert town. Southern California is a big desert and the only reason you have any water is because the civil engineers, starting with William Mulholland, figured out how to build very long straws to bring in water from Northern California and the Colorado River. News flash, many Northern Californians living in much damper climates have not been all that fond of the situation for a long time. In Michigan green grass and trees grow naturally. In Southern California manzanita, yucca and scrub oaks grow naturally. Point, if you want to live somewhere it’s green, move. Running pretty scarce on places to conveniently and economically move water from.
Here’s a question? Why isn’t ALL of the SCV mandated to do the same conservation? If the other water districts are only fined $10,000 for not meeting the state’s mandates, that doesn’t seem like much of an incentive. They could spread out that fine to their customers, and it wouldn’t amount to much. Not really fair that pretty much all of Saugus will lose theirs lawns. Misery loves company, Valencia. Join us in the fun!!!
I’m sorry but those if u getting mad are mad at the wrong thing first let me start with the obvious in case u dont kno were u live ther is a whole lot of FREE!!! Water to the left of our state approx 850 miles of coastline that’s a geography lesson for the governor second the governor wants to build a 60 billion dollar bullet train really wow no water!! Sopposably and he spends on a train better use that bullet train to get me some water dam it .why not cancel the train and build desaltation plants hmmm more jobs more water and it would help lower the rising water level that global warming is cuasing correct? Governor sheez I think I’m on to something oh yea removing u from office if a coastal state run out of water that’s like dying of starvation in a grocery store someone show that man an atlas