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What you need to know about water restrictions and fines in Southern California

Matthew Nobert and Nexstar Media Wire

These are the drought restrictions California cities have in place. (Getty Images)

As California endures another year of drought, cities and counties across the state have implemented water restrictions in the hopes of reducing the strain on the state’s water sources.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is asking homeowners to immediately reduce water use by 20 to 30 percent, with some residents expected to make even deeper cuts.


Below is a list of restrictions by region. 

Water restrictions in Southern California

Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power placed restriction on their customers in May by reducing lawn watering to two-days per week in hopes of reducing water usage by 35%.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to about 40% of the state’s population, declared a water shortage emergency last month and called for millions of people to reduce watering their yards to just one day a week.

Street addresses in odd numbers will be limited to watering on Mondays and Fridays, while those ending in even numbers can water on Thursdays and Sundays.

Those who don’t comply with the new rules will initially receive a warning but could see escalating fines for continuing violations, Martin Adams, the LADWP’s general manager and chief engineer, told the Times.

San Diego

The city of San Diego followed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Stage 2 water restrictions in June by also asking residents to reduce water use by 20%.

Under the new “Level 2” restrictions, San Diego customers are asked to limit landscape watering to three days a week — before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. That does not apply to commercial growers, nurseries, or golf courses.

“Fortunately in the San Diego region, we’ve invested a lot of money to diversify our water supply. So our situation locally isn’t as dire as some of the other areas within the State of California, but our conservation efforts can help other agencies in the state by continuing to secure our water supplies and taking less supplies from the statewide system,” said San Diego Director of Public Utilities Department Juan Guerreiro.

Water restrictions in Northern California

Contra Costa County

In April, Contra Costa Water District asked users to reduce water usage by 15%.

The district proposed a temporary drought surcharge of up to 15% starting in July. 

Manteca

On June 21, the Manteca City Council declared a drought emergency moving the city into Stage 2 of its water shortage contingency plan and causing increased water restrictions for residents, businesses and city hall.

“Residents can expect to see yellow and brown lawns, yellow and brown public spaces, parks, etc,” Manteca Public Works Director Carl Brown said. 

Businesses, churches, schools and hospitals are banned from watering their decorative lawns as part of the city and state’s efforts to save water. 

“Oftentimes, we found that outside irrigation is the biggest use of water for our residents, so reducing the amount of time and the days that they’re watering will really help scale back for the amount of water they’re utilizing,” Brown said.

Marin County

The Marin Water Board of Directors created new guidelines in March to prohibit the instillation of new decorative lawns in commercial areas.

“The board’s decision is intended to discourage new installations of purely decorative grass around business complexes and in street medians by restricting use of the District’s potable and recycled water supplies for grass care and maintenance,” Marin Water said in a press release. 

Placer County

In May, the Placer County Water Agency entered into Stage 2 of their Water Shortage Contingency Plan.

In Stage 2 of Placer County Water Agency’s (PCWA) water restrictions customers are asked to:

PCWA also offers a smart water use rebate program with a series of items that can be installed at your home.

Some of the rebates include:

Sacramento County

The Sacramento County Water Resources Control Board also implemented a series of water restrictions in May for residents, businesses and water suppliers statewide.

What’s prohibited for everyone?

What is required for businesses?

What is required of water suppliers? 

Stockton

The Stockton City Council voted in mid-July to approve an ordinance that would allow residents to be fined if they do not water on their designated days.

This decision was in response to the state moving to Stage 2 of its water conservation plan, which includes having California residents reduce waster usage by 20%.

This is the following watering schedule for residents:

Odd numbered addresses

West Sacramento

The city of West Sacramento began implementing a watering schedule for residents on June 9.

Residents are also being asked to:

Yuba City

In late May, Yuba City moved from an educational approach in their water conservation to an enforcement approach.

“If the dry weather continues, we really need to maximize the conservation now, so we have that availability later on,” said Yuba City’s Public Works Director Ben Moody to FOX40 in early May.

Residents are being asked to conserve a minimum of 20% of water and outdoor watering days have been reduced to Mondays and Thursdays.

Even numbered addresses