The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) this week adopted an expanded emergency water conservation regulation as the state enters a fourth year of severe drought. The existing prohibitions on potable water use, first adopted in 2014, will continue and new prohibitions will go into effect in areas served by a water supplier.
Californians are now prohibited from:
- Washing down sidewalks and driveways;
- Watering outdoor landscapes in a manner that causes excess runoff;
- Washing a motor vehicle with a hose, unless the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle;
- Operating a fountain or decorative water feature, unless the water is part of a recirculating system; and,
- Irrigating turf or ornamental landscapes during and 48 hours following measurable precipitation (new).
New prohibitions affecting commercial business include:
- Restaurants and other food establishments can only serve water to customers on request; and,
- Operators of hotels and models must provide guests with the option of choosing not to have towels and linens laundered daily and prominently display notice of this option.
In response to questions by counties as to the impacts on unincorporated areas, State Water Board staff stated, “In a nutshell, the implementation of the outdoor irrigation restrictions is tied to the water agency and their service area. Water supplier service areas can cover both incorporated and unincorporated area, but there are many unincorporated areas that are not served by any water supplier (they rely on groundwater wells, etc.) and therefore would not be subject to the days-per-week limitations of a water shortage contingency plan developed for an urban water supplier's service area. There is no requirement for a county to develop a plan and impose such restrictions on those areas not served by a water supplier.”