California Water Wasters Could Get Hit With $500 Fine Per Day

In an effort to curtail water waste and help conserve supplies California Water Regulators are proposing a $500 a day fine under an emergency regulation. They will vote on the measure Jan. 4, 2022.

This comes after Governor Gavin Newsom called for a voluntary 15% reduction in water usage, but that has fallen short.

Under the proposed rules from the water regulators , violators could face fines of up to $500 a day. Enforcement would come from cities, counties and local water agencies.

According to the proposed text of emergency regulations:

To prevent the unreasonable use of water and to promote water conservation, the use of water is prohibited as identified in this subdivision for the  following actions:

• (A) The application of potable water to outdoor landscapes in a manner  that causes more than incidental runoff such that water flows onto  adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, private and public walkways,  roadways, parking lots, or structures;
• (B) The use of a hose that dispenses water to wash a motor vehicle, except where the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle or device attached to it that causes it to cease dispensing water immediately when not in use;
• (C) The use of potable water for washing sidewalks, driveways, buildings, structures, patios, parking lots, or other hard surfaced areas, except in cases where health and safety are at risk;
• (D) The use of potable water for street cleaning or construction purposes, unless no other method can be used to protect the health and safety of the public;
• (E) The use of potable water for decorative fountains or the filling or topping-off of decorative lakes or ponds, with exceptions for those decorative fountains, lakes, or ponds that use pumps to recirculate water and only require refilling to replace evaporative losses;
• (F) The application of water to irrigate turf and ornamental landscapes during and within 48 hours after measurable rainfall of at least one fourth of one inch of rain. In determining whether measurable rainfall of at least fourth of one inch of rain occurred in a given area, enforcement may be based on records of the National Weather Service, the closest CIMIS station to the parcel, or any other reliable source of rainfall data available to the entity undertaking enforcement of this subdivision; and
• (G) The use of potable water for irrigation of turf on public street medians or publicly owned or maintained landscaped areas between the street and sidewalk.

According to the Nov. 30 announcement, increased urban water conservation will result in reduced water use, which in turn will result in reduced water sales and lost revenue for urban water suppliers. This loss in revenue will be a function of the amount of water conserved (and therefore not sold) and the unit price that water would have sold for.

The State Water Board estimates that local agencies that are urban water suppliers could collectively realize as much as $100,000,000 in lost revenue as a result of implementing the proposed regulations.

Drought Conservation Emergency Regulation
The State Water Board is accepting written comments on the Draft Emergency Regulations.

Documents:

• Notice
• Emergency Regulations Digest
• Proposed Text of Emergency Regulations
• Program Page

Written Comment Period

Any interested person may submit written comments relevant to the proposed regulatory action to the State Water Board. Written comments must be received no later than 12 noon P.S.T., Thursday, December 23, 2021. The State Water Board will only consider written comments received by that time.

Please send comment letters to Ms. Jeanine Townsend, Clerk to the Board, by email at [email protected] , (916) 341-5620 (fax), or by mail or hand delivery addressed to:

Jeanine Townsend, Clerk to the Board
State Water Resources Control Board
P.O. Box 100, Sacramento, CA 95812-2000 (by mail)
1001 I Street, 24th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814 (by hand delivery)

Please also indicate in the subject line, “Comment Letter – Drought Conservation Emergency Regulation.”