$ 500 a day for watering the lawn: Californians will be fined for excessive water consumption - ForumDaily
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$ 500 a day for watering the lawn: Californians will be fined for excessive water consumption

For the second time in a decade, Californians will face mandatory restrictions on outdoor water use as the state experiences another drought and voluntary water conservation efforts have failed. KTLA5.

Photo: Shutterstock

The rules, adopted Jan. 4 by the State Water Resources Control Board, are fairly lenient—a ban on watering lawns for 48 hours after a rainstorm and a ban on sprinklers that water sidewalks. They could come into force as early as the end of the month. Violators could face daily fines of $500, although regulators say they expect such fines to be rare, as was the case during the last drought.

The new bans are a result of Californians failing to comply with Governor Gavin Newsom's call for a voluntary 15% cut in water use from last year. From July to November, the state's water consumption declined by just 6%.

The new restrictions follow an extremely wet December that state officials have warned cannot continue into the winter months, which are usually the wettest in the state. Weather has become more unpredictable due to climate change, and state climate scientist Michael Anderson said forecasts suggest January, February and March may be drier than average.

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Earlier forecasts did not predict such a rainy December, when record amounts of rain and snow fell in many areas. In mid-December, about 80% of the state was in extreme or extremely arid conditions. By the end of the month, only about a third were in these conditions.

Meanwhile, the state's Department of Water Resources announced on January 4 that recent hurricanes will allow hydroelectricity to resume at the Oroville Dam, which was shut down in early August due to historically low levels in the lake.

Despite the rain, much of the state's water system is still under stress due to extremely dry conditions in early 2021 that have pushed many of California's largest reservoirs to record and near-record lows.

“Conserving water and reducing water waste are critical and necessary habits for everyone to adapt to these uncertainties and build resilience to climate change, so taking emergency action now makes a lot of sense,” said Eric Oppenheimer, chief deputy state director. to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). “We must be prepared for continued drought.”

Northern California was wetter in November than Southern California and significantly more water was stored.

Regions north of the San Joaquin River, including Sacramento and San Francisco, used 17-26% less water than in November 2020, while Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, which account for 55 % of the state's population used almost 1% more.

Water uses that will not be allowed under the new rules include: outdoor irrigation, which leads to excessive runoff into the street and sidewalks; using water for landscaping and irrigation within 48 hours after rain, which brings a minimum of 0,63 centimeters of water; washing machines with hoses without shut-off nozzles; using drinking water to clean roadways, sidewalks, buildings and patios, and to clean streets or flood decorative fountains or lakes.

There are some exceptions. For example, trees on the streets can be watered, but the lawn cannot. The rules come into force after the completion of the administrative review.

Although much of the western United States is in drought, no other western state has imposed nationwide restrictions on the use of water in homes. Instead, local governments and water agencies in places like Denver and Las Vegas set policies on when people can water their lawns. For example, the Las Vegas region has imposed restrictions on the planting of grass, including a ban on its use in yards, in order to save water.

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California adopted similar restrictions during a five-year drought ending in 2017, and some cities and local waterways have made them permanent. These restrictions were only part of the state's conservation approach, which also included incentives for Californians to grow drought-tolerant plants instead of regular lawns.

Today, total water use in California is lower than it was during the last drought. But this time it complicates conservation because some of the simplest measures have already been taken. State Board of Water officials were unable to say how many of California's nearly 40 million residents are subject to such regulations or how much water they expect to save.

While the rules provide for the ability to fine violators of up to $ 500 a day, fines were rare last time. Oppenheimer said the state has no plans to put “water cops” on the street, but he noted that during the latest drought, many local water districts increased their staff to oversee conservation and compliance.

The state also has a website where people can report rule violations by their neighbors or other people they see. Complaints will be directed to the appropriate local water agency. During the latest drought in California, people engaged in so-called drought shaming, the process of publicly showing people wasting water by posting videos on social media.

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