San Diego City Council voted unanimously Oct. 20 to enact mandatory water restrictions beginning Nov. 1, ending the voluntary compliance it enacted last July..
On Oct. 7, Mayor Kevin Faulconer praised residents’ conservation efforts but called for mandatory restrictions, saying that decreased chances for an El Nino season, already low water reserves and an exceedingly hot summer warranted more aggressive action. The city’s environment committee sent the proposal to the full council a day later. “San Diegans,” District 1 representative Sherry LIghtner said, “have done a great job conserving water in the past when we have faced drought conditions, and we appreciate all your efforts to help reduce your water use. The council also approved a citywide comprehensive water policy in 2012, which will help guide the development of new local water supplies, such as greywater and recycled water. Unfortunately, there are no signs of the drought ending in the near future, so we all need to take swift action to conserve even more water. By conserving today, we can ensure that we have water for the future.” The restrictions include watering lawns three days a week and limiting that to seven minutes during cooler months; using hoses with shut-off nozzles or timed-sprinkler systems; washing vehicles only before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m.; watering potted plants, vegetable gardens and fruit trees before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m.; and eliminating watering on rainy days.
A Public Utilities Department official said the city will rely on a complaint-based system to enforce the rules. If wastefulness is suspected, the city will work with the offender to correct it. If the problem persists, the offender may be cited.
Between 2009 and 2011, the state’s last drought, the city reportedly issued only one citation.
The city remains on a Level 2 drought alert. Level 4 is considered the most serious.