San Juan Water District Declares Stage 4 Water Emergency To Meet California Drought Goals
GRANITE BAY (CBS13) — The San Juan Water District voted to declare a Stage 4 water emergency in response to the ongoing drought and to meet Gov. Jerry Brown's 25 percent mandatory cutbacks.
Under guidelines from the State Water Resources Control Board, the district has to cut residential usage by 36 percent, or face some potentially ugly consequence.
"We're trying to get ready so we can roll up our sleeves and effectively meet the 36 percent requirement," said general manager Shauna Lorance.
RELATED: See the state's dire water situation in the California Drought Desk
Under the new rules
- Watering will be limited to two days a week
- Any leak must be repaired within 24 hours.
- Pools and spas must be covered or treated to prevent evaporation
- Water can no longer be used to fill ponds or for construction.
And with the higher stage comes a higher bill. The average household that uses about 800 gallons a day will have to pay an extra $5.12 on their bi-monthly bill. Those that use more than 21,000 gallons could see their bills go up as high as $140.
Customers like Dave Peterson have already let their lawns go brown, and he hopes this emergency stage will change his neighbors' habits too.
"There's still a lot of large ornamental landscapes in the neighborhood, that's the nature of the community, and a lot of them are managed by irrigation contractors and they turn up the sprinklers for people and sometimes they're not even aware," he said.
All of this to reach the governor's mandatory conservation order and his recent push to increase fines from $500 to $10,000 for water wasters.
"We've had great luck with all of the customers," Lorance said. "Obviously if someone's not doing their part, we'll have to proceed down whatever path we need to."
The district also approved $275,000 for ongoing education and enforcement efforts that start with door hangers and people patrolling neighborhoods.
