California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
Last week the State Water Resources Control Board readopted an emergency regulation that prohibits wasteful water practices like watering lawns when it rains.
The regulation, originally adopted in January 2022, will now be extended twelve months until January 2024. It applies to all water users including individuals, businesses and public agencies, and can be enforced through warning letters, water audits or fines.
“Extending the ban on these wasteful practices helps all of us make water conservation a daily habit,” said E. Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Board. “And, as we can see from the state’s recent double-digit conservation percentages during some of the driest months of the year, our emergency conservation regulations and actions by local suppliers are having a cumulative impact.”
The regulation stems from the Governor’s 2021 Emergency Drought Proclamation, which expanded the drought emergency statewide and encouraged the board to supplement voluntary conservation measures by prohibiting certain wasteful water uses.
Other practices prohibited under the regulation include using decorative fountains without water recirculating pumps and washing vehicles without an automatic shutoff nozzle. The regulation also directs that Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs), cities, and counties not prevent homeowners from replacing their lawns with climate-appropriate vegetation.
The readopted prohibitions take effect within 10 days once approved by the Office of Administrative Law and filed with the Secretary of State and will remain in place for one year unless extended, modified or removed.
