SALINAS VALLEY — As part of its drought management and response plan, California Water Service (Cal Water) officially entered Stage 2 of its Water Shortage Contingency Plan on June 10 in its Salinas and King City districts.
Stage 2 includes additional outdoor watering limits and increased water waste penalties.
Cal Water filed its application to move into Stage 2 with the California Public Utilities Commission on May 9 and held a public meeting on May 31 to help educate residents and businesses about new irrigation restrictions, water waste penalties and programs to help reduce water use.
This move put Cal Water in line with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent Executive Order for all water suppliers to move into Stage 2 of their drought plans.
Outdoor landscape irrigation is now limited to two days per week as follows, between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., unless local ordinances state otherwise: Tuesday and Saturday for addresses ending with an odd number; and Wednesday and Sunday for addresses ending with an even number or with no street number.
In addition, penalties for violating the prohibited uses of water have doubled. Some of the common restrictions include:
- All leaks, breaks or other malfunctions in a customer’s plumbing fixtures and/or irrigation system must be repaired within five business days of written notification by Cal Water;
- Vehicles may only be washed with a hose that has a shutoff nozzle or similar device;
- Water may not be used on driveways or sidewalks, unless for health and safety purposes;
- No watering of outdoor landscapes may occur during and within 48 hours after measurable rainfall; and
- Restaurants may only serve water upon request, and hotels and motels must provide guests with the option of not having towels and linens laundered daily.
“We have been preparing for these increasingly serious drought conditions, and Stage 2 of our Water Shortage Contingency Plan helps us conserve while continuing to support our customers and provide quality, service and value to them,” said Brenda Granillo, Salinas District Manager. “We offer Salinas and King City customers a variety of conservation programs and encourage them to take advantage of these resources to help save water every day.”
Cal Water’s conservation programs include a lawn-to-garden rebate of $3 per square foot of lawn removed and replaced with low-water-use landscaping; spray-to-drip rebate of $0.50 per square foot of landscaping converted from standard spray irrigation to a drip system; rebates on high-efficiency appliances and devices, with certain rebates now doubled; a free smart landscape tune-up program that includes an irrigation system evaluation along with installation of efficient devices and repair of most irrigation leaks; and a free residential conservation kit that includes a garden hose nozzle with shutoff valve, high-efficiency showerheads, faucet aerators and more for residential customers.
More information about the conservation programs, drought resources and a full list of the prohibited uses of water can be found at calwater.com/drought. Cal Water serves about 123,200 people through 31,600 service connections in the Salinas Valley.
