BAKERSFIELD, CA - Do you water your lawn every day? Do you ever wash your car with a hose in your driveway? Well, the State Water Resources Control Board may soon crack down on that type of behavior with $500 fines.
Under the authority of the Governor's Emergency Drought declaration Tuesday, the board proposed historic restrictions to flush out water wasters.
"I'm convinced if California really realizes how serious this drought is for their fellow Californians they would want to do more," said Felicia Marcus, Chair of the State Water Resources Board.
The restrictions deal with outdoor water use only. They include prohibiting residents from using hoses without a nozzle, prohibiting fountains that don't recycle water ,and fining anyone caught watering their sidewalk. It also includes a recommendation that residents only water their lawns two times per week or a comparable restriction.
Not obeying these rules could smack you with a $500 fine per day, although the state anticipates a warning will precede the maximum fine penalty.
"We're not trying to spank people," said Marcus. "We're trying to ring a bell and get people's attention to not waste a precious resource when we do not know how long this drought is going to last."
While each community will be able to decide how to enforce the new rules themselves, the state anticipates utilities like Cal Water will be the enforcers.
"How it's going to proceed, I don't know," said Rudy Valles, District Manager of the California Water Service which serves most of Bakersfield. "There's going to be a lot of talking, maybe a few more meetings so we can understand our role in this before we start handing out $500 fines."
The restrictions are set to be discussed next Tuesday, July 15th, in Sacramento. If the regulations are passed next week, they would take effect August 1st and remain in place for nine months.
The City of Bakersfield Water Resources District Manager, Art Chianello, said he just read the proposed regulations Wednesday morning. He says while he doesn't know how it will affect customers in Bakersfield, he knows the city is already doing many of the things proposed in the restrictions.
Chianello said the city has a municipal code that says the city can shut off your water if you are caught wasting it repeatedly.
What they don't have is mandatory restrictions on days you can water your lawns. Right now, Chianello said it's voluntary. But if this passes, the city says it may have to cut hours at spray parks or limit lawn watering to certain days.
"That may have an impact on when a person can water their lawn, maybe they will only water it every other day." said Chianello. "We'll see how that rule comes down from Sacramento. It's still early."
It's not clear how the state will enforce the mandatory water restrictions, but as part of the regulations every water agency, public and private, will have to have a plan within 30 days of the rules taking effect.