New water rules in 4S Ranch start Friday; Rancho Bernardo has fewer restrictions

By Elizabeth Marie Himchak

4S Ranch residents will be required to restrict their water use starting Friday, while Rancho Bernardans will remain under less stringent guidelines.

Olivenhain Municipal Water District board of directors declared a Level 2 Water Supply Shortage on July 23. The move was in response to emergency regulations approved a week earlier by California’s State Water Resources Control Board, which required water suppliers statewide to implement water shortage contingency plans that impose mandatory restrictions on outdoor irrigation.

As a result, Olivenhain’s 80,000 customers — including those in 4S Ranch — are to change the way they water landscaping and use water starting Aug. 1.

Under Level 2 restrictions, there is to be:

• No washing down surfaces, unless to alleviate a health or safety hazard.

• No water waste from inefficient irrigation.

• No irrigating between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

• Use of a hand-held hose only when equipped with a positive shut-off nozzle or bucket.

• No irrigation of nursery and commercial grower’s products between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

• All leaks must be repaired within 72 hours.

In addition, customers are to follow an irrigation schedule unless recycled water is used for irrigation. According to the schedule:

• Odd numbered houses may irrigate on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

• Even numbered houses may irrigate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

• Multi-family accounts and non-residential accounts may water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Also, watering is limited to 10 minutes per station per day, unless customers use a weather based irrigation controller, drip/micro-irrigation system, stream rotor sprinklers or recycled water for irrigation.

“We are in the midst of a historic drought, and the regulations recently imposed by the State Board remind us of the critical importance of doing all we can to conserve water,” said Larry Watt, OMWD board president. “The move to a Level 2 Water Supply Shortage is an important step to ensure that there is enough water in reserves to meet demands into 2015. OMWD has been consistently proactive in managing our water supply, and this decision is consistent with that philosophy.”

For more information on the Level 2 Water Supply Shortage, go to

www.olivenhain.com/shortage

.

In Rancho Bernardo and other City of San Diego neighborhoods, voluntary drought alert restrictions that became effective on July 1 remain in effect. They expand upon mandatory restrictions that were already implemented.The fact that the city has yet to move into Level 2 restrictions has attracted some criticism from groups like San Diego Coastkeeper. City officials announced on July 17 that its new voluntary measures plus the mandatory restrictions already in place were sufficient to meet requirements approved on July 15 by the State Water Resources Control Board in respond to the region’s drought.On July 24, the San Diego County Water Authority also went to Level 2 and implemented mandatory restrictions for its 24 member agencies, which could have some variance among them.Until further notice, voluntary guidelines for San Diego city residents are as follows:• Limit landscape watering to no more than three days per week.• When watering without an irrigation system, use a hand-held hose with a shutoff valve or garden hose sprinkler system on a timer.• Wash vehicles before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. from June to October, and before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. from November to May. The restrictions do not apply to boats, which may be washed after use; vehicles with health/safety issues; or when washing at a commercial car wash that recycles water.• Stop watering or irrigating when it rains.• Use recycled water for construction purposes, when available.• Limit the use of fire hydrants to fire fighting, construction, health and safety.As for the mandatory restrictions that already are in place, they include:• Repairing or stopping all water leaks upon discovery or within 72 hours of notification by the city.• Watering before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. from June to October, and before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. from November to May, with some exceptions.• Not using a running hose to wash down sidewalks, driveways, parking areas, tennis courts, patios or other paved areas, except to alleviate immediate safety or sanitation hazards, unless the hose is connected to a water efficient device such as a commercial water broom.• Not overfilling swimming pools or spas.• Using a recirculating pump for all decorative water fountains.• Only washing vehicles at a commercial car wash or by using a hose with an automatic shutoff nozzle or with a hand-held water container.San Diegans are encouraged to report water waste within the city by calling the Water Waste Hotline at 619-533-5271. For more details, go towww.sandiego.gov/water/conservation/drought/prohibitions.shtml.