Mandatory water-saving measures for all San Diego businesses and residents will start to take shape Monday, when the City Council likely will approve an emergency conservation plan.
Most of the rules won't begin immediately because it's not clear how much water the city or the region must save in 2009.
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Barring heavy mountain snowfall this winter, water agencies statewide are widely expected by spring to step up conservation with new rules and stronger enforcement amid a prolonged drought. San Diego's role is particularly important because it is by far the largest water user in this county, accounting for more than one-third of the overall consumption.
The city's proposal includes year-round regulations against water waste, such as a ban on landscape irrigation runoff. It also establishes a system of progressively stricter mandates that includes outdoor watering schedules, a ban on the use of most ornamental fountains and restrictions on car washing.
The biggest potential change for customers is a property-by-property water “budget” that would impose dramatically higher rates for those who go over their allotted limit.
San Diego also is preparing to stop issuing water permits for most new development projects unless builders can offset their water demand through conservation or other measures. That provision would start only if the drought becomes more severe, but it already has sparked concerns about the lack of details.
“What this provides the business community is a lot of uncertainty,” said Craig Benedetto, a spokesman for building owners and managers in the region. “The city needs tools to get their customers to conserve water. We just want to make sure that they aren't killing the economy at the same time.”
San Diego's strategies for dealing with drought, and those for the rest of the county, are based on the amount of water the region must conserve. Level 1, the current stage, relies on voluntary steps to achieve savings of up to 10 percent. The next three levels include mandates of increasing severity.
Late last month, California officials said they have enough water to meet 15 percent of requested deliveries in 2009 – the second-lowest initial allocation in the history of the State Water Project.
Water leaders for the city of San Diego said some water-saving measures should be made permanent. For instance, they have proposed a year-round ban against irrigating to the point where water flows off properties.
City officials also want to compel restaurants to serve water only on request and force people to wash their vehicles at commercial facilities unless they use a hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle or a hand-held container. Until now, those measures have been voluntary.
At Level 1, San Diego encourages, among other things, landscape watering between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. and using recycled water at construction sites.
Level 2 provisions require that most landscaped areas be irrigated no more than three times per week from June through October, on a schedule set by the city, and no more than once a week for the rest of the year. The use of ornamental fountains generally would be prohibited.
The most complex Level 2 strategy is creating, monitoring and enforcing usage budgets for some 274,000 customers with water meters. The City Council won't review details about how those targets are set for several weeks.
Water officials are studying historical water-use data to establish consumption limits for each ratepayer, said Alex Ruiz, a deputy director for San Diego's water department. It's possible that light water users will avoid mandatory cuts because they already have done their part.
“We are committed to ensuring that any allocation properly credits those who have stepped up to the conservation challenge,” Ruiz said.
The city could penalize heavy water users with a surcharge on their water bill of 20 percent or more. Ruiz said repeat offenders also may be subject to flow-restriction devices on their water lines.
At Level 3, landscape irrigation would be reduced to two designated days per week. Car washing would be prohibited unless residents use high-pressure, low-volume wash systems or go to facilities that use recycled water.
The city also would largely stop allowing new hookups to its water supply system if its needs to curb consumption by at least 30 percent. For months, many residents have demanded a halt on new developments because they increase water use.
San Diego is proposing exceptions for public health and for builders who pledge to offset their water use by, for instance, reducing existing water demand somewhere else in the city.
At Level 4, landscape irrigation generally would be banned except for crops and for hand-watering trees and shrubs two days a week. Also, the city would prohibit filling pools and spas when the conservation goal exceeds 40 percent.
San Diego officials said sanctions for violating emergency regulations would range from warning letters to fines of as much as $1,000.