Wasting water could cost California landlords and tenants hundreds of dollars and constitute a criminal infraction. This week, the state’s Water Resources Control Board made violating some water conservation measures akin to a traffic ticket.
About the measure
In light of California’s severe drought — and insufficient water conservation over the past several months — the California Water Resources Control Board has banned the following:
- Washing down driveways and sidewalks
- Watering of outdoor landscapes that cause excess runoff
- Using a hose to wash a motor vehicle, unless the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle
- Using potable water in a fountain or decorative water feature, unless the water is recirculated.
* The measure makes an exception for health and safety circumstances.
Under the emergency regulation, costs for violations — things like sprinkling your lawn to the point that water runs into the road — can prompt penalties of $500 a day.
“Not everyone in California realizes how bad this drought is,” Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the state water board said in this Sacramento Bee article. “Folks just didn’t get how bad this is and how bad it could be. We are really in desperate times.”
The regulation will likely take effect around Aug. 1 and continue for 270 days, although if the drought persists, the state could extend it.
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