City Council Approves Emergency Ordinance to Limit Outdoor Watering
June 15, 2022 9:21 AM
At last night’s meeting, the Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved Santa Monica’s Emergency Water Conservation Ordinance to implement Phase 2 Outdoor Watering Restrictions, limit outdoor watering to two days per week, and prohibit watering between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. in response to on-going drought conditions across the State of California. The new restrictions will go into effect on July 5, 2022.
Climate change impacts have resulted in California experiencing higher average temperatures, heat waves, more frequent devastating wildfires, and prolonged and historic droughts that have impacted the security of water supplies at the state, regional, and local levels. With worsening and persistent drought conditions, this ordinance provides the flexibility to adjust outdoor watering restrictions to align with regional or statewide goals.
“While Santa Monica has done an amazing job conserving water and decreasing our reliance on imported water, we need to do more locally to help secure our shared resource across the state and region,” said Santa Monica Public Works Director Rick Valte. “By approving this new outdoor watering restriction, we not only align with neighboring water agencies, but we continue to lead the region on water conservation efforts.”
On average, Santa Monica residents currently use less than 80 gallons of water per person per day. The new restrictions will reduce the City’s total water demand between 5 to 13 percent, or roughly 97 to 244 million gallons of water, over a six-month period. City staff will increase public outreach efforts about conservation measures and outdoor watering restrictions this summer. In addition, the City’s water conservation unit continues to provide free water use efficiency consultations to customers.
These changes are in addition to Santa Monica’s current conservation efforts that were implemented in August 2014 and comply with the Governor’s Executive Order.
To report water waste in Santa Monica, please call 3-1-1 or email the water conservation unit at water.waste@santamonica.gov.
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