City Votes to Impose 20% Cuts in Water Use : Thousand Oaks: Decision is the fourth in a week by a county municipality ordering restrictions in the face of the worsening drought situation.

The Thousand Oaks City Council voted 5 to 0 Tuesday to impose 20% mandatory cutbacks on water use, making it the fourth Ventura County city in a week to order water-saving restrictions.

Customers whose water is supplied by the city are expected to receive notices in March informing them of the number of gallons that they must conserve to avoid penalties.

Quotas are based on usage over the last two years.

“We are in a drought war,” Councilwoman Elois Zeanah said. “We are going to have to adjust our attitudes for the long term.”

Councilwoman Judy Lazar said the council may have to enact even steeper cuts, given the severity of the crisis. “We’re going to have to make plans to go further, I’m afraid,” she said. “We hope it’s going to end this year. It may not ever end.”

Beginning March 18, offenders will have to pay $3 for every 748 gallons they use over their quotas. Violators who exceed their quotas three or more times face having a flow restrictor attached to their faucets.

The ordinance makes exceptions for households where there are additional family members, additional landscaped property or economic or medical reasons for increased use. Businesses that add employees may also request extra water.

The council also agreed to establish an appeals board to review disputes over quotas from residents and businesses. Until the appeals board is created, customers who want their quotas increased will have to file a request with the city’s utilities department.

The council already has banned certain uses of water in the city, including hosing down driveways and sidewalks and watering lawns from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. With the more stringent cutbacks, watering is banned between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The council’s decision is expected to trim the consumption of 36,200 water customers, including 12,800 customers in central Thousand Oaks who get their water directly from the city.

About 23,400 Newbury Park and Westlake residents who get their water from the California-American Water Co. and the California Water Service Co. are subject to the same restrictions, but will begin mandatory cutbacks on Friday.

Thousand Oaks, like four other Ventura County cities, gets its water from agencies supplied by the Metropolitan Water District. Two weeks ago, MWD ordered mandatory cutbacks of 20% in response to a severe drop in supplies from the State Water Project.

The city of Oxnard responded to the cutbacks last week by tentatively approving penalties for residents and farmers who fail to trim their water use.

In Simi Valley, the City Council on Tuesday agreed to restrict certain uses, such as hosing down driveways or washing cars without a shut-off valve on the hose. The city has already adjusted its water rates to penalize excessive users.

Fillmore also adopted similar measures Tuesday.

Thousand Oaks residents said they will find it difficult to reduce.

Lack of rain is driving water consumption above normal, water officials said. Estimates for February indicate that residents and businesses will use about 10% more than last year, city utilities director Don Nelson said.

In California Water Service Co.’s area, consumption leaped by 15% in February, manager Sam Palermo Jr. said. “Without receiving (rain) this year, the customers have been using more on landscaping,” he said.

Palermo asked the city to consider imposing a moratorium on planting new landscaping until the water crisis subsides.

“We haven’t had one drop of rain for the month of February,” said Judy Almond, district manager of California-American Water Co., which is showing an 8% increase in consumption for February.

“In addition to the warm weather, we may have an attitude out there that rationing officially starts in March, so we may as well use water now,” she said.