New outdoor water rules start Monday: Use less or be fined

Beginning Monday, Laguna Beach County Water District customers must comply with beefed-up restrictions on outdoor water use or face fines.

The district’s board adopted tighter water-saving rules in April to comply with Gov. Jerry Brown’s mandate issued earlier that month. Brown is requiring a statewide reduction in potable water use of 25% of 2013 levels by February in response to the severe drought.

Residents may water outdoor landscaping using sprinklers only twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays — instead of three times weekly and only before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. Sprinklers may operate for no more than 10 minutes at a time and with no runoff onto roads, driveways or sidewalks.

Hand watering is also limited to two days, but residents can choose their days, Christopher Regan, the district’s assistant general manager, said in a phone interview.

Both water districts that serve Laguna Beach — Laguna Beach County and South Coast — must reduce water use by 24% by March 2016 based on targets set by the State Water Resources Control Board.

South Coast’s board voted in April to limit outdoor watering to one day per week and banned car washing at home.

On average, outdoor watering accounts for 50% and in some cases 80% of residents’ use, according to the state board website.

Laguna Beach County customers are also prohibited from using potable water on turf within street medians; irrigating landscaping surrounding new homes and buildings without using a drip system; and watering with sprinklers less than 48 hours after measurable rainfall, according to a news release.

The district recommends that customers cover their pools and spas to reduce evaporation. By covering a 12-by-30-foot pool 70% of the time, as much as 12,700 gallons of water can be saved a year, according to the district.

Councilman Kelly Boyd, president of the Laguna Beach County board, called the measures “critical” to meeting the state targets.

“Since more than half of our daily water use goes toward landscape watering, the greatest opportunity for savings is over the next four months,” Boyd said in the release.

Laguna Beach County board members said they would consider limiting residents to a once-a-week watering schedule in July if the district does not see significant savings, according to the release.

Regan said he hopes customers will not water more at a time to compensate for having one less day per week to quench the thirst of their lawns and plants.

“I hope they understand the predicament we’re in,” Regan said. “The message is: Reduce your time. Five minutes is better than 10.”