Hose users get a break

Some customers of the Laguna Beach County Water District have been watering their yards by the light of the moon and they have been howling.

The Water Use Efficiency & Water Supply Shortage Ordinance recently passed by the City Council on recommendation of the district board specifically prohibits watering between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Folks who aren’t early risers and water with hoses have complained about the hours, particularly now that it’s getting dark by 8 p.m.

“We have gotten a lot of phone calls about this,” district General Manger Renae Hichey said. “They didn’t realize there are exemptions to the restrictions. Anyone who waters with a hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle can water any time of the day.”

Other exemptions to the time limits include watering with a hand-held container or for short periods of time while adjusting or repairing an irrigation system.

Like the prohibition on sprinklers, water from the hoses cannot be allowed to seep off the property into the streets, a permanent mandatory restriction. Runoff was already a no-no according to water quality experts, and a restriction in the new Storm Water Permit proposed by the state Regional Water Quality Board-San Diego

Exemptions also apply to the mandatory prohibition on hosing or washing down hard or paved surfaces such as sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking areas, tennis courts, patios or alleys and washing vehicles.

Watering with a hand-held container or hose with shut-off nozzle and hosing with a low-volume, high pressure cleaning machine equipped to recycle used water is permitted.

Laguna imports all of its potable water. The supplier has reduced the allotment and increased the costs, making mandatory restrictions necessary and community participation vital, water district official said.

The water conservation ordinance is designed to ensure sure a reliable, minimum supply of potable water to meet the current and future needs of residents, companies, governmental agencies — in other words, every customer of the district.

It went into effect immediately after passage on June 16 by the City Council sitting as the district board of directors. Fines will be levied for persistent or flagrant violators. Property owners are urged to consider water-wise gardens such as the one in front of the district offices on Third Street.

Other permanent mandatory restrictions:

 Leaks to be repaired within three days of notification from the district

 All water features will be required to have re-circulating pumps

 No unauthorized use of a fire hydrant.

 Restaurants are prohibited from serving water unless requested

 Hotel guests must be provided with the option of not having used towels and bed linens laundered.

The proposed ordinance also allows the district to step up restrictions, if voluntary reductions are insufficient to offset shortages.