Santa Rosa mandates water conservation mandatory effective immediately

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Santa Rosa is the latest Bay Area city to strengthen water restrictions due to the drought.

The City Council voted unanimously late Tuesday evening to make voluntary conservation mandatory, effective immediately.

Flagrant water wasters can be cut off.

"We do have the ability to suspend service until they fix the water waste," said Jennifer Burke, Director of Santa Rosa Water. "But our goal is to help customers comply."

Russian River wholesale water allocations have already been slashed and Sonoma County has declared a local drought emergency.

Other North Bay municipalities, including Petaluma, Sonoma, Rohnert Park, Healdsburg and Cloverdale, have already instituted mandatory restrictions.

But Santa Rosa is the biggest system, with 180,000 water customers.  

"We are asking our community to take action now," said Burke, "so that we can eliminate water waste and improve efficiency."

The agency aims for a 20 percent reduction community-wide compared to last year's usage.

It applauds residents who are already taking dramatic steps, such as replacing thirsty lawns.

"We had kind of a rag-tag lawn really, different kinds of grass and not always green and plush," said Stephen Winter, who admits he won't miss the lawn he's replacing with drought-tolerant landscaping.

Tuesday, his Santa Rosa front yard remained an expanse of barren ground, as a crew installed a drip system.

Winter expects a lower water bill and peace of mind. 

"It's really good to get rid of the lawn, and not have water going to water grass when people might need it to drink or something."

Among the restrictions being imposed: no water served in restaurants unless requested, irrigation only overnight to curb evaporation, and no hosing sidewalks, driveways and patios.

The city warns the new rules will be enforced. 

"We have water-waste patrols which we started in May and we're looking for any leaks or breaks, runoff or overspray in the irrigation system," said Burke.

Most people readily fix leaks when pointed out but those who ignore warnings and fail to act, will lose service.

In the future, fines are possible.   

"We could go down that road but we really try education and if we can't get it, then suspension of water service because that gets the most immediate response," explained Burke.

Because summer irrigation uses significant water, many residents are shying away from landscaping plans.

Experts assure them, there are many native plants that thrive in dry conditions.

"Shasta daisies are beautiful for a drought-tolerant yard," said Rene Winston, Manager of Prickett's Nursery in east Santa Rosa.

"And ground cover plants are great because keeping your soil covered is going to retain moisture."

Winston admits some customers have canceled special orders due to the drought. 

"It doesn't look good and people are really worried about this."

Prickett's is on well-water, and spot-waters its own plants, rather than mass-water them.

Staff advises customers to hand-water at home as well, since sprinklers and drip can be wasteful.

"If you're not maintaining it you may have leaks, you may have other things going on you're not aware of, and you may just have water running," said Winston.

Santa Rosa, like most cities, offers resources and rebates to encourage people to squeeze the most from every last drop,

The council approved Stage 3 water restrictions, with 8 levels possible.

Rationing comes at Stage 5, and by the worst stage, outdoor watering is only allowed to keep trees alive.