(City of Davis Press Release) – On Wednesday, May 18, the State Water Resources Control Board voted to approve changes to the state-wide Emergency Regulation for Water Conservation to allow the more than 400 urban water agencies to self-certify their conservation targets based on local demand and supply over the next three years. City staff will be calculating the required reduction for Davis moving forward and then make recommendations to City Council. The calculations for the new individualized conservation standards need to be submitted to the state by June 21, 2016.
Richard Tsai, Davis’ Environmental Resources Manager, said that “The water users in Davis have stepped up and significantly reduced their water consumption during this multi-year drought. Regardless of the changes that may come from the State’s new reduction standards; we know that Davis water users value the scarce natural resource that water represents and will continue to support conservation efforts in the community.”
The City of Davis previously had a 25% required water use reduction mandate. Current water conservation efforts for April led to a 25% reduction and cumulative reduction of 27.4% (June 2015 – April 2016). Mayor Dan Wolk thanked the residents and businesses in Davis, saying “Water conservation has become a part of our everyday lives and the efforts of our local water users to reduce their consumption can be seen throughout town from lawns converted to water-wise landscapes to restaurants only serving water upon request.”
Irrespective of any changes to Davis’ reduction standard, the state end-user restrictions on water use will remain in effect through the end of the Emergency Regulation, January 2017, and many are likely to become permanent. Below are a few reminders of the current Davis restrictions. The complete list of mandatory water use restrictions can be found at SaveDavisWater.org.
- Outdoor watering is restricted to three days a week:
- Odd numbered addresses: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
- Even numbered addresses: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
- No outdoor watering on Monday
- No watering outdoors between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., except with a hand-held container or hose with a shut-off nozzle, or for very short periods when adjusting a sprinkler system.
- Properly operating drip irrigation systems and soaker hoses are exempt from watering days and times.
- No watering during periods of rain and for 48 hours after measureable rainfall.
- No excessive water flow or runoff onto pavement, gutters or ditches from watering or irrigating landscapes or vegetation of any kind.
Find more information on the City’s water conservation webpage (SaveDavisWater.org) and via Greener Davis on Facebook.
