Leaders in the San Gabriel Valley community of Arcadia are scheduled to vote Tuesday night on a water conservation plan in response to California's severe drought.
The plan is required after the State Water Resources Board adopted statewide emergency conservation regulations as California struggles through a third-consecutive dry year.
Arcadia has received 60 percent less rain this year than in 2013 and city leaders have proposed the measures to preserve current water supply if current climate conditions drag on.
Arcadia residents were asked to cut 20 percent of their water supply, but a city report found that residents increased their water usage by one percent.
Phase 1 follows voluntary restrictions that Arcadia residents were asked to follow earlier this year.
The city's Phase I Mandatory Prohibitions include the following, according to the city's web site:
- No hose washing of sidewalks, walkways, driveways, or parking areas
- No water can be used to clean, fill, or maintain levels in decorative fountains, unless such water is part of a recycling system
- No watering lawn, landscape, or turf areas between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
- No watering of lawn, landscape, or turf areas in a wasteful manner
- No Arcadia water customer shall permit water to leak from any facilities on his premises
- No restaurant, hotel, cafe, cafeteria, or other public place where food is served or offered for sale shall serve drinking water to any customer unless expressly requested by the customer
Some Arcadia residents, like Bill Foulk, have come up with more creative means to save water.
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"We can save 188 thousand gallons a year by simply flushing half the time that we do now for urinating," resident Bill Foulk said.
If the restrictions go into effect and residents break the rules they will be subject to a surcharge penalty for water in excess of the base amount supplied to them.
Depending on how the vote goes, residents who get caught breaking the rules three times could see a $100 fine.
