Southern California Water District Begins Limiting Water Flow to Homes “That Use Too Much Water”

A Southern California water district has started limiting the amount of water flow for homes “that use too much water.”

“The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District began installing water flow restrictors Wednesday, and so far, four have been installed,” KABC reported.

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From KABC:

Customers who were warned and continued to use more water than was recommended are getting these installed.

The flow restrictor device is about the size of a half dollar with a hole in it.

Without a flow restrictor, water flows normally. Once it has been installed, a considerable amount of water is reduced.

According to the water district, this tool should send the message to customers that using too much water in a severe drought will not be tolerated.

“We had 20 and we dwindled down because, of course, there was people at the last minute that were saying we want to sign this commitment form so we only installed four,” said Mike McNutt with the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District. “We’re getting people to pay attention, and they’re saying we need to be part of the solution.”

Eyewitness News checked in with several water districts and on average, 70% of residential water usage is for outdoor lawns and plants.

Flow restrictors pretty much eliminate your ability to water anything outside.

Once this device is installed, it’s there for at least two weeks while the customer works on conserving water.

Las Virgenes is the only water district ABC7 is aware of that’s using this method – and its goal is for its customers to cut back on their water usage amid what’s being called a historic drought.

“You have to take what’s called a Navy shower, and a Navy shower is about two minutes because you have a limited supply of fresh water,” said resident Dan Rowling.

“Even though you’re in the middle of the ocean, but it has to be turned into fresh water so there’s only so much to go around because you have to keep making it. So I’m used to two minutes.”

If residents remove the restrictor device, the district said it’s a $2,500 fine.

UPI noted:

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In early April, the water district announced that the amount of water allotted for outdoor uses would be reduced from 75% to 50% based on drought conditions after “a historic three-month stretch of the driest winter months on record.”

“Outdoor water uses, such as filling pools and landscape irrigation, account for up to 70% of all residential water usage, so here lies the greatest opportunity for savings. Much of the low-hanging fruit to reduce water use indoors has already been ‘picked,'” the water district said in a news release.

“Most customers have installed water-efficient appliances, low-flow toilets and shower heads, and do a pretty good job of turning off the faucet when they brush their teeth and take shorter showers.”

It was not immediately clear if any restrictions have been imposed specifically on commercial enterprises notorious for high water consumption, such as golf courses and cemeteries.

The Southern California Golf Association in April advised golf courses to start conserving water before facing mandatory restrictions, according to the golf course maintenance industry news portal TurfNet.

“Document what you are doing and be a good corporate and environmental citizen and life will go better for us,” the golf association’s public affairs director Craig Kessler told TurfNet.