After not meeting its water reduction goal for August, the city council voted for stricter water conservation measures that will shorten the hours for landscape irrigation and made covering spas and pools a permanent requirement.
The vote changed the existing emergency conditions that city leaders enacted last April after Gov. Jerry Brown called for a 20% reduction in water usage in an effort to combat the state’s historic drought, now in its sixth year.
According to Golden State Water Co., Culver City’s residential water provider, Culver City residents did not meet their targeted water reduction goal of 16% in August, reaching 13%. The total water reduction to date is 14%.
In addition to the pools and spas requirement, new landscape watering rules include fewer landscape watering hours starting at 7:00 p.m.to 8:00 a.m. The previous hours were 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 a.m., a total reduction of three hours.
During the winter season, all watering within 48 hours of “measureable precipitation” is prohibited, watering of ornamental turf on public street medians by city employees will be banned and on authorized watering days, the interval for landscape watering is reduced from 15 to 10 minutes per zone.
Ornamental grasses are typically grown as decorative grass for gardens and in are sometimes used in landscape design.
August was the hottest month ever recorded since contemporary records have been kept, according to an analysis by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Last year, city officials ceased watering its median landscapes and the City Hall turf lawn at Lafayette Place.
In March 2015, the state Water Resources Control Board issued new emergency regulations that include the prohibition of watering outdoor landscapes in a way that causes water to “runoff” onto adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, private and public walkways, roadways, parking lots, or structures, washing a vehicle with a hose without a shut-off nozzle or other device that will immediately stop the flow of water when not in use and using drinking water to wash driveways and sidewalks, among others.
The council enacted Level 2 limits last year, which included reducing watering to two days per week or one day from November to March, requires landlords and homeowners to fix all leaks within 48 hours, no filling or refilling of ornamental lakes or ponds unless it is needed to sustain aquatic life and the aforementioned restrictions on filling pools and spas.
Starting this month, Golden State will be building a $1.8 million pipeline installation IN THE Blanco Park and Culver Crest communities. The seven-month pipeline project is part of a more than $7.4 million water infrastructure investment in Culver City by its principal water provider.
