Culver City leaders tentatively agreed to implement additional water conservation restrictions at their first meeting since Gov. Jerry Brown’s April 1 edict for municipalities and counties to reduce water consumption in the wake of historic drought conditions in California.
After hearing from a representative of Golden State Water Company, Culver City’s water provider, during its April 13 meeting, the council was faced with the option of instituting Level 1, 2 or 3 water restriction after Gov. Brown’s call for a 25 percent reduction in water usage, that imposes mandatory limits on residential, commercial and farm use.
The members agreed to consider Level 2 limits after requested clarification on one of its components-the prohibition of refilling more than one foot and initial filling of residential swimming pools or outdoor spas with potable water.
Level 2 limits include: limiting 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.
Culver City currently has water conservation standards in place with certain restrictions that were approved as part of its water ordinance on Dec. 9, 2013. The restrictions include the following: watering limited to 15 minutes/day (except for high-efficiency systems); no excessive water flow or runoff (for example, no sprinklers that spray onto the street or result in significant water flow into the street gutter); no washing down hard or paved surfaces (except for safety and sanitary purposes using low-water use methods like low-flow water brooms); no washing of vehicles except with a bucket, shut off nozzle, or at a car wash; must fix leaks within seven days; car washes and fountains must use re-circulating water; restaurants must use water conserving nozzles and only offer water upon request; hotels must allow patrons to reject daily linen and towel laundering; no installation of single pass cooling systems or non-re-circulating commercial laundry systems; and no watering between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. unless done by hand.
Assistant City Manager Martin Cole told the News that he expected to bring a resolution to the council to implement the new restrictions on May 11.
Councilman Jeffery Cooper said he thought the Level 2 limits coupled with the 2009 ordinance was a good response to the drought. “I think for the moment that it’s the right way to go,” he said after the meeting. “Every one of us needs to be cognizant of the drought and be responsible for more stringent conservation of this even more precious resource.”
According to a city staff report, the Community Development Department has issued 138 notices for water-wasting violations, which surprised Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells.
“It shows me that we’re taking (water conservation) very seriously,” she said. “I’m glad that we’re moving forward (with Level 2 restrictions).”
For its part, city officials have stopped watering the City Hall turf lawn on Lafayette Place and on landscaped medians, according to a City Hall report- a move applauded by Sahli-Wells and Cooper.
“We should have been doing this a while ago,” said the councilman.
“The city has to do more to get rid of grass at other locations,” Sahli-Wells added.
On Friday, April 18, State Water Board officials are expected to announce unprecedented draft regulations for new water conservations measures.
Gary Walker contributed to this story.
