VALLECITOS BOARD ADOPTS ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY DROUGHT REGULATIONS
On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, the Vallecitos Water District Board of Directors took action in response to the Governor’s Executive Order and the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) emergency urban water conservation regulations.
The Board voted to limit outdoor irrigation to 8 minutes per station, two days per week from June 1 through October 31. This will help the District achieve the 24% reduction in water use mandated by the Governor.
In addition, the Board also adopted edicts from the SWRCB’s emergency drought resolution in their new ordinance. The District’s ordinance now restricts watering within 48 hours of a rain event, irrigating street medians and adjacent landscape strips using potable water and requires all leaks to be repaired within 48 hours of notification by the District. The new Ordinance can be found here: http://www.vwd.org/home/showdocument?id=3800. The existing Policy on conservation can be found here: http://www.vwd.org/home/showdocument?id=821.
The District is committed to its community-wide conservation goal aimed at keeping as much water as possible in storage for 2015 and beyond. As a proactive measure, the District initiated drought patrols in its service area. District employees are on duty in the pre-dawn hours and during the day looking for drought ordinance violations. When a violation is spotted, the information is noted and the customer will be contacted to provide assistance with ways to conserve water, available water conservation rebates, as well as general information on how the District can help customers save water.
Since the patrols started on May 11, staff has documented over 250 instances of water waste. Nearly all of them are due to irrigation runoff. If a runoff problem exists, it could be caused by many factors, most easily repaired or adjusted, including broken or misaligned sprinkler heads, compacted soil, or sprinklers that may be running for too long. The District urges all customers to check their irrigation system and correct any problems. For more information or to schedule a free irrigation audit, please visit www.vwd.org.
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About Vallecitos Water District: As an independent, special district, Vallecitos is dedicated to providing water, wastewater and reclamation services to approximately 97,000 people in a 45-square-mile area that includes San Marcos; the community of Lake San Marcos; portions of Carlsbad, Escondido and Vista; and other surrounding unincorporated areas. The public is invited to Board meetings, taking place at 4 p.m. the first and third Wednesday of each month at Vallecitos’ Administration Building – 201 Vallecitos de Oro, San Marcos. Board meetings are also televised on San Marcos TV. Visit www.san-marcos.net/smtv for a complete programming schedule.
