The West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) adopted drought response actions including a call on its communities to reduce outdoor irrigation to two days per week.
Board President Donald L. Dear stated, “The Board decision to call for a uniform two day per week outdoor watering standard across the service area aims to reduce uncertainty about how and how much water we should be saving. Outdoor watering accounts for 50% or more of local water use in many areas. Reducing outdoor water use is a very effective way to save water during this historic drought.”
The West Basin decision came the day before the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopted emergency water conservation regulations at its May 24 meeting in response to the drought and Governor Newsom’s calls for reduced water use levels statewide. The SWRCB banned the irrigation of non-functional, ornamental turf with drinking water in commercial, industrial and institutional sectors. According to the Governor’s office, prohibiting the watering of decorative lawns across the state will save roughly the same amount of water that 780,000 households use in a year.
For local permitted watering days and times and other recent restrictions and incentives, West Basin recommends reaching out directly to the District’s water retailers (e.g., Golden State, Cal Water, City of Inglewood, City of Manhattan Beach, etc.). The water retailers are responsible for implementing demand reductions and communicating with customers.
To learn more about West Basin’s water saving programs that benefit community members, the region and state, visit www.westbasin.org/drought and www.westbasin.org/conservation
