Hold your hoses: mandatory water cuts start Monday

Is brown the new Green? Starting Monday, when a mandatory 25 percent reduction program begins in Sonoma, irrigating your lawn and outdoor plants is prohibited three days a week. Watering by hand, including using a hose with a shut-off nozzle, is exempt.
June 1 through October, drip and sprinkler systems can’t be used on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays, and no watering can take place on any day between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Hosing down pavement, running ornamental fountains and filling empty swimming pools are prohibited, as is any watering that creates run-off.
You can still wash your car or boat, but you must use a bucket and a hose with a hand shut-off nozzle. Commercial carwashes that recycle water will remain open.
The Department of Public Works will take reports of water waste at 938-3332 and at water@vom.com. If you break one of the rules, expect a DPW “Oops Letter” pointing out the offense, and a follow-up inspection to make sure any problem (or bad habit) is corrected. A second violation will earn a formal letter of complaint, and a third means a $75 fine.
Half of all water usage in the summer is outdoor use. The new regimen calls for all Sonoma water customers, both residential and commercial, to cut water consumption 25 percent compared to previous year’s usage.
The rules are a result of a water shortage emergency declared by the City Council on April 15.  The “Stage 2” alert pegs target water usage at 140 gallons per person, per day. The current figure is about 180.
Last year, with a reduction goal of 15 percent, the City reduced water usage by 22 percent. That success came largely because customers installed water-saving devices and adopted conservation practices, according to Melinka Bates of the DPW.
DPW tips for achieving an immediate reduction in outdoor water use include: reduce outdoor irrigation runs times by 30 percent; eliminate all landscape irrigation run-off; inspect and tune up irrigation systems monthly; and find and repair leaks.
Early in the year the projected conservation needs were 30 percent. Then came some late season rains, and the forecast was optimistically revised to 15 percent.  In April, the State cut the amount of Russian River water available to agencies, and mandated County cuts of 25 percent. Bates then advised the City Council to comply by declaring a “Stage 2 Alert.”
Conservation rules are stricter for Sonoma County, which in addition to residential restrictions has banned businesses from irrigating turf grass at any time. Mendocino County has asked for a 50 percent cut in usage.