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ESCONDIDO: Drought prompts city crackdown on water usage
New ordinance restricts sprinkler usage, backyard fountains
By DAVID GARRICK - Staff Writer | ∞
Farr Elementary School student Fernada Gomez takes pictures of the fountain at Escondido City Hall on Friday. The city may eventually have to turn off the fountain as part of a citywide water conservation program. (Photo by Don Boomer - staff photographer) 
A woman pushes a stroller past the fountain at Escondido City Hall while walking through Grape Day Park on Friday. The city may eventually have to turn off the fountain as part of a citywide water conservation program. (Photo by Don Boomer - staff photographer) 
The warm morning sun beats down on the fountain at Escondido City Hall on Friday. The city may eventually have to turn off the fountain as part of a citywide water conservation program. (Photo by Don Boomer - staff photographer) ESCONDIDO ---- City residents might soon be forced to cover their swimming pools every night, water their lawns only two days a week and turn off their backyard fountains.
A statewide drought has prompted the Escondido City Council to replace its water conservation ordinance with a much stricter version that includes stern usage regulations if drought conditions don't improve.
Escondido is one of the first cities in the county to adopt such an ordinance, but other cities are expected to follow suit quickly. The San Diego County Water Authority has provided each city with a "model" ordinance to use as a blueprint.
When the council adopted its ordinance last month, it also launched an aggressive public relations campaign aimed at encouraging city residents to conserve enough water to stave off the tighter restrictions.
But officials said last week that it is highly probable the city will still have to trigger many of the new restrictions early next year by declaring a "Level 2" water shortage.
"It's not time for people to tear all their grass out and replace it with rock, but people need to start doing the little things that really make a difference," Councilman Sam Abed said last week. "This is a serous situation."
The city has never before imposed such severe restrictions, but Abed and other city officials said this appears to be the worst water crisis the city has ever faced.
Meanwhile, city employees said they were crafting water rate hikes that would encourage conservation by sharply increasing rates for excessive water users. The council is slated to vote on the new rates Jan. 14.
Some residents have argued that the city should put a moratorium on construction of housing projects before burdening Escondido residents with stricter water rules, but the ordinance would not prohibit new developments until a "Level 3" shortage is declared.
In defense of the new ordinance, council members said last week that conservation is the key to alleviating the water shortage, not curtailing growth.
A stricter approach
The arid Southern California region has long relied upon imported water from the Colorado River and Northern California.
But the Colorado River is suffering from eight consecutive years of below-average rainfall, severe enough to be dubbed drought.
And officials are bracing for a 30 percent reduction in supplies from Northern California because of a 2007 federal court decision. The ruling restricts water deliveries from north to south in order to save a species of minnow called the delta smelt.
Escondido's stricter ordinance is a reaction to this crisis.
Among the new restrictions are prohibiting daytime lawn irrigation, requiring fountains to use recirculated water, forcing restaurants to serve water only when requested and forcing hotels to give guests the option of reusing sheets and towels.
These restrictions would remain in place even if drought conditions subside.
The ordinance also sets four levels of water shortage emergencies and spells out escalating usage restrictions corresponding to each level.
A Level 2 shortage, which city officials expect to declare early next year, includes many of the controversial restrictions. Among them are rules against yard fountains and prohibiting people from watering lawns on consecutive days.
Level 3 goes even further by limiting lawn irrigation to two days a week, requiring covers for swimming pools when they are not in use and putting a moratorium on new residential water meters.
Businesses and city facilities would also be subject to the new restrictions. So, the large fountain at City Hall would be turned off, and grass in city parks would be watered less frequently.
Priorities questioned
Lisa Prazeau, a slow-growth advocate living in northern Escondido, contends that the ordinance should outlaw housing construction and annexations before severely limiting water use by people already living in Escondido.
"We were here first," said Prazeau, who lobbied the council last month to rework the ordinance before adopting it. "How can they allow new developments to come in and take our water while we are forced to conserve?"
But Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler has been critical of such arguments. She said last week that building moratoriums should be a last resort because they would force the children of many California residents to seek housing out of state.
"Growth is not the issue," said Pfeiler. "It's water management and conservation. We can still have a good quality of life if we use water more efficiently."
Councilman Dick Daniels said the slumping economy and real estate market have probably made Prazeau's argument purely academic.
"The housing market's taken care of any demand for new developments or annexations," Daniels said.
Lori Vereker, the city's utilities director, said housing developers might still be able to build if they paid for their own recycled water plant.
Prazeau said she would like to see the city's ordinance have its priorities in proper order regardless of whether the city is suffering in a bad economy.
Rate hikes and enforcement
Council members said they were hopeful that voluntary conservation can help alleviate the city's water shortage before residents have to be burdened with onerous restrictions.
"It's going to take public education and cooperation," said Daniels. "The more the public does voluntarily, the less restrictions we will have. You don't want to adversely affect anyone's life, but sometimes it's necessary."
Vereker said she plans to meet with several homeowner associations in coming weeks. In addition, marquees at City Hall and the Escondido Auto Park recently began displaying a message that encourages residents to conserve water.
City officials are also asking residents to visit bewaterwise.com.
If voluntary conservation falls short, the ordinance stipulates fines and criminal penalties for violations of the new regulations.
A first violation during a nondrought period would be a $100 fine, but violations during a Level 4 shortage would cost $500. All violations could also be prosecuted as misdemeanors.
Some have questioned how the city will be able to enforce the rules without an army of new employees the city can't afford. But Vereker said last week that hiring enforcement officers could make sense if the city is facing higher rates as a result of using too much water.
"We will have a smaller allocation as the drought gets worse, and we'll have to pay higher rates if we go over the allocation," said Vereker. "At some point, it would become cheaper to hire people for enforcement than it would be to pay the higher rates."
Councilman Abed said he is also hopeful that voluntary efforts will work, but that the new water rates being crafted could be the city's best weapon against excessive water users.
"Charging much higher rates to those using significantly more than others will be key," said Abed. "Low-usage customers will not feel the brunt of these increases."
But Mayor Pfeiler said it's important that the city not apply a single baseline usage level for all houses, whether they have three bedrooms with two bathrooms or five bedrooms with four bathrooms.
"You can't have a one-size-fits-all standard."
Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.
Escondido Water Restrictions
A Level 1 shortage does not include usage restrictions. It requires the city to launch a public awareness campaign and meet with homeowners associations and neighborhood groups.
A Level 2 shortage includes a wide variety of usage restrictions.
-- Residents with odd-numbered addresses could only water lawns on odd-numbered days and residents with even-numbered addresses could only water lawns on even-numbered days.
-- Operating ornamental yard fountains would be outlawed because water is lost to evaporation.
-- Restaurants would be required to use special prerinse nozzles.
A Level 3 shortage would go even further.
-- From June to October, residents with odd-numbered addresses could water their lawns only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and those with even-numbered addresses would be permitted to water lawns only on Thursdays and Sundays.
-- From November to May, watering lawns would be limited to one day a week.
-- Residents could not add water to artificial ponds except to sustain aquatic life.
-- Swimming pools would have to be covered when not in use because of evaporation concerns.
-- Vehicles would have to be washed commercially.
-- No new city water meters would be issued, possibly prohibiting any new residential development.
-- No new properties could be annexed into the city.
If a Level 4 shortage was declared, the City Council would have the authority to establish whatever prohibitions and rules it deemed necessary.
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Mexican Water Rights wrote on Nov 15, 2008 5:51 PM:People from Mexico come here and consume water, but leave Mexico with the rights to their prior usage. Mexico should yield sufficient water to Southern California to cover the usage of its citizens here in the US.
dane wrote on Nov 15, 2008 6:05 PM:This is pointless. Esco should just charge what the water costs them and not try to tack on. Where will the increased water charges and useage fines go? To the city's coffers as a profit no doubt.
I hope they'll have a workable solution for those who purchase city water yet have commercial avodado trees on a small scale necessitating the use of a residential versus farm meter.
Effective Immediately wrote on Nov 15, 2008 7:24 PM:All Escondido residents will only be allowed to take a breath, every five seconds, in an effort to save oxygen.
Home gardener wrote on Nov 15, 2008 7:46 PM:Currently the City is using the one-size fits all baseline. Those of us who have acreage have the same baseline structure as small homes, which doesn't seem fair. I would hope the City take into consideration lot size when applying new rates. Some of us have orchards that require more water, yet we don't qualify for agricultural rates because we don't sell our produce.
not fair wrote on Nov 15, 2008 8:43 PM:The comment by Abed regarding charging higher rates to customers using more water is unfair. Escondido already practices this. Just look at your water bill. There is a certain amount of water each household is allowed to be charged under the cheapest rate. When you exceed that amount , the next batch of water is placed in a higher rate tier, there is a limit to that too, and anything over that level is charged at the highest rate which usually is most of the water you use. The tiers remain the same, no matter how many people there are in your household. So a family of five will usually get charged at the higher rate because they are perceived to be using way too much water. The party of one who lives next door will likely never get bumped to the more exspensive rate because he does use less water. But by person the family of five may be using the same amount per individual as the guy next door but they are always paying the higher rate.
My advice to the family of fives, give your kids away. Maybe the party of one will take a couple, to even out the water use. The party of fives will always be charged the exorbitant rate. There is no way of knowing if you are conserving based on family size. They just stick it to ya with the higher rate. The tier system is unfair. We should pay one amount per gallon period. Whether you use 10 gallons or 10000 gallons. If they need to increase that per gallon rate then so be it. But the way Escondido does it now is unfair.
not fair again wrote on Nov 15, 2008 8:51 PM:Think about it. What if they did that with ,oh lets say, milk. You buy one gallon, its $4, but pretend you need 4 gallons. Well mister, since you need more milk I need to charge you $5 a gallon, because you're using more. Usually with milk at least, you get a discount for larger purchases. There's something just not right in the way Escondido charges for water. Should be one rate for each gallon used. It still costs more if you use more.
To Effective wrote on Nov 15, 2008 8:52 PM:To Effective Immediately:
Thank you...that was funny. Sometimes we have to laugh to keep from crying.
:-)
Local Yokal wrote on Nov 15, 2008 9:04 PM:Two things: 1) Start making tiered rates, just like electricity. 2) Recycle water! The astronauts now do it, why can't we? According to NASA, the recycled water is cleaner than tap water.
senior wrote on Nov 15, 2008 9:13 PM:Open the Delta and water shortage be gone. Also, 2009 will be the first year of water rationing since I believe 1976 and will be the first in over 30 years. Little other measures can be taken like planting native landscape materials which consume much less water and do we really have to water lawns for 15 minutes every single day?
As if wrote on Nov 15, 2008 9:42 PM:As if...
As if today's children can afford a home in SD on their own anyway.
Nice try Pfeiler...nice trying to spin the argument in your development loving favor.
The Council's mantra for the last six years has been: BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME!
We're still waiting! The cobwebs and the dust in the new homes are waiting.
Welcome wrote on Nov 15, 2008 9:44 PM:Welcome!
Welcome to beautiful sunny southern California!
Welcome to Escondido!
Now that you are here, please cease to water your large yard of your 3,500sq ft home!
(psst. we have to make sure our new residents have some water).
Christine wrote on Nov 15, 2008 9:51 PM:Our state is in crisis and with all the fires we get this should be mandatory. We have to cut things out at least for a while and hope we have a good rainy season.
To Christine wrote on Nov 15, 2008 11:34 PM:I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but our city is also "cutting the firefighters". The city is cutting them in the sense that our new firestations will not be staffed with new personnel...they will be staffed using existing personnel from other stations. I call it "The Firefighter Shuffle".
Our city wants to ration our water, charge us more for "excessive" use (whatever that means), potentially cut our police officer personnel and "shuffle" our firefighters...YET they have $18.9 MILLION dollars to build a hotel.
If we must all cut things...then I say the first thing to go is: The HOTEL! Cut loose of this DREAM!
Floyd wrote on Nov 15, 2008 11:49 PM:What drought? There is an artificial water shortage caused by a judge in Northern California who thinks the Delta Smelt are more important than people. And it will be a lot easier for me to conserve if I can have a second water meter -- each one will show a 50% reduction in water demand compared to the amount I use with my single meter! (Hey, if a former San Diego mayor can do it, I can do it too!)
Conway wrote on Nov 15, 2008 11:58 PM:Another example of the Escondido City Council looking for ways to smack the citizens of that town in the face every chance they get.
Abed don't get it - cutting back on building will cut down of water usage period. He dosen't see that this is not a problem that will go away. The situation is here to stay. It may improve a little from time to time, but at the rate CA keeps growing, and our water sources keep shrinking with no chance of great improvment, this area must stop the unwanted from coming in and kicking some undeserving out. How did I come by that - look to the "Rule of law."
Kiss Kiss Kiss wrote on Nov 16, 2008 12:29 AM:During WWII we signed a treaty with Mexico that in return for their protection of our southern border we would provide them with water from the Colorado River. And, we do that; however, when illegals leave Mexico and crosses the border they leave their water rights behind. They come here and starts "double dipping".
So, we of the United States, should divert their share of the river water to the west to compensate.
It is a simple matter of determining how much water a person uses (notice I did not say needs) and divert that amount in addition to what we have already divert from our river - ours while it it here - for our own use.
When we get around to deporting these double dippers they can take their water rights back across the border with them. Of course all this goes for both legals and illegals.
By the way, who is the Escondido city counsil kissing up to now? They bring to mind a person at the place where I worked and retired from, that used to lurk in the passageways watching for persons of importance who would let him kiss their rings.
Dennis wrote on Nov 16, 2008 12:54 AM:HEY !! I gave up the little foutain at the entrance of Grape Day Park years ago. I dont build Escondido City Hall with that REAL nice foutain for you to close, only after Oceanside close's theirs!! Get the Gas stations cars wash's off first MAN this is madding!! What's next the public pool at the parks no more water polo to much splasshing the guppys up north need the water more !!
AL wrote on Nov 16, 2008 7:39 AM:The city county has allowed developers to build numeorus home developments all consuming much needed water. Just pathetic.
My 2 Cents wrote on Nov 16, 2008 8:07 AM:Thank you Christine, you're one of the few that makes any sense.
Not sure why so many people think these National problems are isolated to Escondido and that it's the Escondido Council that caused them.
It's tough times people, not just for Escondido. Some of you need to quit pointing the finger, quite whinning, and start helping out by doing your part. We are all in this, and all of us are feeling the pinch.
Alf wrote on Nov 16, 2008 9:58 AM:Well, "Floyd" at 11:49PM on the 15th,
have you looked at Pond Hodges recently or the Otay Ponds or the Sierra Lack of Snowpack?
Are you one of the people who turns on their faucet and, when water comes out, says "What water shortage?"?
As of now, the Delte smelt is only avery small part of the problem.
The biggest part is that even if the smelt issue did not exist, our reserves are quite low and we don't have desal plants up and running.
Regards, Alf.
Floyd wrote on Nov 16, 2008 10:28 AM:To solve the water problem then we need to put people first instead of fish and finish building that desalination plant. To solve the global warming problem, we can reduce CO2 emissions by putting a limit on speeches by our elected representatives. They'd have to concentrate on their work instead, which would be an added bonus.
Jaque wrote on Nov 16, 2008 11:27 AM:""To solve the global warming problem, we can reduce CO2 emissions by putting a limit on speeches by our elected representatives.""
Add environmentalists!
BRILLIANT!!!!!!!
Mike S. wrote on Nov 16, 2008 12:17 PM:I suppose the proposed regulations are chosen for being relatively easy to enforce, but they hardly are the most effective. I water my front yard two days a week, on Monday and Friday. If I don't get a new sprinkler controller, I'll be liable for fines every other week. My controller in the back yard has an every-other-day setting, so that should be fine, as long as I can figure out how to get it to start on the right days.
On the other hand, a few years ago, for about 8 months, I wasn't charged for water at all, because my water meter was broken. I brought this to the attention of the water people and they came out and fixed it, but who knows how long it might have gone on otherwise. My neighbor reports that her meter has been buried by burrowing gophers and that the city said it was her responsibility to get it excavated. She told me this because I suspected the water draining off her property was due to a leak. Does she have a leak? Who knows, nobody has seen her water meter for years.
It would be nice if the proceeds from a steeper graduated water pricing system could be spent on more sensible enforcement than just watching if you're watering your lawn on the right day.
TO VEREKER wrote on Nov 16, 2008 4:08 PM:Lori Vereker, the city's utilities director said,"hiring enforcement officers could make sense"
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $
The CITY should be cutting employees...not hiring.Maybe you need to be in the bunch that gets cut!
In the 1970's drought era , neighbors called in the address of anyone violating the water usage/limits/days to water etc.
all for FREE......nobody was hired to do what we all should still be doing.
Report abuse & waste of resources.
See why this city never makes any cents/sense it's the people who run it and staff it.
give em the boot!
to Pfeiler wrote on Nov 16, 2008 4:27 PM:But Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler has been critical of such arguments. She said last week that building moratoriums should be a last resort because they would force the children of many California residents to seek housing out of state.
"Growth is not the issue," said Pfeiler. "It's water management and conservation. We can still have a good quality of life if we use water more efficiently."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pfeiler is a hack.Look what 16 years of her on the Council has gotten us.
Wake up Pfeiler our kids are leaving Escondido/California already!
GROWTH = more people
to share the same amount of water.That means there is LESS to go around.
I am in agreement with Prazeau on this one.
When I experience what I have in Escondido for over 40 years and I see it now...I wonder ,
what exactly is Pfeiler's concept of "quality of life"?
I can't wait for 2010 to get here.Hope we will be able to flush!
Alf wrote on Nov 16, 2008 4:32 PM:Well, "Mike S." at 12:17PM,
I too, had gophers backfilling the meter box.
I dug out the box, lined under the meters (domestic and fire) and up the sides of the hole with a sandwich of visqueen, chicken wire and visqueen allowing cut-out holes for the pipes.
I put the box back in the hole, backfilled around it, punched a bunch of 1/4 inch holes through the visqueen for drainage (big enough for water to drain and small enough to prevent kickout from coming through) and it has not been backfilled by those gophers in the last 4 years.
Regards, Alf.
U.S. POPClock Projection 305672148 wrote on Nov 16, 2008 5:40 PM:According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the resident population of the United States, projected to 11/16/08 at 05:32 GMT (EST+5) is 305,672,148
.
One birth every 7 seconds
One death every 12 seconds
One international migrant every 29 seconds
Net gain of one person every 11 seconds
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html
Rich wrote on Nov 16, 2008 6:58 PM:Water onservation only applies to the little people, the ones with limited incomes.
Mike S. wrote on Nov 16, 2008 7:19 PM:Alf, that sounds great, but I'd just be thrilled if my neighbor did so much as to dig out her meter ONCE to see if she has a water main leak. I'm tempted to do it for her but when she finally gets the bill for the 100,000 gallons of water she's used over the last year and a half, I'd rather not get the blame for it.
Neighbor wrote on Nov 16, 2008 7:24 PM:The city council strikes again. They provide outside interests such as SDG&E to use potable water. They spend tens of millions to provide infrastructure and millions more each year for chemicals to provide reclaimed water for the power plants yet they can't do anything for its residents. Water rates have already been raised because of projects (Palomar Energy Plant) that were allowed in the city while they provide very little income for services to residents or growers. How much profit does SDG&E/Sempra make off of Escondido residents in return for “Quality of Life”, gag that they provide?
JSten wrote on Nov 16, 2008 8:29 PM:I think universal metering is the best way to ensure accurate and fair water accounting and charges. The greater user pays the greater bill.
I am having a hard time, a very difficult time indeed taking the water conservation issues seriously when I read stories about thousand home developments planned in areas with already excessive inventory, and when I see that the greatest water users by far are not the residential users, but instead a mix of commercial, industrial, agricultural, and institutional interests, some of whom seem to be oblivious to the issues the residents are being forced to face. I am afraid I will continue to feel that way until I see from the State that the demographics of water usage have been changed to show that residential conservation can have a real impact on the water usage profile statewide. And don't give me that "every drop counts" tripe either. How about and open and honest disclosure of where the water is actually going and make some progress towards reigning those other flagrant abusers of water be held accountable.
BAD HOA wrote on Nov 17, 2008 1:44 PM:we tried putting rocks instead of grass on a portion of our yard 2 yrs ago to help save water. unfortunately, our HOA told us to take out the rocks bec the houses are supposed to only have grass - if we didn't remove the rocks and put grass we would be fined. someone tell these HOAs that we are in a drought!
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