Marin water districts OK mandatory restrictions
Marin’s two major water suppliers have approved mandatory use restrictions, becoming the first large utilities in the Bay Area to do so in response to historically low rainfall.
The governing boards of the Marin Municipal Water District and the North Marin Water District both adopted the drought restrictions Tuesday evening.
The rules came a day before Gov. Gavin Newsom directed state agencies to begin bolstering drought responses. He also declared a drought emergency for the Russian River watershed in Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
The Russian River supplies 75% of the North Marin Water District’s supply and 25% of the Marin Municipal Water District’s supply.
“California is facing the familiar reality of drought conditions, and we know the importance of acting early to anticipate and mitigate the most severe impacts where possible,” Newsom said at a news conference in Mendocino County on Wednesday.
The Marin Municipal Water District rules ban a variety of activities, including washing vehicles at home, washing sidewalks and driveways, power washing, watering public medians and refilling decorative fountains. The district board also considered limiting all outdoor irrigation to one day per week, but asked staff members to bring back the proposal in two weeks based on public feedback.
It’s the first time since 1988 that the district implemented mandated water restrictions. The rules take effect immediately, but enforcement won’t begin until May 1. Violators will be given a warning at first, a $25 fine for a second violation and then a $250 fine for any subsequent rulebreaking. District staff members say they will focus on education before having to consider other enforcement methods such as patrols.
Residents can report water waste or violations by calling 415-945-1523 or submitting
a complaint online at marinwater.org/forms/ water-waste-report.
The district will consider requests for alternative conservation rules for ratepayers and businesses who might experience hardships, health and safety issues or other emergencies from the mandate.
Customers raised concerns that the one-day watering limit will lead people to drench their lawns. Landscaping-related business owners were concerned about the financial impacts to their businesses.
Other ratepayers called on the district to ban new water connections and to reduce water releases for threatened and endangered fish in Lagunitas Creek.
“As a practical matter, the drought cannot be taken seriously until the steps are taken seriously,” Larkspur resident James Holmes told the board. “Your customers should not be stuck with dead plants and dirty toilets when developers get a free ride and fish swim freely.”
The district intends to collectively reduce summer water use by 40%, or by about 7,300 acre-feet, from May to October. This target caused confusion among ratepayers who thought
they would have to reduce their individual water use by 40% even if they were already using small amounts of water.
The intent is to keep average water use per customer below 60 gallons per day to achieve that 40% reduction, according to Ben Horenstein, the district’s general manager.
The district, which serves 191,000 residents in central and southern Marin, approved the rules in response to the second-lowest rainfall amount in 143 years of records this season. The district has received about 20 inches of rain, less than the notorious 1976-77 drought and only slightly more than the record low of 18 inches in 1924.
The district hopes to have 30,000 acre-feet of water supply by December in its seven reservoirs in the Mount Tamalpais watershed. Any less than that would trigger a mandatory 50% reduction in use. The 30,000 acre-feet figure equates to about a third of the district’s storage capacity.
The water supply as of Tuesday was about 41,400 acre-feet, well below the average 72,800 acre-feet for this time of year.
Horenstein said staffers
already are exploring backup plans should the drought continue into next winter. The options include temporary desalination and water transfers from the East Bay Municipal Utility District or other utilities.
“Both of these are certainly complex projects,” Horenstein said.
In addition, the board delayed a decision on whether to ban pool refilling after several residents raised concerns about health hazards and costly mechanical failures that could result. Board member Larry Bragman suggested the district explore mandating pool coverings.
The district also delayed a rule requiring golf courses to limit irrigation to greens and tees at the request of board member Jack Gibson. He said there might be alternative ways for golf courses to achieve the same conservation levels without limiting watering to just one day, a point also raised by ratepayers
about their own landscaping.
The board delayed the golf watering restriction to take effect May 20.
Novato drought rules
The North Marin Water District board approved a hybrid plan calling on Novato customers to voluntarily conserve by 20% from May 1 through June 30 and then mandating 20% conservation from July 1 to Oct. 31. The target percentages are based on collective water use of all 60,000 Novato customers.
Outdoor watering with sprinklers will be limited to three days per week beginning July 1 as long as customers reduce their overall water use by 20% compared to the same billing period in 2020. Homes with oddnumbered addresses can water on Monday. Wednesday and Friday, and homes with even-numbered addresses can water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Customers who continue to use less than 300 gallons per day can water three times per week but don’t have to meet the 20% conservation target. Customers still can water their landscapes without restrictions if they use a handheld hose with a shutoff nozzle, a container such as a watering can and a drip irrigation system.
Other banned activities include:
• Refilling pools
• Washing vehicles at home except for quick rinses using a bucket or hose with a shutoff nozzle
• Using water for dust control
• Watering golf courses, except for tees and greens. Course owners can alternatively reduce overall water use by 25% compared to 2020.
• No new or enlarged water connections after July 1, unless approved before then
Violators will be given a verbal notice and then a written notice for a subsequent offenses. If the issue is still not addressed, the district can charge an initial fine of $250 and then impose a $500 fine and cut off service. The district has never fined anyone for violating similar mandates in the past, staffers said.
“If there is someone found in violation, we really try to work with those customers to get the situation resolved,” said district water conservation coordinator Ryan Grisso.
The rules also include a drought surcharge of $1 for every 1,000 gallons used.
The district mandated water restrictions in 2007, 2009, 2014 and 2015. They ranged from 15% to 30%.
The district recorded 8 inches of rain this season, its lowest dating back to 1916. The district’s main reservoir at Stafford Lake is at 52%, but only because the district has been running Russian River water into it for several weeks. Without that, the reservoir would be below 30% capacity.