Water rationing starts in Santa Cruz

Water rationing began Thursday in the city of Santa Cruz, where water department officials say they’ve been slammed with people calling to find out how they can conserve and monitor their water use.

Turns out, the answer to how to monitor your water use is water meters. Every household and business has one–usually on the sidewalk and all you

Most of us are familiar with gallons–but the water meter measures with cubic feet, which can make it difficult to read. The water department has a new section on their water bill to help customers navigat their water meters.

There’s also a formula: one cubic foot equals 7.84 gallons.