Water board expands state water restrictions

On Tuesday, California state water officials expanded water conservation regulations in the wake of California’s ongoing drought. Their decision includes tougher regulations that could cause some Californians to pay $500 fines.

On top of current regulations, homeowners will only be allowed to water their lawns twice every week. They’ll also be banned from irrigating their lawn 48 hours following rain. Local agencies can fine property owners up to $500 a day for failure to implement the new measures.

The measures are designed to achieve a 20 percent reduction in water consumption.

“The objective is not to control the number of days people irrigate.. the goal is to control how much water they use on their landscape irrigation. we need to keep the eyes on that prize and we want to help the water board with that process,” David Bolan said with the Association of California Water Agencies.

Water agencies will also be required to notify customers when they’re aware of leaks that are within the customer’s control. If they don’t, the agencies could face a civil liability of up to $10,000 a day.

If approved by state leaders, the regulations will take effect immediately.