June 10, 2022 16:15 ET | Source: California Water Service Group California Water Service Group
San Jose, California, UNITED STATES
SAN JOSE, Calif., June 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of its drought management and response plan, California Water Service (Cal Water) officially enters Stage 2 of its Water Shortage Contingency Plan today in its Antelope Valley, Dixon, King City, Salinas, and Selma Districts. This brings all of Cal Water’s districts throughout the state into Stage 2, and is in alignment with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s March 28, 2022, Executive Order and the State Water Resources Control Board’s Emergency Water Conservation Regulation. Stage 2 includes additional outdoor watering limits and higher water waste penalties.
The utility regularly monitors and evaluates local water supply conditions, and began moving its service areas into Stage 2 as early as late last year as circumstances warranted it.
“Our customers did a great job stepping up and saving water during the last drought—a 26.8% reduction from summer 2015 to 2016, in fact—and we urge our customers to once again heed the call to reduce water use given these exceptionally dry conditions,” said Martin A. Kropelnicki, President and CEO.
In most of Cal Water’s service areas, outdoor landscape irrigation is now limited to two days per week as follows, between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., unless local ordinances state otherwise:
The utility’s Livermore and Westlake districts have different watering requirements in alignment with their other local water agencies.
Additionally, penalties for violating the prohibited uses of water have doubled in all districts. Some of the common requirements include:
“This drought has become even more severe than the last drought. As we did then, we are taking a customer-first approach and partnering with our customers to achieve the needed savings,” Kropelnicki said. “We offer our customers a variety of conservation programs and encourage them to take advantage of these resources to help save water every day.”
Cal Water’s industry-leading conservation programs include:
To find more information about conservation programs, drought resources, and a full list of the prohibited uses of water, please visit calwater.com/drought.
Cal Water serves approximately 2 million people through 494,500 service connections in California. The utility has provided water service in the state since 1926. Additional information may be obtained online at www.calwater.com.