TUD Water Restriction Breakdown

Sonora, CA — Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD) has released an outline of the water cutbacks for its customers under the board’s newly implemented mandatory water restrictions.

As reported Tuesday night, the board ordered Mandatory Phase III Water Restrictions., which includes a 30% reduction in water use for customers, based upon their 2013 levels.

Here is TUD’s breakdown of its water conservation restrictions:

• Any single family equivalent household using 800 cubic feet of water per billing cycle or 400 cubic feet per month has met the reduction goal and is not subject to further conservation.

Outdoor Landscapes:

• All irrigation shall occur between the hours of 7 pm and 10am. Limited outdoor irrigation is requested with the use of buckets or properly maintained irrigation systems. Outdoor watering will be limited to 10 minutes per cycle for spray systems and no longer than 30 minutes per cycle for drip systems.

The following outdoor watering scheduling has been set depending on your property address.

Property address ending with an even number can water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Those ending in odd numbers can water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. There is no watering on Mondays.

Non-Essential Water Use:

The following are prohibited during the mandatory water restrictions:

• Using potable water to wash sidewalks, driveways or other hard-surfaced areas unless it is needed for public health or sanitation purposes;
• Allowing runoff when irrigating with potable water;
• Using hoses with no shutoff nozzles to wash cars, boats, trailers, equipment or other vehicles;
• Using potable water in decorative water features that do not recirculate the water;
• Irrigating outdoors during and within 48 hours following measureable rainfall;
• Use of water from hydrants for construction purposes or any other purposes other than firefighting;
• Dust control, earth compaction, and other construction use of raw or potable water is limited to specific times and locations determined by the District. All users of this water must contact the District for times and location of water availability. Use of water at any other time or location is subject to a $500 fine per occurrence and possible prohibition of water use.

Other Conservation Restrictions:

• Limiting restaurants from serving water to their customers unless the customer requests it;

• To promote water conservation, operators of hotels and motels shall provide guests with the option of choosing not to have towels and linens laundered daily;

Excessive water usage is prohibited and is defined as:

1. Allowing plumbing system leaks, including sprinkler and drip systems, to remain un-repaired for seven (7) calendar days following notification by the District.
2. Without reasonable cause, water usage in excess of the 30% mandatory reduction based on 2013 during the same month of the year.
3. Anyone who violates the District Water Rules and Regulations shall be subject to Sections; 5.07, 5.12, 14.08 or 14.09 of the Water Rules and Regulations and up to a $500 penalty.

Enforcement:

In addition to, and/or exercise of, any and all lawful remedies, violations of this section shall result in the following penalties:

First Violation:

Customer would receive a phone call or written warning about excessive water use from the District and that a further violation will result in possible water restrictions and imposing of fines.

Second Violation:

After initial contact regarding the first violation, if a second violation is recorded a restrictor may be installed and an $80 charge will be billed to the customer’s account. The customer will need to show proof that they have reduced their water use before the restrictor is removed.

Third Violation:

A $500 penalty may be charged to a customer upon a third violation of not reducing to the mandatory water reduction. The customer may also be billed a field call out charge as explained in Exhibit B of the Water Rules and Regulations. If the customer continues to violate water restrictions they may have their water discontinued for excessive water use.