LAKE COUNTY ? Unnecessary water use will be prohibited in three of the county”s 10 public water systems after the Lake County Board of Supervisors adopted mandatory water conservation measures Tuesday.
“The downside is potentially less revenues to come in from water usage. That”s a tough one for us to balance though because ? we also need to have the resource to be able to supply it to the customers,” Lake County Special Districts Manager Mark Dellinger said.
The measures were in response to the state”s third straight year of drought conditions, according to Dellinger. He said recent rain helped, but not enough, according to recent measurements taken in the Big Valley area.
“This is actually the worst of the three (years),” Dellinger said.
Unnecessary water use includes the use of water through a hand-held hose, unless it is equipped with a shut-off nozzle, according to Dellinger”s memo to the board. It also includes use of water that results in flooding or runoff in gutters or streets, and use of water through any meter where necessary repairs to plumbing have not been made.
The measure was the second phase of four phases Dellinger recommended. The first was a goal of 15 percent voluntary conservation urged in notices that went out to ratepayers in March. The conservation wasn”t enough for the county-maintained water systems in Bonanza Springs, Mount Hannah and Starview.
Collectively, the systems serve 899 customers, according to Dellinger”s memo.
Phases three and four contain rate structure changes that would “financially discourage non-essential water use,” and impose moratoriums on new connections.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
