By Jonathan Friedman
Associate Editor

January 9, 2015 -- City Council members will consider mandatory water-use limitations for Santa Monica customers at their meeting next Tuesday.  Violations of these restrictions could garner stiff penalties for water customers.

The council has already supported this plan in concept for a city that, like most of California, is going through a severe drought.

Residential and commercial customers as well as landscapers would be required to reduce their water use by 20 percent compared to 2013. 

That percentage would not have to be met by residential customers already using an amount lower than the established threshold. 

There would be an application process for those who want to increase their water use allowance.

Penalties for excessive use would be based on the amount above the limitations, and could reach as high as $1,000 per 60-day billing cycle, although actual fines would likely be much lower. 

Those that exceed the limitations three times in a year could be forced into a water audit they must fund.

“Customers that exceed their water use allowance seven or more times may have a flow restrictor installed in the meter which restricts the flow of water going into the building and/or be charged with a civil penalty up to $10,000,” the staff report states.

The plan is for the water use allowances to go into effect in April, with penalties starting to be counted against customers in August. The fines would appear on water bills beginning in October.

“The goal to reduce water use immediately in order to lessen the impacts of the drought on local groundwater and imported water supplies will benefit the entire community,” the staff report states. 

It continues, “It will take the commitment of staff, residents, businesses, their employees and visitors to reduce use by 20 percent.”

Staff plans to present further measures to the council soon regarding water conservation, according to the report. 

This includes “consolidation and updating of existing water-related ordinances and rescission of outdated code requirements in order to simplify water regulations throughout the municipal code.”

The council is also expected to consider updates to the Green Building Ordinance in April as a method “to increase the water-efficiency of new or remodeled buildings and landscapes in Santa Monica.”

A public hearing and council vote will take place Feb. 24 on a proposed water rate hike plan that was approved in concept last month. It would raise the rate by 80 percent over the next five years.

Although council members tentatively approved this concept in December, they asked staff to continue researching if it were possible to limit the rate increase.

City staff and a consultant have said the rate hike is needed to keep the municipal water program in a financially stable position so that Santa Monica can continue on the road toward the council’s goal of a self-sufficient water supply by 2020.