Costa Mesa’s drought crackdown: Water early or late, Tuesdays and Saturdays; fix leaks. Or get fined
Mesa Water District adopted a plan Thursday that mandates water use restrictions and could result in fines for property owners.
Nearly 100 customers packed into the board room Thursday night to offer suggestions for saving water and listen as the board of directors voted on a water conservation plan in response to tougher state mandates. The new plan consists of three tiers — each more rigorous than the last — created in the event the state’s mandates become stricter.
The board voted to move to Level 1 of the district’s water conservation plan, which designates specific watering days of Tuesday and Saturdays before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m. Level 1 also requires customers to fix water leaks within 72 hours. The new rules will take effect immediately.
In addition to reducing outdoor irrigation for residential customers, the city will not be able to water turf on street medians with drinking water, according to the new set of regulations.
“The drought is serious and Mesa Water is doing its part to conserve essential drinking water resources during this critical time,” said board Vice President Ethan Temianka. “Our residential customers have done a tremendous job in the past when we’ve asked them to conserve and we expect that residents, in addition to businesses and public agencies, will be able to meet the current challenge.”
The new ordinance will also continue regulations from its previous conservation rules, including no excessive runoff, no washing down paved surfaces and only washing vehicles with a bucket or hose with a shut off nozzle.
The board’s decision came on the heels of a State Water Resources Control Board mandate that Mesa Water reduce its water use by 20%. Unlike surrounding water agencies like the city of Newport Beach, Mesa Water will not fine customers based on the amount of water they use on their bill.
Representatives say the agency will not raise water rates to make up for revenue lost through conservation.
About 30% of Mesa Water’s supply comes from the Mesa Water Reliability Facility, on Gisler Avenue, which pumps from a deep, underground aquifer unaffected by the drought conditions. The remaining 70% comes from the county’s water basin. The district does not import water from Northern California or the Colorado River.
While the district has access to the aquifer, it still must reduce along with every other agency in California, officials say.
“We have to go with the state mandates,” said Director Jim Fisler. “It has become somewhat of a stranded asset for us. We have it, but we can’t deliver it.”
Customers who don’t comply with the new restrictions will be issued warnings for the first two violations, a $100 fine for the third violation and a $200 fine for the fourth and subsequent violations. Mesa Water can also discontinue water service for habitual water wasters.