Water Use Restrictions Approved By Gilroy City Council

GILROY, CA — The Gilroy City Council on Monday declared a Level 2 water supply shortage due to worsening drought conditions and placed limits on watering hours, days and duration with a goal of achieving 33 percent reduction in water use compared to 2013 levels.

The council's resolution, effective immediately, came weeks after the state of California declared a drought emergency in Santa Clara County and called for a 15 percent reduction in water use compared to 2019.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District also declared a water shortage emergency in the county in June.

With some exceptions, Gilroy residents are prohibited from watering with potable water between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and should limit any watering via irrigation systems to 15 minutes.

Additionally, between April and October, watering days are limited to Wednesday and Sunday for houses with odd-numbered addresses and no addresses (such as common areas at an apartment complex). For houses with even-numbered addresses, watering days are Tuesday and Saturday. Between November and March, watering will be limited to one day a week, with odd and no addresses on Monday and even addresses on Tuesday.

City officials said in a staff report that the goal is to “educate and collaborate” with residents to conserve water. A warning will be issued for the first violation of the restrictions, and fines of up to $500 may be imposed for repeated violations.

The resolution also included the suspension of turf installation in new parks unless the turf will be irrigated with recycled water.

Without additional restrictions on water usage, the county's water storage levels are expected to drop significantly: as much as 80,000 acre-feet by the end of the year, according to water district officials. Officials blamed the decrease in supply, worsening drought conditions and the loss of the Anderson Reservoir — the largest reservoir in the district — for the next decade for earthquake repairs.

The county's second-largest reservoir, the Coyote Reservoir near San Martin, has limited storage because of the state's limits. Meanwhile, snowpack levels in the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains are zero percent of normal.

Water district officials warned that groundwater levels could plummet to an "emergency" stage by next year, which could lead to wells running dry in South County and land subsidence resuming in North County. Groundwater accounts for about 40 percent of water use in Santa Clara County and is the only drinking water source in South County.

With a 15 percent reduction in water usage, district officials projected a best-case scenario of water levels remaining at normal capacity next year or a worst-case scenario of levels reaching the "severe" stage.