Santa Clara Valley Water District Enhances Enforcement Of Water Rules

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County residents may soon get a visit from water inspectors if they are found to be in violation of the county’s water waste prohibitions.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors on Tuesday approved the ordinance, which would send district staff or contractors to homes that violate the water conservation rules more than once. After two warnings, residents could be fined $100, and be subject to additional fines of $250 and $500 for further violations.

Under “extraordinary circumstances,” the district could impose a fine of up to $10,000.

Currently, water conservation restrictions in Santa Clara County include prohibiting residents from irrigating outdoor landscape between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., irrigating non-functional turf more than two days a week and applying potable water to any outdoor landscape that causes more than incidental runoff.

Related: Local Emergency Due To Drought Declared In Santa Clara County

The board of the district, which serves more than a million residents in Santa Clara County, declared a water shortage emergency last June and called for a 15 percent reduction in water use across the county compared to 2019 usage.

But the district admitted that the 15 percent reduction is unlikely to be met without “additional actions” after the first three months of the 2022 calendar year were the driest on record for Santa Clara County. Currently, the cumulative water savings are at just 3 percent compared to 2019.

Click here to view the staff report.