KION - Monterey, Salinas, Santa Cruz - News Weather-Santa Cruz Water Restrictions Loosened

Santa Cruz Water Restrictions Loosened

SATA CRUZ, Calif- Water restrictions will be lifted on November 1st for all Santa Cruz city water customers, which includes everyone living in the City of Santa Cruz east to 41st Ave. in Capitola.

As the weather becomes cooler and wetter, outdoor irrigation demand will drop off and the city says it will no longer be necessary to limit watering to certain times of day or days of the week.

Water restrictions were implemented in May of this year. Customers were required to restrict outdoor irrigation to two days per week and certain hours of the day. Other restrictions, such as prohibiting the hosing of sidewalks, were also in place.

The goal was to reduce system-wide demand by 15%. Thanks to the community's cooperative spirit, the average system water demand was a low 10.5 million gallons per day compared to last year's average of 12 million gallons per day, saving 1.5 million gallons per day or 14 percent. Because of these savings, the city was able to minimize the water drawn from the Loch Lomond reservoir, keeping it at 90% capacity.

California has experienced three consecutive dry winters, and Santa Cruz was no exception. This year, the city entered a stage 2 water shortage, and as predicted, the rivers that supply our water dropped to very low levels relatively early in the dry season.

If a fourth dry winter occurred, the city would have to rely heavily on water stored in the reservoir. By preserving as much of the reservoir's water as possible, we were able to reduce the chance of a more critical shortage situation in case we do experience another dry year.

"I would like to thank everyone who conserved water this summer; the overall effort made by the community was very successful. To you I tip my hat in admiration," said Bill Kocher, Director of the Santa Cruz Water Department.

"Although restrictions will no longer be in place, customers are encouraged to continue using water wisely", said Clara Cartwright, a Water Conservation Representative for the Santa Cruz Water Department.