Mesa Water board to consider allowing watering on any day
Get your hoses and sprinklers ready, Mesa Water District customers: You soon could be able to water your yard on whatever day you like.
District board members will decide Thursday whether to eliminate restrictions covering what days Mesa Water’s 110,000 customers in Costa Mesa and portions of Newport Beach are allowed to water outside.
Currently, customers are allowed to water outdoors only before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
District staff is recommending that the board allow customers to pick their own watering days, said district spokeswoman Noelle Collins.
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“Irrigation will still need to take place before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m., but customers will decide which days best fit their schedule,” Collins wrote in an email Tuesday.
Mesa Water analyzed sources of drinking water available for the next three years and determined “that all water supply needs are capable of being met without mandatory conservation,” according to Collins.
Collins said staff recommends that other conservation rules remain in effect, including prohibiting watering when it’s raining and for 48 hours afterward and banning the use of potable water for irrigating street medians.
The possibility of loosening the tap comes after state water regulators adopted new regulations allowing districts to set their own conservation standards based on their water supply and demand.
Previously, the state set savings levels for each water agency. Mesa Water’s water-use reduction target was 20% at one point but most recently was set at 13%.
From June 2015 through February, Mesa Water achieved 21.2% cumulative water savings compared with those months in 2013, according to state data.
“Our customers are doing a great job conserving, and Mesa Water is acknowledging their success,” Collins wrote.
Thursday’s board meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Mesa Water’s office, 1965 Placentia Ave., Costa Mesa.
Board members also are expected to discuss the district’s 2015 Urban Water Management Plan, a state-required document that summarizes “present and future water resources and demands within Mesa Water’s service area and assesses its water resource needs for a 25-year planning period,” according to a news release.
The draft of that plan can be viewed at the district office or at MesaWater.org.
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Luke Money, lucas.money@latimes.com
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
