THE DROUGHT CONSERVATION : Camarillo Joins Area Effort To Save Water

Residents of eastern Camarillo joined their neighbors to the west Friday as mandatory water conservation became effective citywide in response to the fourth year of a statewide drought.

The Camrosa Water District, which serves most of the eastern half of the city of Camarillo, enacted a water conservation ordinance on Tuesday that became effective Friday.

The Camrosa ordinance carries many of the same restrictions and prohibitions as the ordinance passed by the city of Camarillo on April 25. That ordinance affected most residents of the western half of the city but excluded Camrosa water users.

Both ordinances aim to reduce water consumption by 10%. The two ordinances restrict lawn watering during daytime hours when water easily evaporates, prohibit washing concrete or allowing outdoor water to run to waste and require restaurants to serve water only on request.

It was too early to tell about compliance in the Camrosa district, a spokeswoman said, but Camarillo officials said they believe most people are doing their best to comply with the new regulations.

With the exception of one man who washed down a driveway on Valle Lindo, random drives through Camarillo neighborhoods this week revealed no overt violations of the water conservation ordinance.

Instead, residents embraced the city’s efforts to conserve.

Yoshie Kato, who lives with her daughter, Diane Kato, in a new house on Calle Higuera, said they turn sprinklers on for only two minutes each evening. They use a hose for the areas where the water is likely to run off the sloped lot into the street.

“We’re taking shorter baths and trying not to waste when we cook,” she said.

Down the street a few miles, in an older area, Pat Riggins’ front lawn had turned completely brown.

“We’re taking it out and putting in a lawn with deeper roots that uses less water,” she said. The Riggins were also installing a different sprinkler system that runs on intermittent cycles to prevent water from running onto the sidewalk.

Mary Sartin said her son-in-law was installing low-water landscaping at her new Sierra Mesa home.

“I also try to make sure my dishwasher is full, and I don’t wash the cars as much,” she said.

Officials, such as Councilwoman Sandi Bush, who helped write the water ordinance said the three represent the majority of city water users who are trying to conserve.

“I think the community realizes the seriousness of the drought,” Bush said. “So if we can cut back at least 10%, which we’ve been asked to do, hopefully we won’t have to go to rationing.”

The Metropolitan Water District of Los Angeles, which supplies Camrosa and other cities and districts in the county with water from Northern California, has asked its consumers to cut water use by 10%.

The new Camrosa district ordinance differs slightly from the city’s. It restricts lawn watering only between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The city of Camarillo’s restrictions apply from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Camrosa ordinance also allows for two warning notices before penalties are imposed. On the third infraction, officials will double the previous month’s water bill, a minimum of about $6, said Pam Erwin, Camrosa office administrator.

Users who receive their water from the city receive one notice before they are fined. Their fines are based on the previous month’s bill, a minimum of about $9, officials said.

Camrosa officials will begin watching for infractions on Monday, Erwin said.

The city of Camarillo has assigned three representatives to enforce the ordinance and respond to reports of water waste, said John Elwell, director of community services.

Elwell did not have figures on the number of calls the city had received so far. Deputies at the Camarillo sheriff’s substation said they had responded to one call of water wasting under the ordinance.

The call was for a broken sprinkler head belonging to the city of Camarillo. The city promptly fixed the break, Elwell said.