Palmdale Residents Urged to Cut Water Use by 15%

Palmdale-area residents are being asked to reduce their use of water by 15% and comply with new voluntary water-use restrictions.

The program, adopted Tuesday night by the board of the Palmdale Water District, takes effect immediately. Officials of the public water agency said they hope residents will meet the targets, but for now there will be no penalties for noncompliance.

“Fifteen percent can be gained without any change in lifestyle,” water board member John Sidwell said. “Fifteen percent can be had by just stopping the waste.”

The district serves about 50,000 people in central and eastern Palmdale and nearby unincorporated areas.

District officials said they do not expect to impose a rate increase to maintain the agency’s income when usage goes down.

The agency is asking that lawns be watered no more often than every other day. Parks and public areas should be watered every third day. And lawns should not be watered during sunny hours of the day, the agency said.

Residents are being asked not to wash sidewalks, driveways or other paved areas and to wash cars with buckets of water instead of hoses. Restaurants are being asked to serve water only upon request.

The 15% goal is for a reduction compared to the same periods last year.

One potential problem may be that the district’s bills, for technical reasons, do not tell customers how much water they used a year ago and may not include that data any time soon.

District officials said they still may have to impose water rationing and charge for excessive use. They said they wanted to start with a voluntary program.