Norwalk : Water Wasters Will Face Penalties Starting April 4

The City Council on Tuesday gave final approval to a water conservation ordinance that imposes penalties for wasteful water practices such as hosing down driveways. Once the ordinance goes into effect April 4, repeat violators could be assessed a 30% surcharge on their water bills, and flow-restricting devices could be installed on the water mains of chronic water wasters.

But the ordinance does not require mandatory cutbacks in overall water consumption. City officials hope to achieve more than a 10% cutback through the ban on wasteful water-use practices alone.

Norwalk Deputy City Manager Daniel E. Keen said more than 14,900 Norwalk residents and companies have reduced their water consumption by 6.5% during the last half of 1990, compared to the same period of 1989. Those users are served by the city Water Department. Keen did not have figures for Norwalk water customers served by three independent water companies and the Santa Fe Springs and Cerritos municipal water systems.