GARDEN GROVE : Council Could Make Water Waste a Crime

The City Council has given preliminary approval to an ordinance that makes wasting water a misdemeanor.

The ordinance was passed to complement a state-mandated water shortage contingency plan and would go into effect 30 days after the council gives it final approval. The ordinance will go before the council for a second reading in two weeks.

Under the ordinance, waste is defined as watering grass, lawns, ground cover, shrubbery, crops or trees in a way that allows excessive water runoff.

A leak in plumbing or water distribution systems is also defined as waste and must be corrected within eight hours after being discovered.

The water shortage plan also identifies the city’s goals, objectives and readiness for emergency cuts in water supplies.

Much of the plan’s information was included in the city’s Urban Water Management Plan adopted in March, 1991. Rate structures and recommended water-use limits are the same in both plans.

The council adopted a water rate structure to encourage conservation in July, 1991, charging more for water that exceeds recommended use levels. The council’s vote on the plan was 4 to 1, with Councilman Robert F. Dinsen dissenting.

Dinsen said he objects to having changes in water rates based on use. “When I buy gas, the 10th gallon costs the same as the first,” he said.