Long Beach Institutes Water Restrictions - Watering Lawns, Water In Restaurants On Request Only

[hatrack]

In the midst of what is expected to be Southern California’s wettest storms in two years, Long Beach officials took steps to restrict water usage citywide.

In a unanimous vote Thursday, the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners declared an imminent water shortage. Residents will now be barred from watering their lawns except on Mondays, Thursdays, or Saturdays, and restaurants cannot serve water to customers unless they request it.

In addition, Long Beach has ongoing prohibitions on watering between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and hosing down sidewalks and driveways without specialized hoses. The changes are primarily aimed at increasing awareness and encouraging conservation, and board members emphasized that residents are in no danger of seeing their taps run dry anytime soon.

“The action we take today is meant to be proactive, and will ensure that we can continue to provide an adequate supply of water to Long Beach residents, even in the face of continued drought conditions,” said Harry Saltzgraver, the board’s president, in a statement.

The Metropolitan Water District, which supplies most of Southern California, has said it has enough water stores to get the region through the rest of the year without mandatory rationing. But in light of the statewide drought declaration and an unprecedented “zero water allocation” announced by the State Water project, Long Beach water officials said they are not taking any chances.

EDIT

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-long-beach-water-restrictions-20140227,0,661144.story#axzz2uauBzs57

[Adsos Letter]

1. The whole state needs to do it.

As for the water in restaurants, most places we go ask before they serve it.

I totally relandscaped my front yard last year; I made sure to put in drip for all the plants (including the fruit trees) and I only water the lawn in the early morning. It's actually better for it that way, and we get some pretty hot summer days around here.

We need some serious snowpack in the Sierras...

[pipoman]

2. My experience in SoCal is a lot of restaurants don't

Give water without requesting it and then you often have to pay for it as it is bottled water.