By Kyle Kan
Staff Writer
The South Pasadena City Council declared a Stage One drought on Aug 20, effective immediately for the entire community. The decision recognizes a moderate water supply shortage, as outlined in South Pasadena’s Water Conservation Measures.
California State Governor Jerry Brown announced in January that California was in a state of emergency in regards to the current drought, which are labeled by increasing intensity from D1, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. All of California is in at least a D1 drought condition, “moderate drought,” and 58% of California is in D4, “exceptional drought,” meaning that there are shortages in wells, reservoirs, and streams.
The city of South Pasadena has issued new water restrictions in an effort to conserve water. Watering of any lawn, landscape, or vegetated area is limited to three days a week. Watering days are assigned to residents based on the last digit of their home address.
Community members are also obligated to fix any leaks, breaks, and malfunctions within 24 hours of notification from the water department. In an effort to decrease domestic water consumption, the City Council is asking that all South Pasadena residents and businesses reduce their annual water usage by ten percent. However, as of press time there is no enforcement of this regulation.
The City Council is offering increased rebates on appliances such as high efficiency washing machines and toilets, weather-based irrigation controllers, and rotating nozzles for sprinklers to encourage the use of such devices.
The city is also holding free workshops for tips on water conservation on Sept 7 and 21, and Oct 10. These workshops will include lessons on replacing grass with drought-tolerant plants and properly irrigating and managing greenery.
For more information about watering days, rebates, and water conservation tips, visit:
http://www.ci.south-pasadena.ca.us