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PWD intensifies water waste penalties

by The AV Times Staff • September 10, 2015

Violators who water on off days and times and disregard other water use restrictions are putting the burden of achieving the State’s mandatory reduction numbers on those who follow the guidelines, according to the Palmdale Water District.
Violators who water on off days and times and disregard other water use restrictions are putting the burden of achieving the State’s mandatory reduction numbers on those who follow the guidelines, according to the Palmdale Water District.

PALMDALE – Palmdale Water District water wasters are no longer receiving warnings for violations of water conservation regulations. The Palmdale Water Board approved an update to the resolution governing watering restrictions in order to reach the State mandated water consumption reduction of 32 percent.

First offenses will receive a $50 fine, followed by a $250 fine for a second offense, $500 for a third offense, and water shut-off for a fourth.

Most District customers, including businesses, residents, municipal facilities, and industry are following the guidelines put in place beginning June 1, 2015.

However, violators who water on off days and times and disregard other water use restrictions are putting the burden of achieving the State’s mandatory reduction numbers on those who follow the guidelines.

“While most District customers are reducing water consumption by making sacrifices such as allowing lawns to go brown, not washing their vehicles as frequently, and changing daily routines and habits to conserve water, some continue to think that these restrictions do not apply to them,” stated Mike McNutt, Public Information Officer and Water Conservation Director. “The updated water waste violation resolution focuses on those customers who are riding on the coattails of those making the sacrifices.”

Non-compliance of the mandated 32 percent consumption reduction will result in fines to the District of $10,000 per day beginning in early 2016. District employees will be increasing efforts to catch violators by driving throughout the service area during the early morning hours, overnight, on weekends, and during regular business hours. Violators will be provided a door tag with information on which guideline has been disregarded.

“Long-term water reliability and ensuring that our customers receive clean, healthy, and affordable water is the mission of the Palmdale Water District,” stated Matt Knudson, Assistant General Manager. “We live in a different California than we did 10 years ago with water conservation as our new normal. Our water problems are complex, but if we rally together as a community, we can achieve great things.”

The Water District is asking the community to continue pushing to conserve water where they can and to report water waste or watering at non-designated times by calling 661-456-1099 or emailing at waste@palmdalewater.org.

For more information regarding the Palmdale Water District’s watering restrictions, visit www.palmdalewater.org.

[Information via news release from the Palmdale Water District.]

Previous related story:Palmdale Water District issues emergency water conservation restrictions

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Filed Under: Palmdale

20 comments for "PWD intensifies water waste penalties"

  1. carla says

    September 16, 2015 at 6:05 pm

    i paint my yard green with green paint – try it is works no water and no fines.

    • Eric says

      September 16, 2015 at 7:56 pm

      I just stocked up on all that green stuff they throw in Easter baskets and spent a magical Sunday nailing it into the dirt, formerly my grass, now “grass” again.

      Hopefully that’ll hold till we see new stadium construction in Los Angeles, at which point I’ll be slipping someone a Benjamin in exchange for a couple rolls of AstroTurf.

  2. Doc Rivers says

    September 12, 2015 at 4:15 pm

    The water district is pitiful, notice how they never have to cut their own budget. [they just raise rates]. But its worse than ever when our yards are dead and our property values are way down. Homeowners just can’t raise their rates “NO” we have to cut something. I notice the directors are making a lot of money off the ratepayers[over 3,000.00 a month for part time work]. Why don’t the directors cut the perks and reintroduce the cash for grass and start being part of the solution instead of being the expensive burden they have become. This district is still in big trouble from self serving leadership !

  3. CHRIS says

    September 10, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    I lived in the AV for the past 34 years and lived in the PWD area twice over the past 5 years they were always 25 percent more expensive then any other local water miscibility in the Av. i now live about 1000 miles away and pay $326.00 per year for an unlimited amount of water. Have fun down there with those crooks (AKA PWD)

  4. Ryan Hunt says

    September 10, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    El Nino, save us!

  5. sandra says

    September 10, 2015 at 11:13 am

    I see ‘some’ renters and Section 8 residents abusing water, maybe it is because they dont have to pay the water bill….the OWNER’S of the property has too pay and who gets the bill. Trash as well !
    This is going to be hard to control for ‘some’ people that just dont care because they never see or have to pay the bill. Hummmm ! :/

  6. Mary says

    September 10, 2015 at 11:07 am

    My neighbors, two of them, still water every single morning at 5:00 AM. Their grass is SUPER green and mine is dying. At times I feel like reporting them but then I feel like a “Snitch” and feel that Karma will come back my way so I just ingore it and hope one day the water district will catch them. My backyard grass hasn’t been watered in three months and is now like straw.

    • Quigley says

      September 10, 2015 at 1:45 pm

      Anyone with a green lawn is not following the water restrictions. It’s impossible to have a green lawn in the desert heat without daily watering, sometimes twice a day….the water companies know this. Pay up suckers!

      • WOW says

        September 10, 2015 at 2:25 pm

        My home faces north and we do not get a lot of sun, therefore; my grass is still greener than my neighbors’ home (facing south). As a matter of fact, every single resident facing north on my street has decent colored grass, I only water twice a week. Before you make assumptions do yourself a favor and use your noodle. We just got our water bill and we have over 400 dollars in credit, because we are not surpassing tier 1 (household of 5, 3300 square feet home). Duh!

        • Quigley says

          September 10, 2015 at 6:12 pm

          WOW….how nice for you. My neighborhood of 14,000 sf lot homes are all looking sad, and definitely not a decent color of green, regardless of facing north or south. Not enough water to keep them green without going over our limit. Those of us who have had lush green lawns, will not if we stay within the restrictions.

          • Stacy says

            September 15, 2015 at 8:17 pm

            Wow actually has a point. Also there are different types of fertilizer you can use to help the grass live (therefore stay green) with less water… Maybe you should research it since you’re so bitter about your not green lawn =)

      • Tim Scott says

        September 10, 2015 at 2:51 pm

        False.

        I thought so myself, and when they said “twice a week or die” I told my gf that we might as well just shut it off. Guess what, lawn still green. I was amazed, and I still am.

        Bermuda grass.

        • Mike says

          September 12, 2015 at 1:56 pm

          True Tim Scott. I had a very green lush lawn with a small stubborn patch of Bermuda grass I kept trying to get rid of. Once the water restrictions came, I stopped watering and my lawn died. I painted it with lawn paint. Now that patch of Bermuda grass has expanded to almost 1/3 of my lawn area and I see runners shooting out in every direction. I don’t water it or feed it. I did a little research and found that Bermuda grass is extremely tough and drought resistant. Needless to say, but next summer my lawn will totally be Bermuda grass.

      • m says

        September 10, 2015 at 5:48 pm

        So not true! We are a 2-person household so we automatically use less. When we bought, we had the entire back yard ripped out and replaced with drought resistant plants, Decomposed granite, and fake grass. The front lawn is relatively small, so we are able to keep it pretty green and still use 30% less water than the new limits.

        Before you judge your neighbors, think about the fact that there are other ways to conserve besides what you see in front of you (like the $6k they invested in the drought-resistant back yard and deciding not to crank out a bunch of kids.)

        If you can’t find it in your water ration to keep your lawn green, stop being jealous of those who can. You live in a desert… a lawn is a stupid luxury anyway.

        Kudos to the folks replacing the lawn with native vegitation.

        • Quigley says

          September 11, 2015 at 7:33 am

          Thank you M…..you’re absolutely right! We live in a desert and should have stopped the green grass addiction years ago, what a huge waste! No excuse waiting for a drought and restrictions to replace landscape that sucks up water. Ours cost $7k . Not quite sure about the cranking out a bunch of kids…..prefer dogs!

        • Claire says

          September 12, 2015 at 4:44 pm

          Thank you m-xeriscaping should be the new normal, not the dumb lawns.

          • Doc Rivers says

            September 12, 2015 at 8:47 pm

            Well thats brilliant !! So all the damage is picked up by the homeowner again.Thanks for your support Quigley but Palmdale Water District staff ownes the board of directors. I thought this board would be better but turns out they are worse…… new blood !!!

  7. Annon says

    September 10, 2015 at 10:48 am

    The states use was down by 30% + for July/August, more then the required 25%. PWD should negotiate on that fact. And stop screwing us…..

    • Mike says

      September 10, 2015 at 1:16 pm

      @Annon I agree. It probably won’t be long before they increase their rates to make up for the reduction of water use which is resulting in less revenue. Either way, we end up getting screwed.

      • William says

        September 10, 2015 at 2:51 pm

        @Mike
        We had a less severe drought back in the 90s. I slowly replaced a couple toilets with 1.6 gal ones, already had a front-loading washer and put in a hot water recycling pump and a line from the water heater to the master bath ($700) so I wouldn’t waste 5 gals of water before I got in the shower.

        I recall telling someone back then that once we’ve all put low flow everything and ripped out our lawns, they can raise the water rates as high as they want and we won’t be able to cut back our use any more.

        Sure enough, we are there. I don’t know why California didn’t put a moratorium or some limits on new construction if our water supplies are so much at risk from climate change whatever its cause.

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