City officials dispel state water conservation laws rumor

City officials are alerting residents to a rumor regarding water usage in 2020.

The rumor claims residents will be limited to using only 55 gallons of water per day, and that Californians could be fined $1,000 for showering and doing laundry on the same day.

Officials are assuring residents that the rumor is false. Here are the basics about legislation that has prompted the rumor:

In May of 2018, Governor Brown signed landmark legislation (SB606 and AB1668) designed to guide the next generation of water conservation standards in the state. The overall goal is to make water conservation a way of life in California and a permanent part of the state’s culture considering the state’s frequent cycles of drought.

Details for implementing the new laws will be determined over the next several years, but there is no immediate impacts to customers. The laws provide a framework for water providers, like the city of Fountain Valley, to set new, permanent water use targets by 2022 that combine:

An indoor standard of 55 gallons per person

An outdoor standard for residential and commercial customers based upon our local climate and the amount of landscaped area

A standard for water loss from leaks in the water system

These standards will be calculated and added together to create one overall target for each water provider. Individual customers will not be required by the state to meet specific targets, officials said.

There is nothing in the laws that specifies when or how often a person may shower or do laundry. The new laws provide an overall framework for setting and meeting water use targets at the water provider level.

While the framework does include a goal for individual indoor water use of 55 gallons per person per day beginning in 2022, this applies on an overall system-wide basis and will not be enforced on an individual basis.

To learn more about the city’s permanent water restrictions, available water efficiency rebates and turf removal, visit www.fountainvalley.org/199/Water-Division.