Tuesday, October 14, 2014


By Tina Richards Responding to a state require-


ment that urban water suppli- ers create a conservation plan to deal with the drought, the Orange City Council approved a series of guidelines intended to reduce wa- ter usage from last year’s levels. As a water provider to its resi-


dents and businesses, the city was mandated to either develop its own conservation plan or de- fault to state guidelines, which are


stricter. Last July the state enacted an emergency regulation aimed to reduce water usage by 20 percent. It has since relaxed that require- ment and for now, water provid- ers need only demonstrate that monthly usage is less than during the same period last year.


Down the drain Because residential landscap-


ing consumes some 50 percent of urban water, that’s what the city’s new water ordinance targets. The


Foothills Sentry Orange adopts water conservation plan


ordinance prohibits landscape watering that causes runoff onto non-irrigated areas and limits daytime irrigation hours to be- fore 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m, with no more than 15 minutes per cycle. It also bars using a hose without a shutoff nozzle to wash cars, ap- plying water to any hard surface, using non-circulating fountains and obligates water customers to fix leaks, breaks or malfunctions in their systems within seven days. If those measures fail to re-


duce the city’s water use, stronger measures – limiting outdoor wa- tering days to two, restricting use for ornamental ponds or swim- ming pools, for example – will be introduced. The regulations are similar to


those enacted by most cities and water districts in Orange County. Orange’s ordinance builds on a 2009 resolution wherein users were asked to voluntarily limit outdoor water use. Now, those restrictions are mandatory.


Holster your hose The original mandates present-


ed to the city council for approval included provisions for scofflaws, i.e., making consistent overuse a misdemeanor. No one on the council, however, was willing to make overwatering one’s lawn a crime. “We have no intention of becoming water police,” Council- man Mark Murphy said. Instead, Orange will focus on


public education via the city’s website, bill stuffers and outreach at community events. Consistent overusers will face administrative actions. Before approving the new reg-


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ulations, Mayor Tita Smith noted that Orange currently has an or- dinance requiring homeowners to maintain their landscapes, keep lawns green and well-watered. She wondered how residents would be able to comply with both demands. “By using water properly,” City


Attorney Wayne Winthers said, “residents can adhere to both requirements. But, light brown may be the new normal.”


TUSD scores beat state and nation


The Tustin Unified School Dis-


trict (TUSD) announced that its 2014 Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) results continue to be high- er than California and national scores for the fifth consecutive year. The district also reported an increase in the number of college- bound seniors who took the test.


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