The state is in its third year of harsh drought, and the Central Coast is particularly vulnerable. State officials announced new water bill use restrictions to try to address that, and San Luis Obispo County is preparing for a change in how much water we use.
The Water Quality Control Board’s decision means urban water suppliers have until June 10 to go to Level 2 of their water supply plan, which means a 10-20% reduction in usage.
“An urban water supplier has 3,000 connections or more or delivers 3,000 acre feet a year or more. So some of our larger communities in the county like the City of Paso [Robles], city of San Luis Obispo [and] Arroyo Grande would qualify as urban water suppliers," said Courtney Howard, the Water Resources Division manager for SLO County Public Works.
Howard said some communities and areas in the region, like Pismo Beach and Los Osos, are already at Level 2 water usage. That means the new regulations won’t lead to any change there, but other cities like San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles and Atascadero will have reductions over the next few weeks.
But the state regulations also ban watering non-functional turf in commercial, industrial and institutional settings. That mainly means ornamental grass that doesn’t serve a recreational purpose, like it does at schools or parks. That doesn’t apply to grass on residential properties, though.
“Hopefully, you know some will take the opportunity to replace that turf with something more drought resilient going forward," Howard said.
Howard said the restrictions also require public outreach and education on water use.
“It'll help get the word out for everyone to be more aware of the situation we're in, and to use water efficiently," Howard said.
Howard said the state’s announcement wasn’t unexpected, but it isn’t clear yet if they will go even further in addressing the drought this way.
“It's hard to say how far they'll go in terms of mandating versus letting the water purveyors decide based on their water portfolios," Howard said.
SLO County’s website has a water information directory with live data and information on groundwater basins and drought conditions.
