Simi Valley limits outdoor watering to once a week amid severe drought

With California in a severe drought, the Simi Valley City Council Monday night adopted a resolution limiting outdoor watering to one day a week starting June 1.

"We are at a point in time where we are literally having to figure out if we're going to have water for health and safety and food," Councilwoman Ruth Luevanos said. "Every drop of water counts."

The council's resolution comes after the boards of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Calleguas Municipal Water District late last month declared a water shortage emergency which also limits outdoor watering to once a week.

Ventura County Waterworks District No. 8, whose board of directors is the Simi Valley City Council, contracts with Calleguas to deliver water imported by Metropolitan from the State Water Project. The city in turn sells the water to about two-thirds of its water customers.

The city's resolution only applies to those customers.

Golden State Water Co. supplies water to the remaining one-third of the city’s customers. City officials are in talks with Golden State to adopt its own resolution limiting its Simi Valley customers to outdoor watering once a week, City Manager Brian Gabler said Wednesday.

"We are working with them in lockstep, and we anticipate Golden State to adopt the same rules the city adopted to ensure that all residences in Simi Valley are under the same water restrictions," Gabler said.

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Council member Elaine Litster said it's difficult "to identify that you have a water shortage when you turn on the tap and water comes out so well for everyone.

"I think we live in illusion," she said. "But the reality is that if we had to take a bucket down to the river, I think we would be much more aware."

Since October, Waterworks District No. 8 customers have been limited to outdoor watering a few days a week.

A staff report to the council concedes that now limiting outdoor watering to once a week is a "drastic" move.

But "the water availability for Waterworks District No. 8 is at extremely critical conditions, and it is necessary for the district to take action to preserve water reliability."

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Under the new restriction, customers whose addresses end in odd numbers are only allowed to water outdoors on Saturdays. Customers with addresses ending in even numbers can only water outdoors on Sundays.

The council's initial resolution did not allow swimming pools to be filled.

Simi Valley resident Joe Piechowski told the council during public comments that if that restriction remained, residents may not get their pools "you'd be depriving at least 1,000 homes in Simi Valley from being able to use the pool this summer."

The council later added language to the resolution allowing pools to be filled and that they must be covered when not in use.

The council's vote to adopt the resolution was 4-1.

Mayor Keith Mashburn, and council members Litster, Dee Dee Cavanaugh and Mike Judge voted for the resolution.

Dissenting was Luevanos on grounds that she didn't support allowing new swimming pools to be filled.

"I am in favor obviously of these restrictions," she said. But "pools ... are a luxury. They are not something that is necessary to the sustainability of your home."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Mike Harris covers the East County cities of Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, as well as transportation countywide. You can contact him at mike.harris@vcstar.com or 805-437-0323.

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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Drought: Simi Valley outdoor watering to be restricted to once a week