Conservation program still in place

SANTA NELLA – Residents and businesses will have more leeway in their water use for the remainder of the summer, after the Santa Nella County Water District recently relaxed its water conservation program.

The changes eliminate the designated watering days enacted earlier this year as part of the 2009 water conservation program. Customers may water any day of the week, District General Manager Amy Montgomery said, and are now allowed to wash down their driveways as well – as long as they are using a water-saving shutoff nozzle.

Outdoor watering is still prohibited during the heat of the day, Montgomery noted. Residents are asked not to water between the hours of 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Montgomery said the district opted to relax the watering restrictions after learning from the San Luis Water District that it would receive a larger allocation than initially anticipated. The Santa Nella district was also able to reschedule all its unused water allocation from the previous year, she noted.

“Based on those allocations, it looked like we would be okay through the year,” said Montgomery.

Still, Montgomery stressed, California remains in a drought and residents must conserve and use water wisely.

Water-wasting practices such as gutter-flooding, she noted, are prohibited even during designated watering hours.

There is also a financial consideration for the district to consider in setting its water conservation restrictions.

Montgomery said the district – like many other California water agencies – finds itself balancing conservation needs with revenue requirements.

“It is very hard to know how to approach that. On one hand you’re being asked to conserve water and given a reduced allocation, but on the other hand your rates are based (on a certain amount of) water consumption,” Montgomery reflected.

She attributes the district’s projected $40,000 deficit for the coming fiscal year in part to water conservation efforts – which while saving precious water have also essentially reduced sales.

“We have less revenue on the water side than we did in 2007, when we did a rate increase,” Montgomery commented.

Foreclosures also took a toll on the district’s finances. Two dozen or more homes stood empty at the end of the year, she estimated, generating no revenue for the water district.

A special budget meeting was scheduled for Tuesday.

Montgomery said she has taken several steps to trim costs, including reducing the engineering budget and lowering benefits for the district’s two-member staff.

“The bottom line is that we’re just not generating the revenue we need with the current rate model,” she stated. “I will be asking the board to consider a rate increase during the coming fiscal year. If they approve that, our budget will be revised.”

The goal of the district is not to make a profit, Montgomery pointed out, but to set the rates at a level where operational costs are covered.

The district’s water conservation program will continue through the end of September. And while the restrictions have been relaxed, Montgomery said, the program remains mandatory and violators can be fined.